One of my asset protection client introduced me to an attorney in Tampa, named Mike, who has a very large and successful practice defending mortgage foreclosures and negotiating mortgage modification. I spoke with Mike and asked him about his client’s experiences during court-ordered mediation with their mortgage lender during foreclosure litigation. Mike said that mediation in state court proceedings is usually a waste of time for his clients
March 6, 2010
/** */February 28, 2010
Attorney Uses Experience As Government’s Lending Enforcer To Effectively Defend Bank Collection Lawsuits
/** * */Mortgage foreclosure defense has become a good business for attorneys. Many real estate attorneys who made money on real estate closing and putting together large real estate investment deals have found that most of their business in the past few years has come from clients wanting to defend against bank foreclosures and suits on personal guarantees of commercial loans
February 24, 2010
Five Reasons To Switch To A Credit Union Credit Card
/** * */Interest rate limit is a unique consumer protection.
February 17, 2010
Creditors’ Attorney Discusses Collection Tactics: What Works And What Doesn’t Work
/** * */Effective asset protection planning requires anticipation of what creditors’ attorneys may and will do to collect their judgments.
February 8, 2010
Short Sale Or Foreclosure: Suffering Legal Liability To Help Your Credit Score
/** * */The Orlando Sentinel ran a front page article in this Sunday’s paper about short sales and foreclosures.
February 5, 2010
Sometimes The "Low-Risk Spouse" Gets Sued: Why Effective Asset Protection Is For The Whole Family
/** * */Often, a high-risk professional will title all assets in the name of their non-professional spouse as an asset protection plan. The professional thinks they are a lawsuit target, but in the event they are sued, they could tell their adversary that they “have nothing in my name.” It’s a simple plan, but it sometimes backfires
February 2, 2010
Are Servers’ Tips Protected Under Florida’s Earnings Exemption Statute?
/** * */Florida debtors who are head of household can exempt from creditor garnishment unlimited earnings. Questions frequently arise concerning what types of compensation are included in the statute’s definition of “earnings.” For example, commissions earned by an independent contractor are not exempt under the Florida statute. Florida courts have held that wage garnishment protection applies to regular compensation dictated by the terms of an arms’s length employment agreement to perform services that are in the nature of a job
January 28, 2010
Can Police Search Your Cell Phone without a Warrant?
/** * */Modern cell phones do a great deal more than simply send and receive calls. They’re sophisticated personal computers with the same capabilities, and more, of a laptop PC. You can use them to send and receive e-mail and instant messages, browse the Internet, keep track of your appointments, take photos and videos, etc. If you think that any of this information is “private” in the sense that it’s legally protected, think again. In most cases, it’s not, especially if you’re arrested. If you’re not under arrest, it’s fairly clear that police have no right to search your cell phone without your consent. At U.S. border crossings, though, customs authorities have carte blanche to copy all data on your cell phone, your laptop, etc. ( Click here for details.) Nearly all state and federal courts that have considered this question have ruled that data on your cell phone has “no expectation of privacy.” Their decisions have derived mainly from two Supreme Court rulings decided many years before cell phones were invented.
January 21, 2010
Can Creditor Garnish Debtor’s Exempt Florida Bank Account At Bank Branch Located In Another State?
/** * */Questions from other attorneys are usually the most interesting; here’s an example. A Florida attorney called me about one of his clients who was concerned about a bank garnishment. The client and his wife had a permanent residence in Florida.
