Many debtors have a difficult time locating their tax returns, which always causes delay in filing your bankruptcy. All information must be complete before you Florida Bankruptcy Attorney can file on your behalf. You must have filed tax returns in order to file bankruptcy in Tampa or Orlando Florida. For those who have 10-15 days to wait, debtor’s can call 1 800 829 1040 to Receive FREE Tax Transcripts By Mail. For those Florida Bankruptcy Debtor’s who must obtain lost tax returns immediately, please inquire at your local field office:

CENTRAL FLORIDA: ORLANDO (Maitland/Winter Park) IRS OFFICE:
850 Trafalgar Ct.
Maitland, FL 32751
Phone: (407) 660-5830

VOLUSUIA COUNTY: DAYTONA/HOLLY HILL IRS OFFICE:
921 N. Nova Rd. Holly Hill, FL 32117

Phone: (386) 258-4105

TAMPA IRS OFFICE:
3848 W. Columbus Dr.
Tampa, FL 33607
Phone: (813) 348-1831

FORT MYERS IRS OFFICE:

4210 Metro Parkway Ft Myers, FL 33916
Phone: (239) 938-7601

Like many others in Florida, we are all facing economic hardships caused by high credit card debt, loss of job, medical bills – I could go on. Most of these problems are not your fault, but you may have fallen behind in paying your mortgage payments. Bankruptcy can help solve all of these problems and help you to save your home, get rid of your debt, clear your credit report and REGAIN YOUR FINANCIAL FREEDOM! Read on…
If you have been late paying your mortgage you will likely be soon served a foreclosure complaint and a Lis Pendens. Then you will have only 20 days to file an answer to this foreclosure action. After being served with these Florida foreclosure papers, it may only be a matter of months before you are forced to move out of your own home. What’s worse is that after you move out your home will be sold, but likely for much, much less than what you owe on the mortgage. This is called a Deficiency. Your lender can now pursue you for the difference of what you promised to pay minus the sale price of the home.

• Here’s an example: your $250,000 home sells for $45,000 at the courthouse and you originally mortgaged the home for $325,000. Your lender, in this situation could potentially seek to recover $280,000 from you to recover the remainder of the mortgage.

Here are your options:
(1) If you file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and are successfully discharged:
a. your lender will not be able to seek to recover a Deficiency against you
b. You can wipe your slate clean of almost all of your debts
(2) If you file for Chapter 13:
a. the foreclosure process will come to a halt because of the Automatic Stay enjoyed in Bankruptcy,
b. you can repay the past amounts you owe on the home over time making it easier
c. you may be able to completely write off your 2nd or 3rd mortgages!

The most important thing you can do is to contact your local Florida Bankruptcy Attorneys at (813) 413-1300 whether you live in Central Florida and Maitland/Winter Park Orlando, the Tampa Bay area and Clearwater/St. Petersburg

Florida 341 Bankruptcy Hearings in Tampa and Orlando Can be summed up in 35 words or less.

The hearing is very short, it’s not in court, the judge is not there and you can wear whatever you want. Make sure you bring your driver’s license and social security card.

The Basics of 341 Bankruptcy Hearings in Tampa and Orlando:

After your Florida Bankruptcy Attorneys file your Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you must appear at the “first meeting of creditors” or commonly called a 341 hearing, named after the section of the Bankruptcy Code authorizing the hearing. The trustee can ask you questions under oath about your property and debts. Creditors can also question you on those subjects, but seldom do.

What You Need to Bring to the Hearing

Each debtor must be present and must bring their State issued identification (driver’s license, passport, etc.) and Social security card. You should also bring your pay stubbs, 2 months worth of bank statements and your last 2 tax returns.

Who Will Be at the Hearing?

There are NO JUDGES. Your attorney will be with you. The trustee handling your case will be there and there will be other debtors sitting in chairs waiting their turn to be called. Some creditors may show up to try and convince you to reaffirm your debts. You won’t be required to speak to any creditors until you’re actually in the hearing.

