Miami Lawyer Blog

Filing bankruptcy in Miami is a difficult process, and one of the scariest financial situations anyone will face. First, you need to find a Miami bankruptcy lawyer, next you will have to fill out 50 or more pages of paperwork, attending required credit counseling all while about losing property and dealing with the invasion of your financial privacy. But what happens after your bankruptcy is finalized and how do you move on with your life? You should have two main goals after bankruptcy. Rebuild your credit and rebuild your financial life to avoid being in a situation where you need to file bankruptcy again.

Saving money for rough times is difficult for most people. Your goal should be to have six months to a year worth of bill money saved. That is hard to do, and it is okay to start small. Do not get discouraged because you cannot afford to save much each week or get overwhelmed because you do not know where to start. Stop and take an honest look at your finances and determine out how much you can put away each week or each from each paycheck. Many banks will set up an automatic transfer from your checking to your savings account each month. You can set this up to happen after each check goes through, and before you spend it. Make a savings plan and stick with it! Do not stress if you can only save a few dollars each week, it will add up quicker than you think. Just do not tap into your savings unless you absolutely must.

Rebuilding your credit is an important step to rebuilding your life. And it is not as difficult as you might think. Most lenders will not want to lend you money right away, but keep in mind that you have gotten rid of debt, which opens up your income to make other payments. And you will be charged high interest rates at first because you are considered high risk. To rebuild your credit, you should apply for a small credit card and make sure you pay on time. Consider financing small purchases through stores like furniture or small appliances. To rebuild your credit as quickly as possible, make sure you make your payments on time!

Changing your financial life is not going to be easy. After you file, your bankruptcy and foreclosure attorney in Miami should have made sure you attended credit counseling which will help you make better financial decisions. While you probably cut back your spending already and started paying more attention to your finances, counseling can help you make better decisions. You might also consider after bankruptcy credit counseling. You need to safe guard you life against the issues that forced you into bankruptcy in the first place. Do you have insurance to protect your family from medical bills? Have you saved up for emergencies that could set you back? Make sure you do not end up in the same situation again.

If you are one of the lucky ones, the economy has yet to have you consider the prospect of Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Miami. If you have considered a chapter 13 bankruptcy in Miami, you are not much different than anyone else in Miami. Many of us have considered the idea of bankruptcy, particularly when you have so much debt that you feel as though you are drowning in it.

A chapter 13 bankruptcy in Miami involves the restructuring of your debt. This type of bankruptcy may allow you to keep your home and much of your assets as a chapter 13 bankruptcy will help you reorganize your debt into payments that are more affordable. The only problem with this type of bankruptcy is that your spending and finances will be thoroughly scrutinized by the court appointed liaison until you have finished repaying your debt.

When considering a chapter 13 bankruptcy in Miami, you may want to take a step back, decide if there is a way to liquidate some of your assets to repay your debt first as this will be more preferable to your credit report. Regardless, you should seek the advice of a chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney in Miami, long before you actually file for a chapter 13 bankruptcy.

A chapter 13 bankruptcy lawyer can advise you on any options you may have in order to avoid filing for bankruptcy and if you cannot avoid the bankruptcy, your Miami attorney can then help you prepare, file and follow through with your chapter 13 bankruptcy. Utilizing a chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney can assure that you are making the best possible decisions for your personal and financial future.

Do you own or operate a small or large business in Miami? Is so, you may have noticed a rash of businesses filing for a chapter 11 bankruptcy in Miami. Why? Probably because the economy is not at its best at the moment, unemployment is up, interest rates are up and people are just not spending the same amount of money they used too. Filing for a bankruptcy sounds like a scary prospect, but in truth, a chapter 11 bankruptcy is not as scary as it sounds.

A chapter 11 bankruptcy in Miami is filed when a business, small or large, reaches a point when the income to debt ratio is off balance. Paying your monthly bills becomes a chore and you as a business owner decided that there is no other alternative.

Chapter 11 is a lot like filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Miami. While a chapter 13 bankruptcy in Miami is for an individual person or family, chapter 11 is for businesses. It is a restructuring bankruptcy. It is the type of bankruptcy that will not eliminate your debt, but restructure business, your debt and your monthly bills so that the monthly payments are more affordable and at the same time allow you to keep your business open and running. Once you pay off the debt, you will be free and clear of debts. The only downside of this type of bankruptcy is that you will have someone oversee your expenses and you will basically be under a microscope with your business accounts to assure that you are able to pay your monthly payments.

There may be alternatives to filing a chapter 11 bankruptcy in Miami. You should talk to a chapter 11 bankruptcy attorney in Miami about your options BEFORE you file bankruptcy. A chapter 11 Bankruptcy lawyer can help you file bankruptcy, give you support and defense when needed during your bankruptcy and explain the ramifications of filing a chapter 11 bankruptcy in Miami. With a phone call you can obtain a free initial consultation to discuss your chapter 11 bankruptcy options.

If your company is having issues with financial problems or has been accused of employment discrimination you should not try to face these accusations alone. A single accusation of financial misdeeds or employment issues can sink a small company and cause severe financial distress for even a large company. Contact a commercial litigation lawyer in Miami if your company is facing legal issues. You should be focusing on the day to day needs of your business, not fighting in court. A commercial litigation lawyer in Miami knows Florida laws and can protect your interests. Consider this recent case regarding Border's attempts to restructure.

