Get the best Florida bankruptcy advice from a St. Petersburg bankruptcy lawyer.
Florida Bankruptcy Advice
If you are located in Pinellas County or Tampa Bay, a St. Petersburg bankruptcy lawyer can help you file for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy can discharge most of your debts. But it can remain on your credit for ten years. Filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy — your credit report will reflect this black mark for at least 10 years. This will make it difficult for you to get credit after your discharge. It is difficult but no impossible. The loans will very likely have high interest rates at least for the first few years. It’s just the lenders’ way of making sure you’re worth the risk. But when you are deep in debt, your credit score is probably the last thing on your mind. So don’t write off bankruptcy altogether. Your financial situation may be so out of shape that your credit rating won’t worry you for a while. Besides, you can always build up your credit score afterwards by paying your debts fully and on time. Although it may remain on your credit for ten years, bankruptcy will discharge most of your debts and your creditors cannot seek to recover the discharged debts from you. When a debt is discharged in bankruptcy, it is no longer enforceable against the debtor personally.
Role of a lawyer
In Florida, you must undergo credit counseling before you can file for bankruptcy. The credit counseling services check out whether debtors can pay at least 60% or more of their debts so that they don’t have to file bankruptcy. Moreover, those opting for bankruptcy will have to go through a Means Test which can determine the type of bankruptcy that he should file. The major cost of declaring bankruptcy comes in the form of legal fees. The changes to the bankruptcy code passed by Congress in 2005 has now made the process is now more complicated and expensive than before. In fact the bankruptcy laws in the United States are now even notoriously complicated to legal professionals, so you can imagine how difficult that would be for a non-professional. This is why you should avoid those do it yourself bankruptcy kits and forms. Bankruptcy attorneys are absolutely essential in this process. You will have to pay attorney fees but remember that, if successful, much of your other outstanding debt could potentially be discharged, making the attorney fees you incur much more manageable. A S. Petersburg bankruptcy is generally quite happy to arrange a manageable repayment plan with you as they are absolutely used to dealing with clients in the same sort of financial difficulty as you are experiencing.
Bankruptcy Chapters
The US Bankruptcy Code provides for filing under different chapters. Both businesses and individuals can file under any of these chapters with the exception of Chapter 12, which is reserved for use by farmers and fishermen. The most common type of bankruptcy overall is Chapter 7. It is used extensively by both individual and businesses. Chapter 11 is almost always reserved for companies. For filing under Chapter 11, a small business must meet certain conditions. In such Chapter 11 cases in that there is no creditors’ committee overseeing the process. Such cases are usually filed when the bankruptcy court either does not appoint a creditors’ committee, or the committee fails to be sufficiently involved in the process. To file a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the business must have less than about $2,000,000 in total secured and unsecured debt. You must undergo credit counseling before you can file for bankruptcy. The credit counseling services check out whether debtors can pay at least 60% or more of their debts so that they don’t have to file bankruptcy. Moreover, those opting for bankruptcy will have to go through a Means Test which can determine the type of bankruptcy that he should file. There are many lawyers in Tampa but only a St. Petersburg bankruptcy lawyer can provide you with the best bankruptcy advice.
Changes in Bankruptcy Law
The changes to the Bankruptcy Code in 2005 has made it difficult to qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. To determine you eligibility to file a Chapter 7 proceedings, the bankruptcy court will review your average monthly income over the course of six months prior to the filing date and compare that to the median income level for a similar party in Florida. If your income exceeds the median then your income figures will be put through similar mechanisms to evaluate Chapter 7 eligibility. To make this calculation:
- The amount of approved living expenses is subtracted from income to come up with an amount that is considered available for debt repayment each month.
- That amount is multiplied by 60 to arrive at the 5 year total.
- If this result is greater than $10,000 then Chapter 7 is off the table.
- If less than $10,000 but still in excess of your availability, then percentage based calculations of debt payment vs. debt amount come into play
A St. Petersburg FL bankruptcy lawyer can help you with the calculation. If your circumstances have brought you to the place of searching for a qualified, experienced Florida bankruptcy attorney, The Coleman Law Group of St. Petersburg offers you caring and aggressive representation. Dedicated, knowledgeable professionals will help you navigate the often confusing world of the Florida bankruptcy law, and provide a clear path to achieving your goals… freedom from debt and the ability to move forward with the rest of your life. Please phone us today at 727-214-0400.