Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Florida

Re: bankruptcy while in jail or prison

The ability to file a petition may not be absolute. If so ,the loss of the prisoner's civil rights may result in an inability to file,

Re: bankruptcy while in jail or prison

Well, I haven't had this question before, but I'm game.

I have done a quick review of the Federal and Florida statutes and I do not see any reason why a prisoner cannot file for bankruptcy, so barring anything coming out from right field, there shouldn't be any outright bar.

Next would be can he perform the requirements of the court. This would be a lot like filing for bankruptcy for a long-haul truck driver or an out-of-state filer. The prisoner would still have the duty to appear before the Trustee. I have had several occasions where we were able to get approval for an appearance by phone, but a notary had to be there. There is a provision under the code for excusing appearance, but I would have to spend some time with that to see if a prisoner would qualify. There is also a provision under Florida law that allows prisoners to be released to the county sheriff for court appearances, but this is under the criminal code and I would have to run that down.

The last requirement would be performing his continuing duties. These continuing duties would make Chapter 13 or 11 impossible, or at least very unlikely. Chapter 7 has very few other duties that could not be accomplished by an attorney in fact.

As an aside, if your family member is free right now, he/she should execute a power of attorney so that someone can handle his financial affairs outside. The general rule, though, is like MONOPOLY (R), you can conduct business while in jail. A power of attorney, though, will make it a lot easier in case someone has to be physically present to conduct the business.

As an aside, the AIF cannot appear at court for the Debtor in Bankruptcy, but they can assist in the preparation of the case, and to a limited extent, the prosecution of the bankruptcy case.

Re: bankruptcy while in jail or prison

You've asked too big a question to be answered in a short forum like this. The decision as to whether to file bankruptcy depends on many factors, and you should sit down with a bankruptcy lawyer and describe your entire situation.