For the past 21+ years we've helped people find relief from debt and a fresh start through bankruptcy.  With many of our friends, family and clients suffering loss of income thanks to the COVID-19 crisis here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Despite the nationwide crisis, there has been no government order (as of April 3rd) suspending mortgage, car or credit card payments in South Florida.
• Creditors are continuing to pursue debtors through phone calls, letters and lawsuits.

If you would like to learn more about your debt relief options including debt settlement, foreclosure defense and bankruptcy, we are available.  We are available via phone 305-663-3281 and can do in google chat, facetime, whatsapp, etc.  or in person appointments in one of our four offices.  

Hablamos Espanol.  Stay safe.

One of our clients left a big impression.  He had an average, middle management  job with a house, a wife and an 8 year old son. In the space of a little more than a year, he lost his job and his wife divorced him.  He found a new job that paid about 31k a year, but was now forced to rent an apartment and he was unable to do anything except about $300 in minimal payments to the $9,000 he owed in credit cards.  He decided to do a chapter 7 bankruptcy with us, because those $300 a month were the difference between a tiny studio apartment and just staring at TV with his son and a one bedroom apartment and being able to occasionally take his son out to a Marlins game or Zoo Miami.  

Each person or family is different in their financial circumstances.  For some, the loss of a job or loss of a 2-person household income has left them stranded in dire financial straits, forcing them to overextend their credit just to keep their head about water.  

Bankruptcy, while certainly not an easy process, if often the best option for individuals and families who face job loss, divorce or other significant, game-changing circumstances.  It provides relief from creditors and can help get your family back on its feet a lot faster than other options.  To be sure which choice is right for you, consult a qualified bankruptcy attorney.

 If you come see us, we'll explain bk, the alternatvies, the good, the bad about each option so you can make an educated decision.  Call 305-663-3281 to set your appointment in our Kendall, Doral, North Miami or Ft Lauderdale office.  17 years exp, 7 people, straight talk.

Hi its Memorial Day Weekend- the rest of the country is doing their barbeques and pool parties.  However in our main Kendall office I can see the baby ducks in the back paddling (not walking) in our parking lot.  At home, my wife is scared to go in the back yard because of all the frogs and the roads up to our Ft Lauderdale office are a mess. 

However, it’s important to remember, no matter how wet it may be, at least it’s not a hurricane.  Many of our fellow South Floridians received phone calls right after the hurricane from their mortgage companies asking if the home had sustained damage.  If so, the bank was offering to DEFER up to three months of the mortgage payments.  DEFER means that they would not charge you late fees for three months.  That does not mean forgive, or modify, or stick on the back end.  It’s not 2012, NACA and HAMP are no more and there is a new president. So if you had a $2000 mortgage and you missed Oct, Nov and Dec that meant that on Jan 1 the bank expected you to pay them $8,000.  Not so easy if your work was negatively affected.  After a few more months and a failed loan mod later (NOTE- if you already got a loan mod in 2013 for 2or 3% with NACA, you are almost assuredly not getting the same deal again) clients are in foreclosure and are 18 or 24 thousand dollars in debt... Not to mention credit card debt caused by the house repairs, late car payments, house damage and more.  Fortunately, we can help.  Using the tools available to us in bankruptcy we can wipe out the unsecured debt while resolving the mortgage issues through either an arrears cure or a loan modification inside the bankruptcy.

There might be other ways of resolving your issues that don’t involve bankruptcy, but the internet isn’t going to give you the answers.  Call us 305-663-3281 to set up an appointment in our Kendall, Doral, N Miami or Ft Lauderdale offices.  Miller and Funcia 17 years’ experience, 7 people, straight talk.  305-663-3281.

Does your attorney work on your case at 1:15am?  We do.

Ok, today’s post is 20% apology 80% a little bragging.  The apology is we’re sorry if the person you are looking for is out today. Half of our staff was working until 1:15am last night working to save a client’s house.   We didn’t even meet them until 4pm yesterday. In a previous post we talked about how we could stop the imminent sale of your house by filing chapter 13.  But 4pm the day before is a little much, even for us.  Nothing is guaranteed.  But the nice part of being in a smaller sized law firm is that when clients need help, we are flexible and all pitch in.

The client had done a previous bankruptcy with another law firm and had fallen behind on their payments and thus had his case dismissed. Without a bankruptcy in place, his house was scheduled to be sold this morning at 9am. Desperate, he called us and asked if we could help. Although we have an office in Ft Lauderdale, no one could stay late so we asked that he come down to our main office in Kendall.   Atty Josh Miller worked on the emergency motion in state court while Atty Jose Funcia worked on the motion required for bankruptcy court.  Meanwhile lead paralegal Tabitha Gonzalez worked on the emergency bankruptcy petition.  While Atty Miller was able to return to his newborn daughter around 10, Jose and Tabitha walked out of the office after 1am with all the necessary emergency motions filed.  RESULTS WERE NOT GUARANTEED, but an early morning emergency hearing today resulted in the sale being cancelled. The client works with cancer patients so we really wanted to help.

Please, please, please do not wait until the last minute to contact us if you are having problems with your debts whether they are car, credit cards or mortgages.  It’s much easier (and probably less expensive) to come see us before things get too far.  But if you are out of options, before you give up, give us a call.  17 years’ experience, straight talk.  Bankruptcy Law Clinic, Miller and Funcia PA.  305-663-3281

Bankruptcy is one of those curious things that many people think they are familiar with simply because it’s mentioned so often. You hear about bankruptcy on the news, in films and TV shows – just about everywhere. It’s mentioned so often, that people believe they know how it works when they really don’t. If they find themselves in difficult financial circumstances they often think about bankruptcy – but have no idea how to go about choosing an attorney to advise them. Here are a few things that you should ask about when choosing a bankruptcy attorney. PRINT THIS OUT AND TAKE IT WITH YOU WHEN YOU VISIT a Bankruptcy Attorney.

