Bankruptcy

Sarasota and Bradenton Bankruptcy and Foreclosure Defense Lawyers

We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.The bankruptcy services and benefits described on this page are with respect to bankruptcy relief under Title 11 of the United States Code.

Consumer bankruptcy lawyers in Sarasota help you take back control

Job loss, reduced income, medical bills and divorce leave many people overwhelmed by debt and unsure how they will pay their bills. At Cole & Cole Law, P.A., our Sarasota consumer bankruptcy lawyers who also serve clients in Bradenton, Charlotte County and throughout the west coast of Florida bring the knowledge and skill they have acquired in nearly 70 years of combined experience to help you take control of your debt so you can take control of your life.

A compassionate approach to bankruptcy

Our attorneys understand the fear and confusion you may feel if you’ve fallen on hard times due to a lost job, medical bills, divorce or other issue and are having trouble making ends meet. You can trust us to research and explore the best approach for handling your debt, and to keep you informed of the ultimate impact of bankruptcy on your family, home and future credit. If, after reviewing your debts, income and expenses, we determine bankruptcy is the best fit for you, we will guide you through every step of the process so there are no surprises. Bankruptcy is a form of financial redemption and in fact takes great courage to face problems honestly and move forward to financial freedom.

Not all debt is treated alike; the types of debt you have affect which chapter fits and what a discharge covers.

You Have Options in Bankruptcy.

What is the automatic stay?

Filing a bankruptcy petition generally triggers an automatic stay that stops most collection activity against you, including most lawsuits, wage garnishments, repossessions and foreclosure sales. The stay is subject to exceptions — certain family-law and criminal matters continue, and a debtor whose recent prior cases were dismissed may receive only a limited stay or none — and a creditor may ask the court for relief from it. The stay gives you and your attorney time to address how your debts will be treated. This is normally done through a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy if you are an individual. Business and corporate bankruptcy options are discussed in the Chapter 11 section below.

Chapter 13 versus Chapter 7 Bankruptcy- which is right for you?

While a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy are used for different debt restructuring, they can provide the individual consumer with differing types of benefits. The benefits are unique to each filing and dependent on the different types of debt. Both options, when the process has been completed, provide the consumer with the opportunity for a fresh start and new lease on life. Choosing between which bankruptcy best suits your situation will depend on many different factors such as income, assets, and classification of debts. As experienced bankruptcy attorneys, we can guide you through this process so you can receive an outcome that is best for you and your family or business.

Chapter 7 Bankruptcy: A Brief Description

A Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is the elimination of most or all of your unsecured debt. Unsecured debt is debt that is not secured, or attached, to any of your property. The most common examples of unsecured debt that will eliminated in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy are credit cards, medical bills, payday loans, utility bills, and personal signature loans. Those types of debt are typically discharged when a Chapter 7 case is completed, although a discharge does not remove valid liens on property. In contrast, in a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, you must usually pay back a percentage of your unsecured debts. Some debts receive special treatment: domestic support obligations are not discharged, most student loans are discharged only on a showing of undue hardship, and certain taxes and debts arising from fraud or intentional wrongs may survive. The principal benefit of Chapter 7 is the discharge of most unsecured debt.

Another benefit of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is that you can obtain relief from your debts in a shorter period of time. In a case with no assets for the trustee to administer, the discharge is commonly entered a few months after filing; cases with assets to administer take longer to close, although the discharge may still be entered earlier. Eligibility for Chapter 7 is affected by the means test, which applies to individuals whose debts are primarily consumer debts and compares household income to the Florida median, with further analysis for above-median filers. Online calculators often miss the inputs and exceptions that matter, so we run the analysis with your actual figures.

A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

The primary benefit of a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy filing is that if you are behind in payments on secured debts such as mortgages and auto loans, you can reorganize your past due debt and pay it over time and according to a Chapter 13 plan. There are limitations to this and it will depend on your income as to whether you qualify. Only an experienced bankruptcy lawyer will be able to tell you if you qualify for this type of bankruptcy, or whether this type of bankruptcy is right for you. A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy allows the debtor to stay collection action by both secured and unsecured creditors by creating a repayment plan. The duration of the bankruptcy repayment plans range from 36 to 60 months to pay creditors, some percentage or all of the debt owed at the time you file your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.