What You Will Be Asked

The trustee and creditors (if any show up) asks the questions at a table under an ominous FBI sign. You’ll be sworn in and recorded. You will be asked only a few simple questions: your name, address and other similarly basic information. Then, you will be asked if you reviewed the Petition and all of the schedules and signed a document ( documents you signed at your initial consultation upon retaining your attorney) required under Bankruptcy Code. The trustee will also make sure that all of the information in petition is true and accurate? Are all assets listed? All debts? Have you had any prior bankruptcies? When? What chapter? You will likely be asked to explain any LARGE (over $1,000) deposits or withdrawals from bank accounts. You will probably be asked if your circumstances have changed (inherited money, won the lottery etc.) The trustee is trying to find if you are hiding anything or have any assets from which he/she can recover anything.
The important thing is to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

How Long the Hearing Will Last

The hearing is very painless and will be over in 5-15 minutes or less. You shouldn’t be nervous at all, but you could come early and watch some other hearings before your name is called.

The good news is that after the 341 meeting all you really have to do is to cooperate with the trustee in providing any requested information.

Creditors have only 60 days after the 341 meeting to convince the bankruptcy court you shouldn’t be allowed to get rid of your debts.
The trustees job consists of reviewing your income and expenses for any money left after your current living expenditures to repay something to creditors.

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 mandated debtors who file for bankruptcy protection to complete an approved credit counseling program within 180 days before they file. Debtors must also complete a debtor education course after filing, but before discharge, to have their debts discharged.

Pre-Bankruptcy Credit Counseling Course
Only pre-approved courses are eligible. The course, which may be attended in person, over the phone or on the internet will usually last about 60-90 minutes and consist of, at minimum, an evaluation of your personal financial situation, a discussion of alternatives to bankruptcy, and the development of a personal budget plan. Please talk to your attorney about how you may be eligible to receive the service free of charge.

Post-Filing Debtor Education Course
Only pre approved courses are eligible. This course usually lasts a bit longer than the Credit Counseling course (about 2 hours) but again, may be attended in perso, over the phone or on the internet. This course will discuss developing a budget, managing finances and using credit and other resources wisely. Again, please talk to your attorney as to how to qualify for a free course.

Following is a list of approved agencies for the Middle District of Florida: Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central Florida and The Florida Gulf Coast, Inc., Consumer Financial Education Foundation of America, Inc.,
Advisory Credit Management, Inc., Consumer Debt Counselors,Family Life Resources, Inc.,InCharge Education Foundation, Inc.

How would you like to get rid of that pesky second mortgage (2nd Mortgage) on your house and still keep your house?

It’s quite possible, keep reading…

**** You could potentially, file Chapter 13 Bankruptcy to eliminate all your credit card debt, reduce your car payments, cure the arrears on the first mortgage, and now entirely remove your second mortgage! What’s more is that if the value in your home bounces back in several years, the increase in value is an increase in your equity.

If you are like many people in today’s economy, you have been faced with the situation where you have a home that is worth far less than what you paid for and you have two mortgages. Many times people like you were only able to purchase a home by putting twenty percent (20%) of the purchase price down as a down payment. Banks allowed purchasers to facilitate this by taking out one mortgage for eighty percent (80%) and a second mortgage for twenty percent (20%), or an 80-20, of the home’s value to use as a down payment.

In order to achieve your goal of “stripping off” a second mortgage, certain situations must be in place. First of all, you can’t achieve this by filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The only real options in Ch. 7 bankruptcy are to

• (1) keep the home and pay the 2nd mortgage (or reaffirm the debt) or
• (2) to surrender the home and the mortgage as well as any deficiency that may occur.

Filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, on the other hand, may allow you to strip down your second mortgage if the right conditions are present. Your 2nd mortgage must be fully unsecured, as opposed to undersecured. An unsecured mortgage is one in which the value of the home is completely covered by the balance of your first mortgage. An undersecured 2nd mortgage is one in which only part of the mortgage is secured by the home because the first mortgage is in adequate as to cover the entire value of the home. Here’s an example of an 80-20 unsecured mortgage situation that is commonly seen:

• the purchase price of the home in 2003 was $365,000
• the home is now only valued at $250,000
• the first mortgage balance is $292,000
• the second mortgage is $73,000

However, here is an example of an undersecured 2nd mortgage:

• the purchase price of the home in 2003 was $365,000
• the home is now only valued at $250,000
• the first mortgage balance is $240,000
• the second mortgage is $150,000

In this case, the 2nd mortgage is undersecured because the second mortgage lender has a security interest of $10,000. Filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy will not help in this situation as the 2nd loan is, although very little, partially secured.

