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Bankruptcy Lawyer - Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Lawyer Jordan E. Bublick has an office in Miami and has over 25 years of experience in filing chapter 13 and chapter 7 bankruptcy cases. His office is located in Miami at 1221 Brickell Ave., 9th Fl., Miami and may be reached at (305) 891-4055. www.bublicklaw.com  

Florida statute §222.14 provides that the proceeds of annuity contracts issued to citizens or residents of Florida are exempt from a beneficiary’s creditors unless the annuity was effectuated for the benefit of the creditor. §222.14, Florida Statutes. In the case of Mc Collam v. LeCroy, 612 So. 2d 572 (1993), the Florida Supreme Court held that an annuity contract awarded to the debtor by a defendant to fund a structured settlement of a personal injury case was exempt. The creditor argued that the annuity contract did not qualify as an exempt annuity contract as being in substance a nonexempt structured settlement. The court noted that the statute does not define “annuity contracts” and hence it did not find the exemption limited to any particular types of annuity contracts, such as those based on the insurance of human lives.

The court in In re Dillon, 166 B.R. 766 (Bankr. S.D. Fla. 1994) illustrated the distinction between an exempt annuity contract purchased to fund a structured settlement and a mere structured settlement. In Dillon the judgment creditor agreed to make annual payments and did not purchase an annuity contract to effectuate the annual payments. The court held that the annual payments were not exempt proceeds of an “annuity contract” pursuant to §222.14, Florida Statutes.Jordan E. Bublick - Miami Bankruptcy Lawyer - Kendall & Aventura Offices - (305) 891-4055 - www.bublicklaw.com

Florida common law and statutes recognize the validity of spendthrift trusts. A spendthrift trust is a type of trust that is created with the intention of providing a fund for the maintenance of another and at the same time securing it against the person's own improvidence or incapacity for self-protection.

A valid spendthrift clause prevents the beneficiary of the trust from transferring his interest in the trust as well as prevents creditors from reaching any of the trust's funds until they are dispersed to the trust beneficiary. Jordan E. Bublick - Miami Bankruptcy Lawyer - Kendall & Aventura Offices - (305) 891-4055 - www.bublicklaw.com

From another attorney in a national consumer listserv:

Yesterday at a 341 meeting, a client was asking about the Saturday call from “my office” two Saturdays before. It from a male assistant that said a fax came into my office on the Friday night before the phone call that my client would be arrested on Monday if $600 was not paid immediately. Because the call was from my number they believed the person when they said that this particular debt (from 2011) was not dischargeable and could not be listed in the bankruptcy and had to be paid before Monday or a warrant would be issued. The number that showed up on their cell phone was my telephone number. (I do not have a male assistant) The call was deliberately on Saturday to prevent my clients from calling my office and following up. They panicked and borrowed the money and sent it by Western Union. (The alleged creditor was an internet creditor listed on the petition.) We don’t know if it was really that creditor or someone that got access to the bankruptcy petition and used the information there to pull off this scheme. When I informed the other attorneys at this 341 meeting. I was told that these scum bags can emulate any telephone number and have it show up on the cell phone. There is currently a problem with calls from state court phone numbers alleging arrest unless a bill is immediately paid by Western Union.

My warning – we can no longer assume that the caller id on our phones is correctly identifying the caller’s identification.  Make sure to talk to your attorney whenever you are contacted by someone who alleges you can be arrested for not paying your bills.  Many debt buyers will stoop to any form of fraud or criminal acts.  Do not let anyone bully you into paying any money without checking out the validity of their claims.

The post Phone Calls Pretending to be From Attorney’s Office appeared first on Diane L. Drain - Phoenix Bankruptcy & Foreclosure Attorney.

The Bankruptcy Code provides in section 522(b)(3)(B) in general for the exemption of property held as a tenant by the entirety or joint tenant to the extent that it is exempt from process under state law.Tenancy by the entireties is certain property held between a husband and a wife.
The Havoco case reviewed that property held in a tenancy by the entireties is generally exempt from the claim of individual creditors under Florida common law but is not exempt to the extent of joint debts of both spouses or to the extent of a fraudulent conveyance into the property.

Tenants by the Entireties

Under Florida law, property held by a husband and wife as tenants by the entireties belongs to neither individual spouse, but to a separate entity referred to as the "unity" or "the marriage." Florida law recognizes that entireties estates can exist in both real and personal property. Property held as tenancy by the entireties generally possesses six characteristics:

1. unity of possession - unity of joint ownership and control  
2. unity of interest, 
3. unity of title - the interests must have originated in the same  
4. unity of time - the interests must have commenced simultaneously  
5. survivorship
6. unity of marriage - the parties must be married at the time they took joint title (unity of marriage).

Tenants by the Entireties and Real Estate 

Florida law provides that real property held by a husband and wife in joint names is held in a tenancy by the entireties absent some express indication to the contrary. Beal Bank, SSB v. Almand and Associates, 780 So. 2d 45 (Fla. 2001). Florida law also provides a presumption that a bank account titled in the names of both spouses is held as a tenancy by the entireties as long as the unities of possession, interest, title, and time are met. Various court decisions extend the presumption in favor of a tenancy by the entireties to personal property in various manners. Some courts extend the presumption to all personal property.

Tenants by the Entireties and Personal Property

Household furnishing acquired during a marriage may also be found to be held in tenancy by the entireties. In the In re Kossow case, the Court allowed the tenancy by the entireties exemption of certain household furnishings acquired during the marriage as there was no evidence to rebut the presumption. The Court also allowed the tenancy by the entireties exemption of other household furnished acquired prior to the marriage as it found that it was subsequently assigned to the marriage. The Court further found the joint federal income tax refund as exempt tenancy by the entireties property.

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