In Florida, typically someone who is sued is served with the lawsuit and given 20 or sometimes 30 days to file a response. If the lawsuit was filed in small claims court, you are given a date to appear at a pretrial conference instead of filing a written response. The…
Do this to Stop Calls to your Cell Phone. Did you know that a debt collector cannot call your cell phone without express consent to do so? And if this occurs, the cost of a violation is $500 per call, triple if it is a willful violation. It’s pretty easy…
In a strong opinion favoring Florida homeowners, the Eleventh Circuit slammed the door in the face of debt collectors and mortgage servicers in foreclosure cases making it abundantly clear that calling homeowners multiple times in one day after they have hired an attorney to represent them, using abusive and offensive…
Too late for many, but at least a step in the right direction, Senator Al Franken (D-Minn) introduced the Understanding the True Cost of College Act on May 24, 2012. Were you aware that the Truth in Lending Act which requires disclosure of the cost of credit in home and…
Last month, it was well publicized that student loan interest rates were about to double unless Congress acted. Actually, this only involved subsidized Stafford loan interest rates. However, President Obama made the most of it and traveled around the country garnering support to help students. At the last minute, Congress…
This debtor in South Florida recently lost his free and clear car in bankruptcy (actually the debtor was allowed to pay for the one-half interest in a Chapter 13 so it wasn’t quite as bad as it initially appears). Joint ownership is getting murkier and legal advise is definitely needed…
What if I’ve co-signed my children’s student loan debt that is now in default? Here in Tampa, Florida, I just read an outrageous story today in Nation of Change that exemplifies the problems in the world of student loans. Basically, shortly out of college, this man’s son was killed in…
Back in 2009, the Florida legislature realized that tenants needed some protection from the foreclosure crisis. The resulting Protecting Tenants in Foreclosure Act protects tenants from eviction because of foreclosure on the properties they occupy. These provisions took effect on May 20, 2009, and originally were scheduled to expire on…
Here’s an example in Tampa, Florida this month for one of our foreclosure clients who wanted to keep her house and avoid the possibility of a deficiency judgment: New monthly payment: $933.45 with escrow Old monthly payment: $1,491.35 New interest rate: 4% fixed Old interest rate: 7.75 % fixed Term:…
To cram down property owned jointly, both spouses have to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida held recently that a Chapter 13 debtor whose spouse does not join in the debtor’s bankruptcy petition is not permitted to cram down a claim secured…