Study shows credit card debt in south Florida / West Palm Beach area among highest % in the country

A recent study conducted by consumer watchdog website CreditCards.com reported that residents of south Florida, from Miami north through West Palm Beach carry the 4th largest credit card debt burden in the country. On average each south Floridian carries an average of $4,325 in credit card debt according to the study. Furthermore, it would take the average person over a year to pay off that debt if they started paying it off now and stopped using their credit cards until they were fully paid off.

That average credit card debt burden of $4,325 equals over 15.7% of the median individual income in our area, which is $27,453 according to published statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice. Median household income is $47,463 according to the latest Census survey in 2014. What do all of these facts and figures mean to you as a resident here in West Palm Beach?

In an article published by Kenny Malone on the WLRN website regarding the study, he quoted CreditCards.com senior industry analyst Matt Shulz who said “It certainly seems that Miami residents are putting a little bit more than they can afford on their cards. You know, as evidenced by the fact that we see that it would take the average person in Miami about 14 months and about $350 in interest to pay off their credit card debt… That’s a long time and a lot of money.”

To read this entire article please go to: http://wlrn.org/post/study-south-florida-fourth-worst-credit-card-debt-burden-country

The South Florida Business Journal also highlighted a study from the credit agency Equifax that although south Florida has seen a significant dip overall in consumer debt over the last year, that in fact “In the auto, bank credit card, and retail card category, South Floridians incurred 11 percent more debt in the 12 months leading up to March 31 (2015).” http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2015/05/05/south-florida-has-greatest-dip-in-consumer-debt.html

If you are in West Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater or anywhere else in the state of Florida and in need of a law firm knowledgeable about credit card debt issues, then contact us at Korte & Wortman, P.A. Korte & Wortman is a law firm specializing in credit card debt defense and defending our clients in all aspects of consumer debt issues including bankruptcy, mortgage debt, foreclosure, Deed in Lieu and short sales. We have had excellent results working with a number of clients to save them tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars on their credit card debt, mortgage modifications, Dodd-Frank Act cases and other consumer loan issues. Check out a few of our many success stories on our website at http://foreclosurefactor.com/practice-areas/credit-cards/

Our home office is based in West Palm Beach, at 2041 Vista Parkway, Suite 102. You can call us at (561) 544-7071, stop in to our office, email us at vdinapoli@kwlawfirm.com or come to our website. Our firm represents clients throughout the state of Florida and across the eastern seaboard. We also have offices in Sunrise and Clearwater, Florida.

West Palm Beach, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale bankruptcy courtrooms covert to digital audio recordings

On July 30th the United State Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida announced that it would be transitioning all bankruptcy court rooms district-wide to digital audio recordings (DAR) of all court proceedings starting on Saturday, August 1, 2015. Here are the contents of the press release from the Court:

“On August 1, 2015, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida [Miami Division] will transition to digital audio recording (DAR) of all court proceedings. The courtroom technology selected is ForTheRecord® (FTR). Installation of new hardware and software necessary to accommodate DAR has been completed district-wide in the Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach bankruptcy courtrooms. For an interim period, requests for transcripts will continue to be submitted to the court-approved transcript reporting company, Ouellette and Mauldin until such time as we have had an opportunity to accept and review solicitations from transcription companies interested in being added to the court-approved list.

The court went on to state that all attorneys and other parties appearing in court needed to follow certain “guidelines” pertaining to the optimal use of the digital audio recording system in the courtrooms:

“As a reminder, we ask that you become familiar DAR etiquette and get in the habit of following these basic guidelines when appearing in all bankruptcy courtrooms:

1) Speak clearly and audibly into the microphones. Only one person at a time should be speaking,

2) Each time you speak, please identify yourself by stating your name and the party(s) whom you represent. Spell difficult names for the record,

3) The DAR is extremely sensitive to sounds. All side conversations in the courtroom may be recorded.

Please direct inquiries to: Webmaster_FLSB@flsb.uscourts.gov ”

For more information about bankruptcy court, the new digital audio recording (DAR) system and how it may affect your appearance in bankruptcy court, or if you are in need of a bankruptcy attorney or bankruptcy defense lawyer, please contact us at Korte & Wortman, P.A. at (561) 544-7071 or go directly to the bankruptcy page of our website, http://foreclosurefactor.com/practice-areas/mortgage-litigation/bankruptcy-faqs/.

We look forward to assisting you with any foreclosure, bankruptcy, credit card debt defense or other real estate legal questions or issues that you may have.

An article from the Assouline & Berlowe, P.A. law firm was read to help compile the new courtroom guidelines list used in this blog:  https://assoulineberlowe.wordpress.com/2015/07/29/shhhhh-in-the-courtroom-bankruptcy-court-goes-digital/