A bankruptcy judge stated that book seller Borders must make changes its mulit-million dollar bonus plan which is meant to keep high ranking executives as the firm tries to reorganize itself. However, the court hearing ended without reaching any set agreement. This could mean big trouble for Borders

Border's plan was recently changed so top executives would receive bonuses based only based upon how much money they manage to recover to pay off debts, either through restructuring on the sale of the company. The creditors, who are mostly book publishers, supported the new plan after opposing the original plan. The companies Borders is in debt to has agreed to the proposed plan under the condition that no executives get paid unless Borders manages to recover enough cash for creditors. If Borders cannot afford to pay off some of its debts, no managers or executives will get their bonuses.

The courts insists setting the bonuses was a premature move because Borders has only been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy for a couple of months and has yet to show how they will be able to repay their creditors. The bookseller has plans to meet with a trustee to in order to demonstrate how the new plan is in the best interest of everyone involved. Borders sought to pay over six million dollars to 15 different executives, and over one million dollars to 25 director managers who Border's insists are critical to the company's ability to move on from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and profit in the future. This revised plan will create a sliding scale of bonuses for the executives based upon how much money they are able to pay their debtors and provides none if the company is liquidated. The bonus plan must be figured out quickly because retail companies, in particular, must move quickly to restructure them selves and pay off their debts in order to avoid liquidation.

It would be very difficult to replace high ranking officials in charge of day-to-day operations in the middle of the reorganization process, Border's officials say. As Border's is fighting to stay in business and pay its employees at a fair rate, it is their commercial litigation lawyers who are doing the fighting. You know how to run your business, and a Commercial litigation lawyer in Miami knows how to keep you there. Do not face your legal issues alone, a Miami commercial litigation lawyer can help you.

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Borders must revamp bonuses, by Detroit News Staff and Wire, Aprl 15th 2011

Bankruptcy is not just affecting Miami citizens, but business owners as well. One such example is that of The Water Club in Miami Florida. The owners of the waterfront restaurant which offers an indoor and outdoor dining experience filed for bankruptcy back in February according to the Miami Hearld.

The restaurant opened just nine months before and was host to many celebrities and high class locals. The restaurant even employed two of the nation's hottest chefs, Andrea-Curto Randazzo and her husband Frank Randazzo. They were only there for a few months before they left. Everything went downhill from there.

Not long after the famous chef partnership left the restaurant, employees complained that their paychecks were bouncing and some cases refused to return to work until they were paid. Vendors also were not paid on time. Employees relay that they saw the restaurant going down months before the bankruptcy was actually filed.

The owners failed to pay rent in full, despite the fact that they were still collecting revenue. The landlord claims that the owners of the Miami based restaurant owe over three hundred thousand in rent. They also owe employees who were not paid for their last week's worth of work.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy is a great way to reorganize your debts and still keep your doors open for business, however if you fail to make the payments the courts may decide to rehabilitate your debts on their own terms. An experienced Miami bankruptcy attorney can help make the process quite a bit easier. In the case of The Water Club, it is a case of a "too little, too late". It is still unclear as to how the rest of this story will pan out, keep checking back to find out how this situation will close.

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NORTH MIAMI BREACH: SHUTTERED WATER CLUB OWES MONEY, SAY WORKERS. BY NADEGE CHARLES MARCH 3RD, 2011

Coral Gables dentist Dr. Rene Piedra likely left patients he was accused of overcharging for dental work high and dry by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Several of Piedra's patients are claimed he allowed them to open a line of credit through his practice but then over charged them by thousands of dollars for dental work and then refusing to issue refunds. Piedra claimed he intends to issue refunds, but merely needs time to figure out which patients are owed and how much. Instead of answering questions from local new networks about how long it will take him to figure it out, he deferred to his bankruptcy lawyer. His lawyer states that the patients who are owed money will be repaid during the restructuring process. With his recent filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the chance that those patients will receive a full refund is unlikely. It is far more likely that Piedra managed to avoid giving full refunds by filing for Chapter 11. Is it really so easy for a company to scam people they are supposed to help and then just file for bankruptcy and avoid paying? Most people use bankruptcy as a way to get out of a financial crisis, but there are always people who will try to take advantage of the situation. Wondering how that is possible?

Chapter 11 bankruptcy is a restructuring bankruptcy, not a liquidation bankruptcy. In liquidation, a business's assets would be sold and the profits used to pay of creditors. If the dentist does not have a large amount of debt, the patients may have gotten all their money back.. However, in restructuring bankruptcy the business will stay open and pay off some of the debt over a longer period of time and some of the debt will be discharged. The payment plans in Chapter 11 can be as long as five years, which means his patients will likely not get back all of their money and have to wait years. Fortunately, a court has to approve the filing. If Piedra is not overwhelmed with debt and does have the money to issue full refunds, the courts can reject his appeal and he could be forced to pay the amounts back in full. Depending on the business classification of his practice, Piedra could avoid having to sell his expensive car to repay his patients.

Luckily, there are several safe guards within the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process to keep businesses and individuals from taking advantage of the process. During the Chapter 11 process, businesses are forced to restructure they way they run to become more profitable. They may be forced to sell off unprofitable parts of the company and large companies might be forced to close unsuccessful branches or stop providing services that have a low profit margin. Besides the restructuring process, creditors do not have to agree to Chapter 11, and the courts can also reject the proposal. So, there are a few different ways to keep businesses from scamming people and then avoiding payment.

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Dentist In Local 10 Investigation Files For Bankruptcy, June 30th 2008