There are always exceptions: the situation is likely that the 1st mortgage may fully cover the value of the home, but upon appraisal the home value comes in above the balance of the first mortgage, thus encumbering the second mortgage. In this situation, even where the 2nd mortgage is only secured by $1, a court may have to make the determination as to the valuation of the home. Also, you must fulfill the payments through the duration of your plan, which may be 5 years.

Further, even where the second mortgage is stripped off it may not completely vanish. The stripped off second mortgage will be treated similarly to all other unsecured debts in Chapter 13, meaning a portion will be paid back. The determination as to how much must be repaid will be derived from a calculation of the value of your unsecured debts compared to your disposable income.

Florida’s economy has been hit hard. There’s no doubt about it and it doesn’t matter wehther you live in Tampa, Orlando or Miami. Florida’s unemployment rate, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, has jumped to 11.8 percent as of December 2009. Compare this to only 4.8 just 2 years ago and May 2009 when it was 10.3 – that’s a full 1.5 percent in only several months.

You have probably stumbled upon this website because you have overwhelming debt, which seems beyond your financial capability to resolve. You may be looking for a quick, relatively painless way to resolve your debt through filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Tampa or Orlando. You are probably also asking, whether it’s absolutely necessary to file for Bankruptcy and whether you can evade Bankruptcy and save your credit. Read on for some insight….

Most people with debt (debtors) are well advised to not file for bankruptcy unless there is just no other way. The best advice can be sought from a knowledgeable Bankrutpcy attorney. There are several, regardless of whether you live in St. Petersburg, Largo, Clearwater, Maitland, Winter Park, Orlando or other outlying cities. Someone is near, and you should seek a FREE Consultation concerning your debt.

Many debtors choose other options before considering bankruptcy. I see many people in my office months after they have tried to get rid of their debt through debt consolidation services. There are many services that are scams out there. If you are considering a bankruptcy filing, hold-on for a moment because you might be able to get rid of debt with a better option. Don’t ever choose to go for bankruptcy filing before you explore the available options.

A credit counseling service might be a viable option for you to start. Some credible credit counseling services are free of charge in term of providing counseling services to determine if you can fit into one of their programs. If you do fit in, you will be required to pay a monthly fee for the service. Make sure that if you choose to go this route to stick to your plan -many times I see people who haven’t been able to complete the plan, have been lied to and have paid too much money for little to no results. But there are programs that work for people who can stick to a plan and who don’t lose any (or all) of their income.

Other than credit counseling services, you could choose to negotiate your debt. Some Bankruptcy Attorneys in Orlando and Tampa have been helping their clients in this way. A Debt negotiation can help you settle your debts, but there are disadvantages that come along with this. You may be required to pay a lump-sum of money for the settlement, your account will likely be closed by the creditor, and your credit report will likely reflect that your account was closed and was settled for less than full payment. Your credit score will suffer. This could be an option for you, but realize that the negative effects on your credit report will remain on your report for nearly as long as a Bankruptcy.

There is refinancing. For example, if you own a house you might consider refinancing your mortgage to cash out the money and pay off your debt. This poses a problem in Florida where Tampa and Orlando have seen drastic decrease in home values in the recent months and years. Your lender will not likely refinance if you have no equity in the home. Plus, you could face foreclosure if you default on your payments. Therefore, you need to make sure you pay the loan on-time during the repayment period.

A Bankruptcy might not be as bad as you think. If you have more debt than what you can afford to pay, Bankruptcy can serve to be a quick and easy FRESH START to a new Financial Freedom. Talk to a knoweldgeable and experienced bankruptcy attorney in your area of Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Maitland, Winter Park or Orlando today to find out your options.

There are good Tampa Florida foreclosure defense firms that can help you fight against your foreclosure in any Florida County and give you the time you need to get a loan modification, short sale, or deed in lieu of foreclosure. However, filing for bankruptcy in Florida should always be a viable option during your foreclosure defense whether your ultimate goal is to keep or to surrender your home. A Florida Bankruptcy Attorney explains:

A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy can help get rid of (or strip off) your Second or Third Mortgages or home equity lines of credit (HELOC)

If your goal is to remain in the home, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy might be your best option. Your attorney can discuss with you how you can repay everything you own on the home over a long period of time.

If your goal is to surrender your home, debtors are well advised to consider filing for Chapter 7 to avoid a deficiency judgment.