Florida’s Middle District is second only to the district including Los Angeles in bankruptcy filings. One bankruptcy is filed for every 100 residents of the Florida district that includes Jacksonville, Fort Myers, Orlando and Tampa. This same geographic area has a large and growing hispanic population, and the Clerk of Court is focussed on meeting [...]
January 2011
Foreclosures have been getting a lot of media attention lately, but credit card debt probably accounts for more bankruptcies than foreclosures. And a lot of people who fall behind on mortgage payments and end up in foreclosure do so trying to juggle credit card debt as well, so it’s probably responsible for a fair number [...]
In Bankruptcy, the “Camaro factor” is the title I have given to the phenomena of people I meet placing too high a value on their property. Often this manifests itself among men and their cars. It is the rare occurrence when I meet a prospective bankruptcy client who actually recognizes that the value of the [...]
In a down market for home values, a foreclosure sale can create an entirely new creditor in the form of the IRS, collecting taxes on canceled debt. Uncle Sam is the phantom creditor. Homeowners facing foreclosure may benefit from filing bankruptcy, even if they have no bills other than the mortgage , because bankruptcy is [...]
Student loan debt is not dischargeable in bankruptcy. That’s not news–it’s pretty much common knowledge. But student loan debt for newly-minted lawyers is a growing problem, since the job market for lawyers is, well, abysmal would be an optimistic assessment. [A] generation of J.D.’s face the grimmest job market in decades. Since 2008, some 15,000 [...]
