Tampa Bankruptcy Law Blog

A single Florida home has caught a multitude of attention after the owner went into default on his mortgage. The home is located in Miami and the owner owes approximately $720,000 on the mortgage. JP Morgan Chase Bank has filed an action to foreclose the property in a Miami-Dade County court.

The owner of the home is OJ Simpson, a man who has had a less than quiet past. With the home in foreclosure, Simpson does not have the same ownership rights to his home. Knowing that, the advocacy group People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals has asked the JP Morgan's CEO Jamie Dimon to donate the home to their cause.

In some societies past, the debt obligations of the father were passed along to the son. Children were often burdened by family debts. This practice has passed, but debt collectors use the confusion between what they can collect and who they can collect it from, sometimes crossing the line from legal collection to unlawful creditor harassment of family members.

The practice of collecting debts of the deceased is not an illegal practice in Florida, but there are guidelines regulating what can be collected and who it can be collected from. Guidelines issued in a Federal Trade Commission policy set out some of those rules.

Second marriages are more successful if both parties pay close attention to financial details, especially as they relate to financial contracts incurred during a first marriage. For example, in Florida, if one ex-spouse is behind on mortgage obligations, and if their ex-spouse remains legally obligated for that debt, both may be subject to collection activities. This should be a concern to engaged couples as they plan a future together.

One question often asked is whether or not a divorced person can be held accountable for marital debts that were divided in a divorce decree. The answer is yes, they are still responsible unless they have been properly removed from that obligation. The details of the divorce agreement do not supersede financial contractual agreements made while married. If their ex falls behind on mortgage payments or on a second mortgage, a new finance may arrive at the altar of a second marriage with heavy financial baggage.

Statistics reveal that in 2011, more than 750,000 homeowners received default notices. Almost as many homes were repossessed. Unfortunately, many Florida homeowners continue to face default and remain at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure. Simply put, our country is facing a terrible mortgage and foreclosure crisis that as of yet has shown little sign of stopping.

Unfortunately, because scam artists are eager to take advantage of unsuspecting and vulnerable victims who are desperate to keep their homes, people whose mortgages are in trouble may be particularly at risk of losing even more money, and being left in a position in which they are more likely to lose their home, after they are taken for a ride by a scammer.

Standing amid metros like New York and Illinois, the State of Florida has experienced a steady increase in foreclosure rates throughout the 2011 calendar year. At 2.8 percentage points, Tampa, Florida endured the highest increase of three cities. Chicago came in at 2.3 and New Your City trailed the three at 2.1. The period of measurement stretched from December 2009 to June 2011.

Nationwide for the same time frame, the occurrences of serious mortgage delinquency slowed down. Data displayed at Foreclosure-Response.org presents an average foreclosure rate that lingered at 5.5 percent throughout the final three quarters of the study period. Yet Florida, New York and Illinois remain in a situation that requires extended judicial involvement in foreclosure proceedings.

Bankruptcy lawyers are busier than ever these days, as tough economic times hit consumers hard in their pocketbooks. In Florida, and across the country, bankruptcy filings by about 1.4 million citizens are up this year as roughly $120 billion in debt move into Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 proceedings. Debt collection violations are surfacing as some unscrupulous creditors overstep the law and continue to plague consumers who have already received bankruptcy discharge of debts.

Weary consumers may be harassed by debt collectors and creditors even after they take the financial step to declare bankruptcy. Some, like Capital One Financial Corporation, continue to notify customers that the company is suing for old debts. Just when the consumer is getting a breather from their bad debts, unexpected creditor calls can get worse, causing much emotional distress.

The housing crisis has surely hit Florida harder than many states. Although we have discussed the high rates of foreclosures in the area, there are many families who are current on their mortgage payments but know that the status will not last for long. So many homeowners across the state live in homes that they know they cannot afford but feel like they are stuck with no solutions.

In many of our posts, we have mentioned "discussing your options" with an attorney when struggling financially. It is amazing at times what options exist that most of the public is unaware of. For instance, many homeowners across the nation have chosen to donate their homes when they cannot sell them.

In the first post of this two-part series, we discussed two major myths surrounding Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The first myth that was exposed was that everyone in your life will know when you file for bankruptcy. The second myth that was exposed was that the process would leave you with nothing.

In this post we will cover other myths, including credit, complications, stereotypes, taxes and repeat assistance. Many people believe that filing for bankruptcy means he or she will never receive a credit line again. FALSE. While many bankruptcies are filed by individuals with bad credit, the fresh start allows individuals to rebuild their credit. Many people are surprised at how quickly the credit card offers begin landing in mailboxes once again.