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Personal property of  $l,000.00 and $4,000.00 value

Each debtor may "exempt" (i.e. keep) $l,000.00 of personal property ($2,000.00 for a joint case) from the bankruptcy estate.  Also another statute allows each debtor to “exempt” $4,000.00 ($8,000.00 for a joint case) of personal property if one does not claim or receive the benefits of a Florida homestead exemption. The valuation of the property is generally based on its liquidation value or "garage sale" value.
Cars and other Motor Vehicles
 
 In addition to the above general personal property exemption, $l,000.00 in equity ($2,000.00 for a joint case), in one car (two for a joint case) or other motor vehicle (such as a motorcycle, truck, trailer, semi-trailer, truck tractor, semi-trailer combination, recreational vehicle, etc.) is "exempt" from the bankruptcy estate. Often this is not even used as many vehicles have no net value (equity) as more is owed on them than they are worth (i.e. you are "upside down").  During and after the bankruptcy, you must, of course, continue to make any payment due for a lien on the vehicle.
Pension Plans, IRAs, and other Retirement Plans 

Pension plans, I.R.A.'s, and other retirement plans are generally not part of the estate or may be exempted from the estate (including under the exemption provided in the Bankruptcy Code itself 522 (b)(3)(C)) . 
Earned Income Credit Refund   

An interest in an IRS earned income credit ("EIC") whether received or yet to be received is exempt. It also applies to funds in a bank account traceable to such EIC. This exemption does not apply to collection for child support or spousal support. Jordan E. Bublick - Miami Bankruptcy Lawyer - Kendall & Aventura Offices - (305) 891-4055 - www.bublicklaw.com

Filing of the Case - Automatic Stay Upon the filing of your bankruptcy case, you are immediately protected from most collection actions against you and your property. The automatic stay is an injunction against thereditors from proceeding wit heir collection actions.
Creditors MeetingAbout 6 weeks after the bankruptcy case is filed, a "creditors' meeting" (34l meeting) is held. This is normally just a short meeting among you, your bankruptcy lawyer, the bankruptcy trustee, and any creditors who choose to attend.  In most cases, no creditors bother to attend. 

Length of Chapter 13 Plan Chapter 13 plan are usually for a period of 3 to 5 years. This length of the plan depends on various facts, including, whether your income is below or above median income, the amount of your non-exempt property, and what you are trying to achieve in chapter 13 plan.

Discharge OrderAfter you complete your chapter 13 plan, the trustee will issue a report of your plan completion. Shortly thereafter, your chapter 13 discharge will be entered and your case closed.Jordan E. Bublick is a Miami Bankruptcy Lawyer with over 25 years of experience in filing Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Cases and Mortgage Modifications (305) 891-4055

Setting aside the issue of actually discharging student loan debts in bankruptcy, many Oregon and Washington prospective bankruptcy filers wonder what exactly is going to happen to their student loans after the bankruptcy has been filed. The answer really depends on what kind of bankruptcy has been filed and the form of the student loan.
If you have Federal student loans, nothing really happens during the bankruptcy. Pursuant to the Higher Education Act, FSLs are placed into a sort of bankruptcy forbearance.  This is to say that all collection activity must end. You won’t get any monthly statements, calls or any other reminder that your payment is due. The benefit of not having to make a student loan payment for either a three month period during a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy or as much as five years during a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is huge. It is going to outweigh the negatives for just about everyone, especially Oregon and Washington consumers who are barely getting by, often facing harassment, judgments and garnishment as they struggle with student loan burdens.
If you have a co-signer on your student loan who is struggling along with you to make the payments, the filing of a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy will be helpful. Upon the filing of a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, the co-debtor stay provisions bar the lender from going after the non-filing borrower during the three to five year pendency of the Chapter 13 Bankruptcy case.  Your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy may provide your co-signer the same relief that you need with respect to your student loan.
Here’s the downside. First if you are in the midst of rehabilitating a federal student loan default, once you you file bankruptcy,  your payments may no longer be accepted and you will have to renew your efforts to rehabilitate the loan at the close of your bankruptcy.
Private student loans present much greater problems in bankruptcy. Many PSL notes contain a bankruptcy default provisions. This means if you file bankruptcy, your loan defaults. For many filers this is no big deal. After all you probably were already in default. However, if you have a co-signer this is a big deal because if the loan contains bankruptcy default provisions, the filing defaults the loan, even if the non-filing co-signer was making all the payments on time.
Our firm will be expanding our practice areas to beyond bankruptcy and debt defense in July to include a focus on Student Loan law. Our aim is to help Washington and Oregon consumers cope with their student loan burdens.  We look forward to the challenge.
The original post is titled Student Loans and Bankruptcy , and it came from Portland Bankruptcy Attorney | Northwest Debt Relief .

Quiet Title Action Dismissed A recent case dealt with the issue of whether a mortgage remained enforceable after a the dismissal of the foreclosure case and more than five years has passed from the date of the first default in mortgage payments.  The homeowner argued that the five year Florida statute of limitations applied to render the mortgage no longer enforceable.

In agreement  with a number of recent decisions,  the District Court in the case of Kaan v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 2013 WL 5944075 (SD Fla. 2013) held  that after the dismissal of a foreclosure case, with or without prejudice,  a mortgage remains a valid and enforceable lien on the property and a lender is not barredfrom filing a second foreclosure action if the second foreclosure action is based on payment defaults different from and subsequent to those that formed the basis for the first  foreclosure case. As have other courts recently, the Court based its ruling on the Florida Supreme Court's decision in Singleton v. Greymar Assoc., 882 So. 2d 1004 (Fla. 2004).

The Court dismissed the homeowner's "quiet title" action in which he sought to obtain a court order determining that the mortgage was no longer enforceable after the dismissal of the foreclosure case as more than the fiver year period had passed. The Court dismissed the homeowner's quiet title action pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 12(b)(6), holding that as a "matter of law," the homeowner could not state a claim based on plausible facts "actual, apparent, or potential", that his title to the land was at issue or show that a cloud on the title to his home existed as despite the dismissal of the foreclosure case and the passage of five years since his first default in payment, the mortgage note remained valid and the mortgage remained  a valid and enforceable lien against the property.Jordan E. Bublick is a Miami Bankruptcy Lawyer with over 25 years of experience in filing Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Cases and Mortgage Modifications (305) 891-4055