Is Chapter 11 Bankruptcy The Right Option For You?

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: 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 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.

How Does Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Work?

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.

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

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.

Chapter 11 For Hotels And Restaurants

When the economy takes a hit, the first thing consumers reduce is travel and entertainment expenses. The result: Many hotels and other tourist venues find themselves struggling to survive.

The attorneys at our firm have represented more than 50 hotels and motels throughout the state. We understand the economic struggles unique to the hospitality industry. We work closely with clients to understand their individual business goals, then use Chapter 11 to facilitate those goals.

Choose An Attorney With Experience

Attorney 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. 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.