Florida Bankruptcy Attorney Blog

The judge of the General Motors bankruptcy noted today that the officers of the company were now spending more time on focusing on consumer needs, rather than in bankruptcy efforts, and efforts at Chapter 11 reorganization. This likely represents a step forward for the financially strapped and strained company. Meanwhile, General Motors still has significant reorganization to complete, including (unfortunately) possibly removing up to an additional ten thousand employees from payroll in order to make the company viable. Consumers are giving the new product lines a positive response.

As the recession continues and more people are being saddled with significant debt burdens and increasing rates of default, the question continues to arise whether student loans should be discharged in bankruptcy. Prior to amendments a few years ago, it was common and acceptable for people to discharge their private student loans after seven years if they were unable to make the monthly payments. Unfortunately, due to changes resulting from BAPCA, it became virtually impossible to discharge your student loans unless you could prove to the court that you would be undergoing an inordinate hardship. The requirements to show the court that you had this kind of hardship are very strenuous and most people simply do not fulfill the required conditions. It takes a good lawyer to put on a good case for those facing student loan defaults. The Bartlett Law Firm, P.A. has experience handling student loan defaults in bankruptcy cases, for all chapters. Hopefully, though, with more and more people realizing the incredible burden student loans can create for those who are trying to restart their lives on a proper footing, legislation will eventually be passed making it easier for normal people to discharge their student loans like any other debt.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released a larger than expected increase in the rolls of the unemployed, and the total rate of the unemployed now stands at 9.8%. This kind of activity will cause the economy to only slowly pull out of this monster of a recession that has been affecting us all. If you're considering filing a bankruptcy because of your unemployment situation, definitely give us a call. Often when you file bankruptcy because you are unemployed, and have been unemployed for awhile, you will get better terms than if you waited until you were employed again. Sometimes timing is everything in the bankruptcy process. Give us a call today to see how we can help you figure out when it would be best for you to file.

When you file a bankruptcy the Court imposes an automatic stay on all actions against you, with certain exceptions. Any one who has what is called a claim, or cause of action for damages, can no longer pursue you for those particular damages until the stay is lifted. Thus, if you owe alot of money on a credit card, when you file bankruptcy the credit card company is no longer permitted to come after you. This happens when you file the initial paperwork, and as long as the paperwork is filled out properly and the action is not dismissed, this stay will last for approximately 3 to 4 months in a Chapter 7 case, and even longer in a Chapter 13 case.

The Bankruptcy Courts have the power to impose these measures pursuant to federal statutes and the supremacy clause when dealing with state courts.

There are exceptions to the automatic stay, usually involving a request to preliminarily lift the stay.

The automatic stay can be very useful for those who are attempting to calm the waters and get their lives back together through the bankruptcy process, and most importantly it stops those annoying phone calls!