Bankruptcy Attorney in St. Johns County, FL

Reliable guidance for overcoming overwhelming debt.

By Robert A. Stiberman, Esq. Member of The Florida Bar since 1998, representing Florida bankruptcy clients since 2009. Last reviewed: July 2026.

St. Johns County Debt Relief: Compassionate, Fast, and Direct

Financial setbacks happen to even the most diligent planners in St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra, and St. Johns. Whether you are facing a business downturn, rising property costs, or personal hurdles, you don’t have to carry the weight of debt alone. Stiberman Law, P.A. offers affordable bankruptcy representation to help you eliminate debt, protect your home, and regain financial stability.

Led by Robert Stiberman, our highly-rated customer service team offers respectful, results-oriented bankruptcy and debt relief services. We are dedicated to helping everyone in St. Johns County restore their financial stability and remove the heavy burden of debt. We actively practice in the Jacksonville Division, which is where your case will likely be heard.

Urgent Protection: Emergency Bankruptcy in St. Johns County

When a crisis threatens your family’s stability, you need a legal team that can move as quickly as the situation demands. If you are facing a looming deadline or an aggressive creditor action, our top-rated team specializes in Emergency Bankruptcy Filings. By filing a “skeleton petition,” we immediately trigger the Automatic Stay under 11 U.S. Code § 362, providing an instant shield against foreclosure sales, vehicle Repossessions, wage garnishments, and creditor lawsuits from regional institutions like VyStar Credit Union and Community First Credit Union, as well as local medical providers like Flagler Health.

Which Court Will Hear Your St. Johns County Case

St. Johns County bankruptcy cases are filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division. Your § 341 meeting of creditors is administered through this division, and we prepare you fully and attend with you.

Chapter 7, 13, and 11 Bankruptcy in St. Johns County

Choosing the right chapter is where a good outcome begins. St. Johns County cases are filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division, and here is how each option works.

Chapter 7: The Fresh Start

Chapter 7 clears qualifying unsecured debts, credit cards, medical bills, and personal loans, usually in about four months. Eligibility runs through the means test, which compares your income to the Florida median for your household size. Thanks to Florida’s generous exemptions, most filers in St. Augustine, St. Augustine Beach, Ponte Vedra keep their home, car, and retirement accounts.

Chapter 13: Reorganize and Keep Your Property

Chapter 13 is the wage-earner’s plan, a three-to-five-year repayment schedule that lets you cure past-due mortgage or car payments and keep the property while the automatic stay holds creditors off. It is the tool of choice for St. Johns County homeowners working to stop a foreclosure.

Chapter 11 and Subchapter V: Business Reorganization

Chapter 11 lets a business, or an individual whose debts exceed the Chapter 13 limits, reorganize while staying open. Most local small businesses qualify for Subchapter V, a streamlined small-business track within Chapter 11, open to debtors whose total debt is $3,424,000 or less (2026 figure), that keeps the owner in control and moves quickly.

Not sure which fits? We review your income, assets, and goals, then handle the filing from start to discharge.

Stopping Wage Garnishment in St. Johns County

Losing part of your paycheck to a garnishment is one of the hardest things a St. Johns County family can face, and Florida gives you two strong tools to stop it. First, the state’s head-of-household exemption (Fla. Stat. § 222.11) fully protects the wages of anyone who provides more than half the support for a dependent, income up to $750 a week is shielded, and even higher pay stays protected unless you signed a written waiver. Second, filing bankruptcy triggers the automatic stay (11 U.S.C. § 362), a federal order that stops the garnishment immediately. We determine which applies to you, from St. Augustine, St. Augustine Beach, Ponte Vedra, Nocatee, Hastings to the rest of the county, and act quickly. Learn more on our Florida wage garnishment page.

See real, anonymized outcomes from Florida bankruptcy cases on our Results page. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.