Receiving Wide Coverage ... National News: A devastating tornado swept through Oklahoma yesterday. Full news coverage: Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times D-Day for Dimon: Today is the day JPMorgan Chase shareholders will vote on a proposal to strip Jamie Dimon of his dual title as chairman and CEO. Bad news for Dimon detractors: Shareholder activists pushing for the proposal were "talking down the prospects of winning" the vote after regaining access to preliminary tallies…

Authored by Douglas L. Waldorf, Jr. of Rogers TowersIn my April 18th post, I discussed the recent trend of municipalities enacting ordinances designed to give their code enforcement liens “superpriority” over prior-recorded mortgages. Basically, the municipalities have sought to achieve for their liens the same priority as that afforded liens for unpaid real estate taxes. In 2011, the 5th District Court of Appeal decided the case of City of Palm Bay v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., holding that the City of Palm Bay could not “…grant its code enforcement liens superpriority over a prior recorded mortgage…” That decision was appealed to Florida’s Supreme Court who issued its ruling on May 16.
Fortunately for lenders, the Court resolved this issue in favor of mortgage holders, holding that a municipality has no authority to enact and enforce an ordinance that creates superpriority for code enforcement liens over prior recorded mortgages. The Court found that because the Florida Legislature has established by statute the priority of rights with respect to interests in real property, municipalities were preempted from circumventing this general scheme by enacting their own ordinances to achieve superpriority.

You do not have to hire an attorney to file for bankruptcy; however, I would strongly recommend that you do so.  You do have the ability to fill out forms online or from an office supply company, go down to the clerk’s office and attempt to handle a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy case+ Read MoreThe post Do I have to hire an attorney to file for bankruptcy? appeared first on David M. Siegel.

We’re continuing down the road, helping you file for bankruptcy.
You can do it yourself.
You can hire a petition preparer.
Or you can hire a lawyer.
No matter which option you choose, it’s your responsibility for making sure your bankruptcy case is handled properly. After all, this is your future and your life we’re talking about.
And it all begins with the Petition.
The Bankruptcy Petition – Deceptively Simple
When you look at the bankruptcy petition, you see a three-page form filled with check boxes and blanks.
On the first page, you’ll need to complete the following information:

1. Your name
2. Your spouse’s name
3. The last 4 digits of your Social Security number (don’t have a Social Security number?)
4. Your residential address
5. Your mailing address
6. The county in which you live

This is all pretty easy, and chances are that you can breeze through it quickly and without too much trouble.
From there, the questions get more complex. For example.