Michael David Bruckman's Answers

Florida debt collection law, can a creditor garnish our wages for debt owed

Florida law does provide for the ability for a judgment creditor to garnish wages. However, there are exemptions that can be claimed to prevent garnishment in certain situations. Fl. Stat. 222.11 provides that the wages of a "head of a family" cannot be garnished at all if their disposable earnings are less than $500/week, and if the earnings are more than $500/week, garnishment is only possible if the debtor has agreed in writing. The "head of a family" is defined as the person providing...

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My home owners association put a lien foreclosure on my home for failing to pay dues can they take my home, state of FL

There are only certain exceptions to the "homestead exemption" in Florida. Generally, they are: (a) Liens and judgments for the payment of taxes and assessments on real property. (b) Liens and judgments for obligations contracted for the purchase of real property. (c) Liens and judgments for labor, services, or materials furnished to repair or improve real property. (d) Liens and judgments for other obligations contracted for house, field, or other labor performed on real property....

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Can the bank holding a car loan garnish our wages for not making the payments?

If you get behind on a car loan, the bank can repossess the vehicle, sell it at auction, and usually leave you with an extremely large deficiency balance. They will almost never get anywhere near fair market value for the vehicle. If you still owe money after the sale proceeds are applied, it is likely you will be sued, and likely that a judgment will be entered against you. Under Florida law, that judgment allows the judgment holder to take certain actions against you, or your property, in...

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Bankruptcy exemption on personal property purchased on credit, under FL bankruptcy law can creditor's repossess property

I agree with Mr. Weiss's answer regarding repossession. But if you were to file a chapter 7 bankruptcy, you must keep in mind that Florida law only provides (in your case) for a $1000 personal property exemption. The bankruptcy court trustee can assert that the value of your assets may exceed that value. In that situation (if the value of the items is high enough) you would normally be given 2 options - "buying back" the equity from the bankruptcy estate, normally over a period of 1 year or...

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Can past state or federal income tax debt be discharged in bankruptcy

Possibly. As long as you were not willfully attempting to evade paying the tax, you may be able to discharge income tax debt for returns you have actually filed at least 2 years ago, and for taxes that were due at least three years ago. (2005 income taxes, due April 15 2006, will be dischargeable April 16, 2009. If you made an offer in compromise, these time periods can be extended. If you have a tax lien, things get more complicated. This is a very basic explanation, as the actual...

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Help on Form 982 - CH7 personal bankruptcy discharged; received 1099-C on credit debt.

Many people receive these 1099s for 'discharge of indebtedness' income, but many are not required to claim it as income. There are two exceptions. Any debt discharged in a bankruptcy case is excepted from inclusion as income. Additionally, if you were 'insolvent' at the time, after the debt was forgiven, you do not have to include it as income. That means that, after the debt was forgiven, your debts still exceeded the value of your assets. I usually provide a letter for my clients along with...

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Judgment - Lien

At it's basic level, the judgment is the order from the court stating (in your case) that you owe money to someone else. Once that order is signed, the judgment holder now has certain rights under state law to collect that money. One of the ways to collect money is the placement of a lien on certain assets. Sometimes, state law says that the judgment holder automatically gets a lien on certain assets by obtaining the judgment. Sometimes, they have to record the judgment in a certain place...

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Can the bankruptcy trustee take real property that is held in tenants in common

Property you hold as"Tenants in common" with others is normally subject to creditor claims. However, I think you mean "tenants by the entirety" (or "entireties"). Property held as a tenancy by the entireties possesses six characteristics: (1) unity of possession (joint ownership and control); (2) unity of interest (the interests in the account must be identical); (3) unity of title (the interests must have originated in the same instrument); (4) unity of time (the interests must have...

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Can I file for change of venue?

I agree with the prior two answers. Attorney representation can be helpful in this situation. With the many foreclousre issues in Florida, mortgage companies are finding value in getting the property owners to sign a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure to resolve title issues when re-selling the property. Some are willing to pay the owner to sign off, and forgive the remaining debt. If your goal is to let the property go, condsider this option.

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Property outside the United States borders.

Land located outside the United States is (generally) subject to your creditors claims in Florida. If a creditor obtains a judgment against you, they usually will require you to fill out forms, or require you to answer questions, detailing what kind of assets you have. Land located outside the United States will probably be required to be disclosed in those documents. Its also possible to find out you own them via some type of asset search, as it is generally hard to hide ownership of those...

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