About Our Firm

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Founded in 1997 we are experienced and knowledgeable Tampa attorneys practicing exclusively in Divorce, Family, Stepparent/Relative Adoption, Criminal Defense, and Personal Bankruptcy. We practice primarily in the cities of Tampa, Riverview, Brandon, Valrico, Lithia, Carrollwood, Northdale, North Tampa, Plant City as well as Hillsborough County, Pinellas County and Pasco County. We have offices conveniently located throughout Tampa Bay. Our lawyers have extensive experience practicing in contested and uncontested divorces, including military divorces, and family law, child support, child custody and visitation, relocation of children, alimony, domestic violence, distribution of assets and debts, retirement/pensions (military and private), enforcement and modification of final judgments, paternity actions, adoptions and name changes as well as criminal defense. We offer a free consultation to discuss your options. Please call us at 813-672-1900 or email us at info@familymaritallaw.com to schedule a consultation. Our representation of our clients reflects our dedication to them. We look forwarding to hearing from you! Se habla EspaƱol.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Helping you with your federal taxes AND the IRS

Tax preparation and dealing with the IRS is very important to most Americans.  I highly recommend Aaron B. Whitaker, Jr., for tax preparation and especially representation before the IRS.  I know him personally and he is very professional, ethical and thorough in all that he does. His expertise is especially in representing clients before the IRS, if there are delinquent income taxes due or any other issue which needs resolution.  He has great results with them if you need a workout agreement to pay for delinquent income taxes, although there is no one who can guarantee any result.  The reason for his success is his vast experience in working for the IRS.  He retired from the IRS Appeals Division as an Associate Chief in the Pittsburgh, PA office, in March of 2006 after beginning his career with the IRS in 1972.  Go to http://www.whitakerea.com/whitakerea/default.aspx?custom1040page=20336 for more on his bio.  Visit his website http://www.whitakerea.com/ for all the areas in which he can help!

Click here for an Individual Income Tax Organizer:  http://www.familymaritallaw.com/CM/Custom/Individual%20Income%20Tax_Organizer.pdf

From Aaron Whitaker:

"I provide you a unique blend of experience in accounting, federal income tax administration, and appeals of Examination or Collection issues at an hourly rate that is competitive. My clientele is select which allows me to provide you personalized professional services.

These services include:

-Tax Consultation with respect to Individual, Small Business, and Corporations
-Tax Preparation of Individual, Small Business, and Corporate Returns
-IRS Representation on Audit and Collection issues such as IRS Notices of Audits, Offers in Compromise, Innocent Spouse Determinations,
-Litigation Support to Attorneys and their clients with respect to Divorces, Valuation of Marital Assets, and the Tax Consequence of various financial decisions leading up to the settlement of these issues.

In consultation with you, I will provide you an estimate of the time and fee required to address your issue or prepare your tax returns, and will require a retainer to complete the tasks you require.

I think you will find that your investment in my services will yield professional results at a fair price.   The attached organizer is a fillable PDF that you can use to pull information together for your tax return, and contains a lot of good mind joggers to ensure that you have all of the information that you need to file your return and pay the lowest legal tax.  Please feel free to share this organizer with any of your friends or family members and if anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to contact "



http://www.whitakerea.com/






Monday, July 9, 2012

What Happens in a Foreclosure

See my website at http://www.familymaritallaw.com/CM/Bankruptcy/Chapter-13-Bankruptcy.asp for information on how a chapter 13 bankruptcy can help you avoid foreclosure and catch up on any arrearages. Chapter 7 bankruptcy, unfortunately, does not allow you to do this; however, it will delay the foreclosure through the date of discharge or if the creditor motions to lift the automatic stay, the date an order is signed by the Court allowing the automatic stay to be lifted.

(Note that not all of the following article is valid in Florida.)
Copyright © 2011 FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters business

Certain creditors may have special rights when faced with collecting bad debts. One of these rights is the availability of a procedure called foreclosure. Foreclosure is most often exercised in relation to unpaid mortgages on real property. In a foreclosure proceeding, the creditor exercises its option under the mortgage to force a sale on the property that is the subject of the mortgage in order to use the proceeds to pay the debt.

The rights of a mortgagee (usually the lender; commonly a bank or mortgage company), when the mortgagor (borrower or homebuyer) defaults, vary considerably from state to state. There are, however, a number of similarities. Generally, there are only two types of foreclosure sales: a judicial sale and a sale pursuant to a power of sale clause contained in the mortgage documents. Judicial sales are more common. Although the details of judicial sales are mainly a matter of local law, they usually require notice of a hearing, a judicial determination of default, notice of sale, a sale, confirmation of a sale, possible redemption and entry of a judgment for any deficiency (the difference between the sale amount and what is owed on the debt).

In order for a mortgagor to avoid a judicial foreclosure once he or she has defaulted in making scheduled payments, the entire debt must be paid. In about half of the states, the period in which the mortgagee can exercise this option, or redeem the debt, extends even beyond actual foreclosure. In that case, the redemption amount is the sale price plus interest, not the amount of the debt secured by the mortgage.

In a judicial foreclosure, the sale is not enforceable by the buyer until it has been confirmed by the court. Legal rules limit the court's discretion on whether to confirm the sale. Mere inadequacy of price without more is not enough to justify the court's refusal to confirm a foreclosure sale, but adequacy of price is a primary concern. In many states, the property must be appraised before the foreclosure sale, and the sale will not be confirmed unless the sale price is at least a certain percentage of the appraised value.

Because judicial foreclosures are time consuming and procedurally complicated, some mortgagees include in their standard mortgages a power-of-sale provision permitting a sale without any court involvement if the mortgagor defaults on the payments. This approach has only limited recognition in the United States. In the states that do allow it, the sale must be public and preceded by a notice (usually by advertisement) that specifies the amount due, the property description, the date and location of the sale and whatever other matters the statute and the mortgage specify. Because courts tend to be critical of non-judicial sales, they are quick to grant relief against such sales for even slight irregularities. This reluctance to accept non-judicial sales can result in uncertainty of title, which could be the main reason that power-of-sale foreclosures have failed to gain greater acceptance.

Due to the important rights involved, debtors facing the prospect of foreclosure and loss of their homes can benefit from the advice of counsel experienced in this area. Attorneys working in this area can also assist borrowers proactively by reviewing the mortgage documents before the borrowers sign them, in order to protect the borrowers' rights and eliminate provisions that do not serve the borrowers' best interests, such as power-of-sale clauses. On the other hand, lawyers representing creditors can guide them through the sometimes cumbersome foreclosure process and aid them in the recovery of the money that they are rightfully owed.

Copyright © 2011 FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters business

DISCLAIMER: This site and any information contained herein are intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Seek competent counsel for advice on any legal matter.


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