The bankruptcy plan allows the debtor to spread out payments to get caught up on the debts over time rather than having to pay the arrears in a lump sum. Along with the principal benefit of stopping a home foreclosure or the repossession of other types of secured collateral, like a car, a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy can also help eliminate most of your unsecured debt by only paying a percentage so you can concentrate on those more important secured debts. If you complete a Chapter 13 plan, most remaining unsecured debt is discharged and the arrears on secured loans paid through the plan are cured. Long-term obligations such as a home mortgage continue after the plan, priority tax debts are paid through the plan, and some other debts are not discharged.

Another benefit of Chapter 13 is that a debtor can keep property that is not exempt. Chapter 7 protects property through exemptions — in Florida, chiefly the constitutional homestead exemption and the state statutory exemptions — but property beyond those exemptions can be administered by the trustee. In Chapter 13 the debtor keeps that property, and in exchange the plan must generally pay unsecured creditors at least what they would have received in a Chapter 7 liquidation.

Which is Right for You Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?

While the end results of each type of Bankruptcy are similar, some of the benefits from each type of Bankruptcy can be very different. In order to determine which type of Bankruptcy you should file or which type of bankruptcy best suits your needs and long term goals, you need to seek advice from Cole & Cole Law, P.A., bankruptcy lawyers serving Sarasota, Bradenton and Charlotte County, Florida.

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

In contrast to Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies, most individuals think of such companies as General Motors or Continental Airlines when they think of Chapter 11s. However, Chapter 11 is a bankruptcy that can be utilized by high net worth individuals or all sizes of companies to control and re-organize their debt. An individual whose income raises a presumption of abuse under the Chapter 7 means test, or whose debts exceed the Chapter 13 limits, may find that Chapter 11 is the appropriate chapter. There are no limitations on the amount of debt or the amount of income an individual can have in a Chapter 11 case. These cases, while certainly complex compared to a Chapter 13 or Chapter 7, can result in a high net/high indebtedness individual successfully reorganizing their affairs so as to protect the assets they wish to retain and at the same time eliminate those assets and debts that are too burdensome to continue to hold. Debts are treated under a plan that the court must confirm. If an unsecured creditor objects to an individual’s plan, the plan generally must either pay that creditor in full or distribute property worth at least the debtor’s projected disposable income over five years from the first plan payment (or the plan term, if longer); other confirmation requirements apply as well, and Subchapter V cases follow their own rules. Unsecured creditors are often paid a percentage of their claims.

Physicians, lawyers, dentists and other professionals and business owners sometimes use Chapter 11 to reorganize significant debt while keeping a practice or business; whether it is the right choice depends on the person’s debts, income, property and objectives, and it is not a step to take without careful analysis. These cases are generally more expensive than Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, and the overriding cost of such a bankruptcy must be taken into account in the determination of its feasibility. If you have questions concerning this form of bankruptcy, please feel free to contact the office to arrange for an initial consultation or send an inquiry online, while not creating an attorney-client relationship, we will try to respond and also encourage you to book an initial consultation to ensure that you understand this type of bankruptcy and so you know someone is concerned for your plight. You deserve a fresh start. Contact us today.

Foreclosure defense in Sarasota and Bradenton

Bankruptcy is only one of several tools for saving a home. Florida is a judicial foreclosure state, which means your lender cannot take your home without filing a lawsuit and obtaining a judgment from a circuit court judge. You generally have 20 days from the date you are served to file a written response, and missing that deadline can forfeit defenses and options.

Because we handle both practice areas, foreclosure defense and bankruptcy strategy are evaluated together rather than in isolation. Options we explore include:

• Requiring the foreclosing party to prove that it is entitled to enforce the note and mortgage and that it complied with the notice and cure provisions of the mortgage
• Loan modification and negotiated re-amortization of the mortgage
• Forbearance after a hurricane, a medical event or a job loss
• Reinstatement and payoff, including an audit for improper fees and charges
• Short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure with a written release of deficiency liability
• Chapter 13 to stop a foreclosure sale and cure mortgage arrears over three to five years
• Defending deficiency judgment claims brought after a foreclosure sale

Read more about our Sarasota and Bradenton foreclosure defense practice

If you are considering bankruptcy, it is not the end of the world. At Cole & Cole Law, P.A., we have the experience necessary to analyze your particular situation and help you form the best plan possible to alleviate your financial distress. Call our Sarasota, Florida, offices today at (941) 365-4055 or contact us online to speak with a Bradenton consumer bankruptcy lawyer for a free bankruptcy evaluation. An online inquiry does not create an attorney-client relationship. Our office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.