Preparation is the key for success when filing bankruptcy in Florida. The best bankruptcy cases go unnoticed as debtors glide through the system without attracting attention to receive a full discharges in record time. Luck is not involved. Planning began months before filing.
The most successful filers know something that you don’t. Small lifestyle changes may alter means test income and expenses before filing. Well-planned strategic changes will have a dramatic effect on the results of the means test. With a few weeks or months to plan, creating $300 improvement on the bankruptcy means test calculation will save $18,000 in wasted Chapter 13 payments. Just as easily, many people avoid Chapter 13 altogether and may file Chapter 7 when understanding the test procedure. Timing is critical.
2010 Bankruptcy Strategies and the Means Test Explained
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Recent Notable Opinions of the Supreme Court of The United States:
Archer v. Warner, Docket Number: 01-1418 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI, Argued January 13, 2003, Decided March 31, 2003. Leonard and Arlene Warner sold the Warner Manufacturing Company to Elliott and Carol Archer. Later, the Archers sued the Warners for fraud related to the sale. This suit was settled. According to the settlement agreement, the Archers released the Warners of all liability except for a $100,000 promissory note. After the suit was voluntarily dismissed, the Warners defaulted on the first payment due on the note. The Archers then sued the Warners for collection in state court, and in turn, the Warners filed Chapter 7. The Archers objected to the discharge of their note. The Code states a debt shall not be dischargeable to the extent it is for money obtained by false pretenses, a false representation, or actual fraud. This motion was denied and discharge of liability for payment of the note was granted. The District Court and Court of Appeals affirmed. Held: In a 7-2 opinion, the Court concluded the Archers' settlement agreement and release of liability may have worked a kind of novation, but that fact does not bar the Archers from showing that the settlement debt arose out of 'false pretences, a false representation, or actual fraud,' and consequently is nondischargeable. If a release of liability is obtained by fraud, the release within the agreement is voidable.
In re: Jorge R. Arispe, Case Number 01-42962-BKC-RAM, the Florida Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District held that a debtor who maintains residency in Florida, but who is not domiciled within Florida, is entitled to utilize the Federal Exemptions provided by 11 U.S.C. 522 in a Florida bankruptcy proceeding, despite the unavailability to residents who live within the state when filing Florida bankruptcy. Specifically, the debtor's lawyer revealed the debtor in this case was not domiciled within any state within U.S. borders during the 180 days before the petition was filed. Therefore, the provision of 11 U.S.C. 522(b)(2)(A) deference to state opt-out can not be initiated in a Florida bankruptcy proceeding. The operation and empowerment of the Florida bankruptcy opt-out statute used by the dentor's lawyer in this case, Fla.Stat. 220.20, is dependent upon authority conferred by 11 U.S.C. 522(b)(2)(A) which requires the debtor's domicile has been located for the 180 days immediately preceding the date of the filing of the petition, or for a longer portion of such 180-day period than in any other place.
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