Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Attorneys in Tampa

Are creditors pounding on your door or calling you constantly? Are you worried you’ll have to close your business? Are your investment properties at risk of foreclosure? Do you have IRS issues? Are financial worries keeping you up at night? You are not alone. Every day, many hardworking individuals and otherwise stable companies find themselves overwhelmed by debt.

At Ford & Semach, P.A., we offer a way out through chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Our Tampa-based firm has been helping individuals and businesses reduce their debts and reorganize their finances through Chapter 11 for more than 30 years. We have helped more individuals and businesses in Florida file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy than most other firms in the state.

Is managing your debts getting in the way of managing your business? Call our offices today at 813-302-1258 or use our online intake form to schedule your initial consultation.

How Chapter 11 Can Help You Keep Your Assets And Your Business

The goal of Chapter 11 is to allow businesses as well as individuals the opportunity to reduce their debts, restructure their finances and increase their profitability – all while staying in control.

Unlike Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, the traditional Chapter 11 bankruptcy process does not involve a trustee. This means you control your business and your property throughout the pendency of your bankruptcy proceeding.

Small businesses and large corporations alike often use Chapter 11 to achieve their business goals. This may mean using Chapter 11 to keep their doors open by reducing debts and increasing revenue, or as a tool to downsize or liquidate with minimal debt. No matter what your goals are, our lawyers will devise a plan to make Chapter 11 work for you.

Individuals also use Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reduce their debts and reorganize their finances while preserving their investment properties and other assets. Chapter 11 offers these tools to help the reorganization process:

• Automatic stay: This protection provides breathing room from creditor actions.
• Assume or reject: The debtor can reject a lease or contract and potentially renegotiate to more favorable terms.
• Cramdown: Creditors may be forced to accept a fair and equitable plan that modifies loan terms.

Our legal team can evaluate your fiscal situation and help you determine if Chapter 11 is right for you.

The Power Of The Automatic Stay

The automatic stay is one of the most powerful tools for Chapter 11 bankruptcies. Taking effect on the day of filing, the automatic stay halts all judgments, foreclosures, collections and repossessions of property, as well as lawsuits or other legal actions against the debtor. The debtor is not allowed to make payments to creditors during this time for debts that arose before the filing. Ongoing, ordinary business expenses will continue to be paid.

This pause allows companies and individuals to assess their debt picture without the onslaught of collection calls or intimidating collection notices in the mail. Our attorneys can help you work through your debts and determine a way forward. If you are contacted by creditors during a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, we will enforce their legal obligations to observe the stay.

Step-By-Step Guidance Through The Chapter 11 Process

Chapter 11 bankruptcy was created for and is still used primarily for businesses; however, it is also possible, although rare, for individuals to benefit from the terms of the chapter. The basic premise of Chapter 11 bankruptcy is that it is possible for filers to reorganize their debts and have some of their debts dismissed. The main goal of Chapter 11 is to help the person or business filing to analyze and restructure their cash flow so that they are able to become profitable. These profits can then be used to pay off the debts that have accumulated over time.

Step One

Your Chapter 11 bankruptcy begins when you file a petition in bankruptcy court. During the pendency of your bankruptcy proceeding, you will remain in control of your business and assets as a “debtor in possession.” This means that a bankruptcy trustee will not take over daily operations. However, the bankruptcy court will have control over major decisions such as sales of assets, entering into leases or mortgages, and entering into certain contracts.

One of the major benefits of any bankruptcy is the automatic stay. The stay prevents creditors from contacting you or pursuing any collection action while your bankruptcy is being determined.

Step Two

After filing your Chapter 11 petition, you have about four months to submit a reorganization plan. A reorganization plan restructures your finances and lays out how creditors will be paid.

Step Three

After your reorganization plan has been submitted, creditors may file oppositions to the plan. The bankruptcy court will evaluate these challenges when determining whether to approve your plan.

Step Four

The final step in your Chapter 11 bankruptcy is confirmation, or the approval of your reorganization plan, and discharge of debt. The bankruptcy court evaluates numerous factors when deciding whether to confirm. Once your plan is approved, you begin the repayment process. The length of this process is determined by your plan, formulated and proposed by the firm’s attorneys.

How Bankruptcy Courts Differ

The bankruptcy court is a court of equity that favors you, as the debtor. Instead of being confined to the four corners of a loan document or other legal agreements — which are heavily weighted in favor of creditors — the court is able to find a fairer debt solution. Bankruptcy often “levels the playing field.” By modifying the terms of mortgages, liens and contracts and creating payment plans, debtors are able to retain their collateral and regain control of their financial health.

What Makes Chapter 11 Bankruptcy So Flexible?

Chapter 11 bankruptcy is so flexible because many rules and regulations can be negotiated and changed depending on the specific circumstances and the priorities that the filing debtor has. This characteristic of Chapter 11 is especially helpful to businesses that intend to emerge from Chapter 11 stronger and better positioned to be profitable in the future.

Our Attorneys Understand Tampa Bay’s Business Fluctuations

The upside of owning a business in Florida is that the state’s economy is dynamic and growth-oriented. The downside is that no business environment stays in growth mode forever. When the larger American economy sags, or the state is impacted by catastrophic weather events like hurricanes, it can be hard to keep up with mounting bills and expenses.

Ford & Semach, P.A.’s legal team works with a broad spectrum of companies in the greater Tampa Bay area, including:

• Commercial developers and real estate holding companies
• Logistics suppliers and trucking companies
• Agricultural businesses
• Hotels and restaurants

In many cases, forces beyond your control may have led you to consider filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Our attorneys are familiar with current business trends and can advise you in light of those greater economic currents.

Choose A Law Firm With Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Experience

Our founder, Buddy D. Ford, has more than 35 years of bankruptcy experience. He is board-certified* as a business bankruptcy specialist by the American Board of Certification and has served as a trustee on Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 cases.  Attorney Jonathan Semach has over 17 years of bankruptcy experience.

To schedule a consultation, call us at 813-302-1258 or complete our online intake form.

We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.

*Not certified as a specialist by The Florida Bar. Certified through the American Board of Certification.