Attorney Emil Fleysher recently obtained one of the first Chapter 7 Lien Strip Orders in Palm Beach County.
Following the watershed case of in re: McNeal, in which the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that fully unsecured 2nd mortgages, Home Equity Loan Liens, and other junior mortgages may be discharged. And, maybe stripped off in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy; many debtors’ attorneys were unsure of how this ruling would play out with local South Florida judges covering Palm Beach, Broward, and Dade Counties.
Early last month, I attended a hearing which was before Judge Olson in Broward County on this issue. Also, he ruled that the debtor had an entitlement to an order granting the relief sought according to In re: McNeal. Judge Mark in Dade County reluctantly did the same. The last holdout county was in Palm Beach. There, I am proud to announce, Judge Hyman granted my client one of the first orders of its kind. On October 10, 2012, the court entered an order; granting my Motion to Value Real Property, Determine Secured Status, and Strip 2nd and third liens held by Citi and GMAC respectively.
Furthermore, the result is that my client was able to achieve the desired result. It was stripping off of her junior mortgages and obtaining a full discharge of her debt in less than 6 months. Before McNeal, this would have taken 36 months in a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. There, she would have to make monthly payments based on her disposable income. And/or the sum of her unexempt assets.
If you have questions about foreclosure, loan modification, bankruptcy, or other alternatives, please feel free to call my office at 888-886-0020, send an e-mail to emil@fleysherlaw.com, or complete the contact form below.
