Blogs

Florida law provides for a certain exemption for annuities. Florida Statute section 222.14 provides that "the proceeds of annuity contracts issued to citizens or residents of the state,  upon whatever form, shall not in any case be liable to attachment, garnishment ... or legal process in favor of any creditor ... of the person who is the beneficiary of such annuity contract, unless the  ... annuity contract was effected for the benefit of such creditor.

One requirement is that the annuity must be issued to a "citizen" or "resident" of Florida. Sometimes there is a question of whether the item in question constitutes an "annuity" and whether the involved person is a "beneficiary" within the meaning of the statute. 

Jordan E. Bublick - Miami Bankruptcy Lawyer - North Miami & Kendall Offices - (305) 891-4055 - www.bublicklaw.com

The first, and by far, most common type of bankruptcy is liquidation under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code, also referred to as a straight bankruptcy. In this type of bankruptcy all of the debtor's (or, the person filing the bankruptcy) assets which are nonexempt are sold and the proceeds of the sales are distributed amongst creditors (everyone who is owed money by the debtor.) After doing so, the remaining debt is wiped out giving the debtor what is known as a "fresh start."
The second commonly used type of bankruptcy is known as a reorganization under Chapter 11 or 13 of the Bankruptcy Code. Chapter 11 is most commonly used by companies and Chapter 13 is most commonly used by individuals. In this reorganization, the debtor still pays some or all of his or her debt under a 3-5 year agreed-upon plan.
In a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, creditors have the right to vote on or approve of the companies proposed reorganization.
Under Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the companies or individuals you owe money to don’t vote on or approve your proposed plan for paying back some of what you owe. And unlike Chapter 11, only you propose the plan for some or all of your debts. In Chapter 11, your creditors can also propose plans.
If you consider that Chapter 11 is most often used by large companies, it makes sense that creditors have the right to propose or vote on the plan to repay debt. Because very large sums of money that impact multiple companies are usually involved, creditors have a much larger stake in what happens in the bankruptcy.
Just as in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, at the end of payment plan period under Chapter 13 you will receive a discharge.
The post Bankruptcy Basics appeared first on Tucson Bankruptcy Attorney.

Jordan E. Bublick is a Miami personal bankruptcy lawyer whose practice is limited to chapter 13 bankruptcy (reorganization of debt) and chapter 7 bankruptcy (discharge of debt). Jordan E. Bublick has over 25 years of experience in filing personal bankrupty cases and has filed over 8,000 bankruptcy cases.

The firm offers a free initial consultation.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Chapter 7 bankruptcy allows a person to discharge most types of debt while keeping his "exempt" property. Debt that is dischargeable includes most credit card, unsecured loans, car repossession debt, medical bills, and some federal income taxes. Student loans are in most cases not dischargeable.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows a person to propose a plan of reorganization to reorganize his secured and unsecured debt. It is often used to stop a mortgage foreclosure and to catch the mortgage payments up-to-date. In some cases, one is able to avoid the second mortgage if it is wholly "underwater.".  It is also filed to use the Bankruptcy Court's new Mortgage Mediation program ("LMM") in which the parties meet to negotiate a modification of the mortgage together with a mediator appointed by the Bankruptcy Court.

Jordan E. Bublick holds an undergraduate degree from Brandeis University (BA, 1979), a law degree from the Ohio State University College of Law (JD, 1983) and a masters of law degree from the New York University School of Law (LL.M., 1984)

Jordan E. Bublick - Miami Bankruptcy Lawyer - North Miami & Kendall Offices - (305) 891-4055 - www.bublicklaw.com

A recent client asked this great question:

Is there such a thing as getting help to avoid bankruptcy? My wife and I have a small business.  We are struggling to keep it going.  We’re down over 50% this year, we’ve cut some expenses, and customer payments are dragging.  While we are not unique, and I am sure you have heard it before, but we would like to avoid drowning. Please let us know if you would be available/interested in a consult.

The short answer is YES!  We help people avoid bankruptcy every day.  Filing bankruptcy is something you do when nothing else works.  It is the last option.  The process of deciding to file bankruptcy is really a process of elimination–when no other option solves the entire debt problem you then focus on bankruptcy.  Partial solutions are no help.  Settling one debt or one lawsuit is nice, but if it does not solve the whole problem it is just throwing money away.  The benefit of bankruptcy is that it is a complete solution.
So how do we help clients avoid bankruptcy?
DEBT PAYMENT PLANS.
How much does it cost per month to get out of debt?  You must answer that question before you consider bankruptcy. This is a two-step process:
STEP ONE: List the debts.  Making a list of your debts is about as much fun as getting on a scale after going out for dinner.  There comes a time when you stop opening the mail and lose track of how much you owe.  It’s depressing so you avoid it.  If you really want to avoid bankruptcy you need to write down a list of who you.  Follow these steps to prepare a list.

• Open the mail.  Stop throwing away collection letters.  Go through the pile of envelopes pushed to the corner.  Sort the debts, put them in separate files, use color-coded three ring binders, etc.  Do whatever it takes, but organize what you have.
• Get a credit report.  Go to www.AnnualCreditReport.com for a free copy of your credit report.
• Search for lawsuits and judgments online in Nebraska.  Here is an article to help search the public records online.
• Some debts do not appear on credit reports.  Just write the Name and Address of your creditors and estimate the amount you owe each.
• Call creditors to figure out the balance owed.
• Locate student loans using the National Student Loan Data System.
• Write the interest rate charged by each creditor next to the balance owed.
• Divide the list into Secured creditors (mortgage auto, furniture loans) and Unsecured creditors (everybody else).

STEP TWO:

• Add up the list.  How much do you owe in total?
• Divide the total by 36.  Can you afford that payment?  For example, if you owe $18,000 of debt, can you afford to pay $500 per month?  This is a rough estimate of what you need to pay each month to become debt free.  Call it the “Rule of 36″.
• Consider a debt management company such as GreenPath to set up a debt payment plan.  I prefer counselors belonging to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.

DEBT SETTLEMENT.
Most of the people in debt settlement programs should not be in them.  Most of the debt settlement plans I review have virtually no chance of succeeding.  Why?  You need money on hand to settle debts.  If you cannot raise enough settlement funds quickly enough the creditors will file lawsuits and begin garnishments before you can settle all the debts.  As a general rule, you need about one-third of what you owe in cash within 6 months of stopping payments to creditors to have any chance of settling all the debts.  Creditors will typically settle debts for about 40% of what is owed, but they want the settlement in cash now.  If you are able to raise cash quickly debt settlement might be an option.  We help clients settle credit cards and other debts every day, but only if we see a reasonable chance of all accounts being settled.
LAWSUIT DEFENSE.
Can the creditor prove you owe the debt?  Has the Statute of of Limitations expired?  Can the creditor provide a copy of the credit card agreement?  Are you being sued for a medical debt that your health insurance should have covered?  Over 90% of creditor lawsuits result in Default Judgments.  We can show you how to respond to lawsuits and to demand an accurate accounting of the debt.
BUSINESS REORGANIZATION.
Sometimes a small business is so overcome by debt that it must reorganize.  Some small business corporations are so saturated with debt that it must start over.  It is possible to form a new corporation and start with a clean slate.  There are special rules to follow to prevent the old corporation from contaminating the new company, but this is a valid strategy to reorganize without filing bankruptcy.  Personal guarantees of business debts must be considered as well.
The bottom line is, there are many ways out of debt.  You need to consult with an attorney that carefully goes through each option.  That is what we do.  We can help you avoid filing bankruptcy if you visit with us before the situation gets out of hand.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Image courtesy of Flickr and David J. Dalley.