"I have worked with Lisa and her staff on two occasions when I needed financial help and received comprehensive, caring, through representation, almost like/family, I cannot say enough about them!!!! My life is so much better thanks to The McCue law firm."
We are frequently contacted by desperate homeowners who are struggling to save their homes from a pending foreclosure sale. They may or may not have defended the foreclosure. Quite often, a sale date has already been set by the court by the time they call us. At this point, they wonder, is there anything they […]
With the holidays upon us, I thought I’d write a blog entry that related to this time of the year. Many people seem to get in over their heads with debt during this season. What are the implications of this? Is it feasible to “have your cake and eat it, too,” by charging up a […]
The Good Florida’s homestead exemption is the most generous one I’ve ever encountered. While most states allow you to protect only a portion of equity, Florida law does not limit the equity to be protected. Federal bankruptcy exemptions, for example, only allow you to protect $22,975.00 of equity in your home. Florida has opted out […]
Small businesses fail every single day in America. By some estimates, 95% of small businesses don’t make it five years. The statistics are sobering. Often, the owners are left with more debt than income from the business, leaving them with no rational choice but to shut down. So how do you know when to throw […]
When you should seriously consider an alternative to filing In Part 1 of this article, I offered some compelling rationale for filing bankruptcy – even for those who are current with all their debt payments. Here, in Part 2, I will do the opposite: argue against filing bankruptcy. Why would I do that? Because bankruptcy […]
When you should seriously consider filing Bankruptcy may seem to some like an answer to prayers and a solution for all financial woes, but like anything else, it’s not for everyone. During my consultations with prospective clients, it’s not uncommon for me to recommend against filing. In contrast, there are times I recommend bankruptcy even […]
Remember Joe and Teresa Giudice, the “Real Housewives” stars convicted of bankruptcy fraud last March? Teresa is currently serving a 15-month sentence in federal prison; Joe is set to serve 41 months after Teresa is released. At the time that this news broke, I wondered how anyone could be so foolish to attempt to defraud […]
Florida has more condo associations and homeowner associations (“HOA’s”) than almost any other state. So the question of what happens with HOA assessments in bankruptcy comes up often in our practice. Can past due assessments be discharged? What about post-petition assessments? The answers are a bit complicated and depend on whether you’re keeping the property, […]
Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of potential new clients who are burdened with six-figure tax debts. Naturally they want to know if they can discharge this debt in bankruptcy. Until I discover more information, I always respond with, “maybe.” Then I perform the following analysis to determine whether or not the taxes are dischargeable: […]
The first two parts of this series explored a number of reasons to consider filing Chapter 13 instead of Chapter 7. Here are a few more to ponder: Getting straight with the IRS Some taxes are non-dischargeable in bankruptcy. So instead of the fresh start they had hoped for post-bankruptcy, Chapter 7 debtors are often […]