How to Lengthen a Florida Eviction
- 1). Contact the landlord to make reparations. If the reason for eviction is for unpaid rent, the landlord may close the eviction case if you can pay all rent arrearages. If the landlord does not choose to stop the eviction, there is one step you can do to prolong the eviction.
- 2). File an emergency petition for bankruptcy with the bankruptcy court. You may obtain the bankruptcy petition forms online and file it yourself, but it is always better to retain an attorney. The instructions for the petition are included with the petition.
- 3). Write down the case number the bankruptcy that court gives you. Complete the rest of the bankruptcy forms as required by the bankruptcy court.
- 4). Draft a suggestion of bankruptcy. Copy the heading from the eviction complaint onto a new document. The heading contains the court, its jurisdiction, the party's names and the division of the court. Center the title, "Suggestion of Bankruptcy" under the heading. Boldface and underline the title.
- 5). Write the introduction and the body of the pleading. Because this pleading is short, the introduction paragraph and body is contained in one paragraph. For example: "COMES NOW, the Defendant, [YOUR NAME], and notices this Court that the Defendant is filing a petition for relief under the United States Bankruptcy Code, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida. It has been assigned case number [x:xx-bk-xxxxx] and relief was ordered on [date bankruptcy petition was filed] and suggests that this action has been stayed by operation of the Bankruptcy Code and law."
- 6). Make two copies of the suggestion of bankruptcy. File the original with the clerk of court. Ask the clerk to stamp the other two suggestions. Mail one of them to the landlord or, if the landlord has an attorney, to the landlord's attorney. Keep the second copy for your records.