TAMPA DIVORCE & FAMILY LAW
Tampa Divorce Lawyers at the Galewski Law Group understand that matters of
family and marital law are more than legal issues, but questions of heartbreak
and frustration. The decisions that you make or that are made for you during
the dissolution of a marriage or in a child custody and support dispute effect you
mentally, physically and financially. These decisions may alter your life, and you
need to know that you have a Tampa Divorce Lawyer or Tampa Family Law
Attorney on your side who will explain the legal process and the long term
effects of the divorce and child custody proceedings.
Our Tampa Family Law Attorneys know that our priority is your comfort. Our
Tampa Divorce Lawyers will take the time to explain the legal process, the
options that are available to you and the consequences of each decision. No
one can guarantee results, but your Tampa Family Law Attorney can guarantee
that we will be there to make sure that you are comfortable with the process and
that you know the most is being done to protect you and your family.
Question of the week:
Custody:
Is it true that the law changed as to custody and that the parents will
now have to have split or 50/50 custody.
This is a great misconception. There was a significant law change in regard to
child custody and timesharing that took effect on October 1, 2008, but that law
does not necessarily translate to equal time. The Court is looking to remove the
fight over primary residential rights and now wants people to focus on how they
will share time with the child. This is different from mandatory 50/50 time. The
Court must still look to the best interest of the child to determine how time will be
shared between the parents. To evaluate the specifics of your case contact
your Tampa divorce attorney.
Property:
I am up-side-down or have negative equity in my home, how do we
divide the property?
If you owe more than your house is worth, the court will typically agree with any
agreement that you and your spouse may decide upon. Options that have
worked are that the property is treated as an asset and the mortgage is treated
as a liability and each item is divided accordingly. Other times the property is
sold and each side will pay a portion of the loss at closing. More often than not,
the property will be either paid by one spouse that will continue to live in the
home, or the house will be sold via short sale, where the bank will work with the
parties and cover the loss.
Click here to learn your Tampa Family Law Lawyer's Answers to FAQ
or here for a Free Consultation with Tampa's Best Family Lawyers.
Tampa Attorney
GALEWSKI LAW GROUP, P.A.
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Tampa Bankruptcy Attorney’s Update to the Bankruptcy Mortgage Reduction or Bankruptcy Mortgage Modification
Amendments:
Senate Rejects Mortgage Cramdown Provision
The Senate defeated by 51 to 45 votes an amendment to the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act that would have granted bankruptcy judges broad
authority to modify the mortgage terms for at-risk homeowners.
Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chief sponsor of the ‘cramdown’ provision, said he was disappointed with the vote but would continue to
bring the issue to the floor “until the Senate decides to put the interests of homeowners above the interests of bankers.” Durbin noted that the number of
homeowners at risk of losing their homes now stands at over eight million, compared to nearly two million only two years ago.
“We’ve given the bankers who got us into this crisis every opportunity to responsibly address this crisis and they have failed,” Durbin said.
The White House said that notwithstanding the Senate vote on the Durbin amendment it looks forward to working with Congress to craft “appropriately tailored
legislation to provide a mechanism for homeowners who are out of other options to file for bankruptcy and implement a responsible plan to pay the debts that
they are able to pay.”
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the provision would have lead to higher interest rates and even greater uncertainty in the
housing and credit markets. “It’s clear that we cannot fix the housing problem by implementing bad policies,” he said.
The American Bankers Association agreed, noting that Congress and the administration have taken several strong steps to help troubled borrowers and get
the economy back on track. “Giving bankruptcy judges broad cramdown authority would work against those efforts and effectively undermine the goal of
stabilizing the housing market,” the association said.
Analysis: Your Tampa Bankruptcy Lawyer notes that this means that for the time a Bankruptcy cannot be used to
reduce the principal amount due on a first mortgage, but since the House has passed the Bankruptcy Reform Bill,
it is possible that a Bankruptcy Judge may have the authority to cramdown or modify a mortgage in the near
future.