South Florida's largest document company.
The Divorce & Bankruptcy Center
Call for a free consultation 954-946-4774
Allan J. Weltman
Family Mediator, Florida Supreme Court Certified County Mediator, Florida Supreme Court Qualified Arbitrator
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South Florida's largest document company. The Divorce & Bankruptcy Center Call for a free consultation 954-946-4774 Allan J. Weltman Family Mediator, Florida Supreme Court Certified County Mediator, Florida Supreme Court Qualified Arbitrator
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The following information was provided by the Florida Bar
SOME INFORMATION ABOUT BANKRUPTCY People who are having trouble paying their debts sometimes consider bankruptcy as a remedy for this situation. The reason that an individual debtor usually files bankruptcy is to obtain a discharge, which will wipe out his or her debts so that they will not have to be paid. Creditors then will be unable to try to collect those debts or sue the debtor and obtain a valid judgment. With a few exceptions, the creditors have no claim on the debtor's future income or future assets. Bankruptcy does not wipe out most mortgages or liens. If a debtor wants to keep his house, generally he must continue the payments on the mortgage. If he wants to keep his car, he must likewise continue the payments. In a liquidating bankruptcy certain property can be "redeemed" from a lien by an approximate proceeding in the bankruptcy, which would require paying to the lien holder the market value of the property. In return for having his debts discharged, the debtor must turn over to the bankruptcy trustee all of his property except for certain assets which the law allows him to keep as exempt. (See Florida Exemptions) The trustee will then sell the property and distribute the proceeds to the creditors according to priorities established by law. Very often there is not enough money to pay for anything more than the costs of administration, and the creditors will receive nothing. It may be that a debtor is denied a discharge. The result of this is that he will continue to owe his debts for life. Some of the reasons for being denied a discharge are fraudulent transfer of an asset to keep it away from creditors or the bankruptcy trustee, concealment of assets, or disobeying or making a false statement to the court. Such acts may also constitute federal crimes for which the debtor can be fined or imprisoned. Certain types of debts, such as child support, alimony, federal taxes and certain student loans are not discharged in bankruptcy. Also, a creditor who has been willfully injured or defrauded may have the debt excepted from discharge, such as a credit card company with a claim for charges made when the debtor had no intent or ability to repay. Information available on other sites http://www.bankruptcy-courts.net Offers general information on chapter 7, 11 and 13 bankruptcy.
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