Picking up the phone to call a Bankruptcy Attorney is painstakingly difficult for most people. When People come to my office for a free consultation, they sit down and say, “I can’t believe I am sitting here!”

There are a wide range of reasons people come to see me for a free consultation. Typically how-ever they fall into one of two camps:
One camp tells me: “I am up to date on everything right now, I just want to know my options, and I want to be Proactive.”

The other camp tells me: “I should have been sitting here 2 years ago.”
For several years during hurricane season, the housing crisis and the recession, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida was the Second busiest Bankruptcy Court of the 90 federal districts, in the nation. Now it is the third busiest.
Demographically, the Middle District of Florida contains thirty-five of Florida’s sixty-seven counties including several of Florida’s largest metropolitan areas (Tampa Bay, Orlando, Jacksonville, Ocala, Daytona and Fort Myers).

Knowing when to fish or cut bait is difficult. We are raised to do the right thing and pay our bills. Many people liquidate their life savings, pensions, retirement accounts, children’s savings bonds and savings accounts. Parents and Grandparents often co-sign loans for college loans. We hope things will turn around and sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t.

Making the decision to get educated is liberating and scary at the same time. Knowledge is power. Power is control. The more folks know and understand, the better off they will be. Timing and strategy is critical when trying to noodle through this difficult economy.

Knowing the consequences of a foreclosure, short sale, Judgment, summons, not paying a credit card or medical bill is critical. Others want to know what to do when their ex-spouse files a Bankruptcy and how will it affect them. I receive a lot of calls from adult children and they tell me their Mother or Father can no longer afford their medicine or rent and what options are avail-able to them? More and more folks come into my office with a deficiency judgment on a short sale and they tell me the people at the real estate closing assured them they would not be responsible for the shortfall. All these issues can be confusing, cause anxiety, depression and harmful stress.

Get professional advice before making changes. It’s critical.