Expertise
Any attorney, technically, can help you with filing for bankruptcy – but you want one that focuses on bankruptcies. Ask for their bona fides and avoid anyone who advertises in a wide range of fields.
Make certain that they’re familiar with the bankruptcy code revision of 2005 with some questions. If they can’t answer immediately and coherently, they aren’t the right choice.  (Bankruptcy is the only type of law we do and we've been doing it for over ten years btw)

Focus
To avoid getting caught in the gears of a “bankruptcy mill” that handles a high volume of cases for low fees and with low attention and effectiveness.  Your financial issues are unique and you shouldn't accept anyone who treats your situation the same as all the others.

The Feel
Finally, only you can decide if you get the right “feeling” from an attorney – but don’t ignore that gut instinct. It feels unscientific, but if you’re not comfortable with your attorney it won’t work out as planned. Remember the initial consultation is as much for you to judge the attorney and decide if you want to work with them as it is for them to judge you.

The Fee
It’s not only polite to ask about the fee you’ll be paying for your bankruptcy filing, it’s essential. After all, if you are broke, finding the money to pay a bankruptcy law firm is a natural concern. However, no good bankruptcy law firm is going to be able to give you a price over the phone. If a firm does, they are basically telling you that a 21 year old kid with 10k in debt is going to get the same attention and effort as a 52 year old business woman with three businesses and a warehouse. However, once you sit in front of the law firm, you should expect a written price quote and an understanding of what is covered (and yes, we offer payment plans)

Choosing the wrong bankruptcy lawyer can put you in a deeper hole. Take your time, and consider carefully.  To schedule your free consultation call 305-663-3281

When people call us to get information about bankruptcy, they are nervous.  Nervous that the creditors will call their work, nervous that they’ll lose their car or home, nervous about how their bankruptcy will affect their relationships.  Some of the married people who call us have already discussed it with their spouse.  Some are afraid of telling their spouse out of fear or embarrassment and some may be considering bankruptcy because of a recent separation or divorce.  At some point the question will come up.  How will my bankruptcy affect my spouse?

Well, while we are no marriage counselors, lots of couples fight about money.  When you file a bankruptcy, the creditors’ phone calls stop and you can focus on what’s truly important: family, work, and faith.  Imagine not having to deal with creditor phone calls while you are with your loved ones!  Of course there are some more practical considerations as well.  As Jacksonville bankruptcy attorney Chip Parker notes your bankruptcy should not affect your spouse’s credit unless you have joint debts together.  Sometimes spouses aren’t sure if they have debt together.  We can help figure that out as there is a difference between being an authorized user on a debt versus a cosigner.  Occasionally, if there is a debt that both filing and non-filing spouse cosigned on  (say a car or house) and is paying on time, a vigilant eye is needed in case the debt is notes as “in bankruptcy” even if it is current and being paid on time.

When people call we strongly encourage them to bring their spouse or significant other to the initial free consultation.  You value their opinion and we want to make sure everyone involved in the decision gets a chance to ask their questions.  To make things easier, we offer weekend appointments as well.  The internet can’t answer your bankruptcy question, but a qualified bankruptcy law firm can.  Call us today at 305-663-3281.

 Some assets are obvious like the $10,000 in your bank account.  Others are less obvious like your gently used 2014 Toyota Camry that is worth 15k that you still owe 8k on.  Even less obvious are lawsuits that you may pursue, even if you haven't filed it yet.  If you are thinking about pursuing a lawsuit over a car accident, slip and fall, or employment discrimination, you musst tell your bankruptcy attorney (and bankruptcy court) about it from the start. 

Bankruptcy Attorney Brett Weiss in Maryland writes about a similar case for the Bankruptcy Law Network  where future Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch ruled that since the debtor did not disclose her discrimination suit to the bankruptcy trustee, she was not entitled to pursue it. 

If she had, she likely would have been able to continue with the lawsuit and keep the proceeds after sharing them with the bankruptcy court and creditors.

 Each situation is different.  To schedule your free consultation in one of our four Dade and Broward county offices, please call 305-663-3281.  Thanks!

“Ack, my house is being sold this Monday!”

We hear that a lot. As a matter of fact I heard that 4 times since yesterday morning. (Today Is Friday Jan 6th, 2017 – Happy New Year by the way.)

Sometimes it’s someone who has assumed that the sale was inevitable and therefore had done nothing, until a desperate internet search had led them to us.

Sometimes it’s someone who is bitterly disappointed with their bank.  The really nice lady on the line was working with them toward a loan mod, until they found out with days to spare that they weren’t going to get one.

Sometimes it’s someone who was counting on their realtor or foreclosure defense atty to cancel the sale date one more time, but the judge denied the motion (sometimes this happens even if the bank AGREES to the motion- the judge may be looking to clear the calendar).

Whatever the reason, eventually they get to us on the phone.  And no.  It’s usually not too late.

9600 NW 25th Street Ste 2E

Doral FL 33172

We can see you 6 days a week including Saturday for your free, initial consultation.  Till then...

This morning there is some extra coffee being consumed, but both those clients now have stopped the sale of their property and we will work to save their homes using the wide reaching powers of the bankruptcy statutes.

 Meanwhile, another bankruptcy client just received their discharge (that's the point where your debts are officially eliminated). They stopped by the Kendall office today with some thank you goodies...

COSTCO Muffins! 

 And:

 Costco Black Forest Cake.

Thank you TM! Assuming there's any left by end of day, we'll share with the other offices.

If you are having debt issues, call our offices for a frank and productive conversation to get your questions answered.  305-663-3281.