Florida has well over 300,000 foreclosure cases backlogged, and the State is expecting up to nearly 400,000 more by 2016.  Not all of those homeowners will have an alternative resolution, but it could be to the homeowners’ credit to research the options with competent legal counsel.

Foreclosure typically lasts more than nine months and can be fraught with more Braxton Hicks worries than true labor.  From the inception of loan default to foreclosure eviction, a defense attorney should be able to offer an intimate guide to the process and stages of foreclosure so you know what to expect and what choices are available.

Remember to breathe.

Therapeutic Divorce offers unhappy couples greater involvement in the negotiations (instead of leaving it up to a Judge to decide) and keeps the proceedings out of public record.  Therapeutic Divorce is an alternative to the traditional courtroom drama.  Done through mediation, it gives both sides greater opportunity to mold the agreement.

You can have a court battle if you want to, but if you are ready to sit down and take the necessary steps to complete the procedure, then it can be done without dragging out legal billing.  When the love is gone, it is only math.

Divorce is not just for the wicked.  Therapeutic Divorce allows both sides to continue doing what they are good at—whether it is being a good parent, a good employee, etc.—while they work out the details of a difficult situation.

Foreclosure Defense also asks the plaintiff to check his work.  Does he have the authority to foreclose?  Does he have the numbers right?  Would he accept a different deal, like a short sale?

Before you choose ‘B’ for ‘Bankruptcy,’ examine the other choices carefully and preferably with good legal counsel looking over your shoulder.  While no single answer is right for every homeowner, bankruptcy can be wrong for a lot of people.  Do not be one of them.

Bankruptcy is the only answer in some situations, but consider the other options before you put your pencil down.

Prevention is the best policy.  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) offers nine prevention methods, including:

1. Protect your Social Security number

2. Trash your trash and mail carefully

3. Be on guard when on the Internet

4. Use intricate passwords

5. Verify sources before sharing information

6. Safeguard your purse and wallet

7. Store information in secure locations

8. Credit freeze

9. Identity theft insurance

(For details on each of these, visit the FTC website at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/deter.html.)

If it is too late for prevention, the FTC suggests these four defensive measures:

1. Place a fraud alert on your credit reports, and review your credit reports.

2. Close the accounts that you know, or believe, have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.

3. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.

4. File a report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place.

(To learn more, visit http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/defend.html.)

Either way, be vigilant and monitor your personal information; check your bank statements and credit card bills.

Yes, things can go badly for the homeowner.  Just because the foreclosure case goes according to Hoyle and the court procedure—the homeowner can be properly served, properly heard, properly defended and still lose the house.  Just because you say “please” does not necessarily mean you get your way.

The homeowner has rights, however.  Even after the foreclosure sale at the courthouse steps, the homeowner owns the home until the Certificate of Title transfers that ownership to the buyer, which typically takes about ten days after the sale.  The homeowner is once again notified in person prior to the eviction.  This gives everybody a chance to get done what needs to get done, and at least get some pants on.

Shoddy message delivery is what made Romeo And Juliette a tragedy, and gutter service may not be the most effective Service of Process.  Everybody needs to be notified, and notified properly to avoid sheriff’s surprise.

Foreclosure solutions range from prevention to measures of last resort, with a variety of side-effects in-between, some of which could be more harmful to your credit than others.  If you are using a wooden stake to pin your paperwork to a mortgage modification, you may have to stab it more than once as financial institutions are notorious for losing forms.

Too much garlic may set off a short sale.

Crucifixes may not be financial fixes.

Sunlight illuminates the documents but may also fade the pages.

If you spill a pound of salt around your paperwork, the lender may have to count every grain, further delaying the process.

Most foreclosure solutions take a while and do not involve vampire remedies.  In the meantime, a Foreclosure Defense may be more effective to help you exercise your rights and purse the solution that is best for you.

One in every 336 Florida homes received foreclosure filings in March.  If yours was among them, consult competent legal counsel to seek a solution to fit your situation.

If money trouble gives way to legal trouble (or is about to), talk to an attorney to help you find your balance.  Happy home economics!

The average cost to file Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is $1,500.  Where do you get that if you are already broke?  The cost of filing bankruptcy has gone up thanks to supply and demand and the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, which protects the consumer by charging them for more paperwork, among other things.

Sometimes it is difficult to see the big picture…especially when you do not know all the pixels.  Chapter 7 is the most read chapter in the book of bankruptcy (it is a liquidation where your stuff goes to a trustee who represents the creditors); however, there are other ways of dealing with debt that are non-fattening and sugar-free and may be more beneficial to you, depending on your circumstances.  That is where good legal counsel looking over the shoulder of your debt can help you decide what is best for you.

How can you afford a bankruptcy attorney when you are going bankrupt?  If you think you are too much in debt to pay a lawyer, talk to Legal Aid (you can find more information at http://www.jaxlegalaid.org/images/pamphlets/St.%20Johns%20County%20Legal%20Aid%20Information.pdf ).  Even if you do not qualify for their legal services, they may be able to help you find an attorney you can afford, and often they have useful informational pamphlets.

You can always represent yourself in court; however, there are many nuances and complexities of law, as well as updates which help keep our justice system an evolutionary part of American government.  These are good reasons to have good representation whether you enter a court of law as a plaintiff or a defendant.  An attorney can help guide you through the legal process, review the possible outcomes, and prepare your case for the best benefit to you.

Plus a panel of justices can be a tough audience to play to.

Listen to every question and every answer.  Do not decide anything about my client based on how good my tie looks.  You are not in Kansas anymore; you are in the jury box and your job is to be impartial.  The integrity of my shirt collar should not sway your opinion of my client.

There is no wizard in justice…there is you.  As a juror, you decide.  Use your brains, your heart, and your courage to weigh the evidence and to bring a peer to justice.  Thank you for serving.