Greetings!
We believe that everyone deserves a fresh start. There are legal solutions available that can help you achieve that fresh start. Through this monthly newsletter, it is our goal to offer you information, as well as solutions, garnered over 35 years of combined legal experience practicing bankruptcy law. We understand the seriousness of choosing to file bankruptcy, and we want to give you power through knowledge to help you make that decision. Please contact us for a no-cost consultation.
 We wish you and yours peace this Holiday season, and joy throughout the year. Sincerely,
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Social Media and Your Personal Bankruptcy Case
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Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and others are becoming one of the primary ways people communicate with each other. Many times individuals are so comfortable sharing information using social media that they post details about their life that they shouldn't. This is especially true for debtors in bankruptcy cases. A few ways your posts could cause problems in your Chapter 7, Chapter 11, or Chapter 13 bankruptcy include:
- Pictures of assets you failed to disclose. When you file for bankruptcy protection, you must disclose all of your assets. If you post a picture of a vehicle, boat, a piece of jewelry, or other asset that you failed to list on your bankruptcy schedules, there could be serious consequences. The easiest way to avoid this is to take your bankruptcy attorney's advice and disclose every asset that you own. If you inadvertently omitted an asset, your bankruptcy schedules can be amended to disclose the omitted asset, but there can be consequences if the disclosure is made after the trustee or a creditor already is made aware of the non-disclosure.
- Posts regarding your extra income. A debtor is also required to disclose all sources of income in a bankruptcy case. Thus, if you write a post advertising your side job as a painter, jewelry salesperson, beautician, or other type of work that earns you extra income, you can get into trouble if you did not list it on your bankruptcy schedules.
- Bragging about purchases. The bankruptcy court expects a debtor to maintain a budget while the case is pending. A debtor is not allowed to make extravagant purchases while not paying creditors in full. As a result, any posts about a shopping trip or vacation you went on will draw objections from the trustee.
- Loans to family. All creditors in the same class of debt must be treated similarly in your bankruptcy case. In other words, you are not allowed to "prefer" one creditor over others, including family members. Thus, if your sister celebrates in a post online that you finally paid her back, your other creditors who have not been paid will not be happy.
- Posts by friends. It is important to remember that your friends' posts can also get you into trouble. Any pictures or posts by your friends that are made available to the public can result in your creditors or the trustee being concerned about your financial disclosures.
It is probably true that most creditors and trustees do not spend hours online trying to catch you in failing to make proper disclosures, but it is much better to be safe than sorry. The most important thing to remember is that you must be honest in your bankruptcy filing. Make full financial disclosures to the court and you will stay out of trouble. Just remember, if somebody is trying to raise issues in your case, social media websites can be a great place to search for something to use against you! So, be honest and think before you post anything!
If you are considering filing a bankruptcy case, contact Leiderman Shelomith, P.A.for help and guidance you can trust.
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Learn More About Ashley Prager Popowitz
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Ashley is not only a talented attorney, but she is also a talented athlete. In high school, Ashley was a NYC All Star and Long Island Division basketball player.
Ashley and her husband just purchased their first home in May 2013, and are enjoying home ownership.
Recently, an article that Ashley co-wrote on lien stripping in Chapter 7 cases was cited as an authority in a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari filed in the Supreme Court of the United States by Bank of America, N.A. in a case entitled Bank of America, N.A. v. David Lamar Sinkfield. To see the Petition in PDF form, please click here.
Ashley would like to offer this legal tip: "Don't transfer assets out of your name before filing bankruptcy. Doing so for the purpose of protecting that asset is illegal. Just because you have an asset you want to protect does not mean you can give it away. I can discuss how to legally protect an asset that might otherwise be at risk."
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He Put a Ring On It! Social Media, a Rock & Bankruptcy.
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 A single woman came to see us for an initial bankruptcy consultation. She earned under the median income in Florida for a household of her size, and she had credit card debt of over $40,000.00, along with a car loan of over $15,000.00. The car was worth less than the amount of the loan, and the client was interested in maintaining her car payments and keeping the vehicle. She did not own any real property. Her income was simply not sufficient to pay the minimum payments due on her credit cards. Since she did not own a home, we were able to claim a personal property exemption totaling $5,000.00 for her personal property (the combined "wildcard" exemptions). During the preparation of her bankruptcy schedules, we realized by using social media that the client got engaged. Pictures of her beautiful ring were posted on Facebook. However, the client did not notify us that she just came into ownership of a significant piece of jewelry that would need to be disclosed in her bankruptcy schedules. We congratulated the client on her engagement and then informed her that she would need to disclose her engagement ring in her bankruptcy schedules. As it turned out, given the value of the engagement ring and the client's other assets, she did not have to turn over the ring to the Chapter 7 trustee, and she did not have to repurchase the ring or any other assets from the trustee. However, if it were not for the use of social media, we may not have known that the client came into ownership of an engagement ring. If it was never disclosed, and if the Chapter 7 trustee used social media (or other ways) to find out, the client could have lost her bankruptcy discharge and possibly faced prosecution for the omission of a significant asset. If you, or someone you know, are considering bankruptcy, make sure that you realize the importance of disclosing all of your assets, and that social media can significantly impact your bankruptcy. Please contact our office for a no-cost consultation. |
About Leiderman Shelomith, P.A.
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Leiderman Shelomith, P.A. was founded by Jonathan Leiderman and Zach Shelomith in 2003. The firm quickly built an excellent reputation across South Florida as a boutique bankruptcy law firm, handling both personal and corporate bankruptcy matters, including Chapter 7, Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases, as well as state court Assignments for the Benefit of Creditors. Ashley Prager Popowitz joined the firm as an associate attorney in 2009.
The firm's attorneys have been recognized as a South Florida Legal Guide Up and Comer, as a Super Lawyer Rising Star for the State of Florida, and as a Florida Legal Elite Up and Comer. Our attorneys are members of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, the American Bankruptcy Institute and the Bankruptcy Bar Association for the Southern District of Florida, among other organizations. The firm's attorneys are also frequent lecturers at seminars and community programs, speaking about bankruptcy law to attorneys and the general public.
The firm, Mr. Leiderman, and Mr. Shelomith, are AV® Preeminent Rated Attorney's, awarded by LexisNexis® Martindale-Hubbell®, for having obtained the highest possible peer-review rating for their ethical standards and legal ability.
The firm represents debtors, creditors and bankruptcy trustees in all aspects of bankruptcy cases, including litigation and appeals, handling both liquidations and reorganizations. Our office is conveniently located in suburban Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and is easily accessible from anywhere in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties. We handle bankruptcy debtor cases across the Southern District of Florida, particularly in Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Monroe Counties, and other bankruptcy cases throughout the entire State of Florida.
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