Suicide is NOT the Cure for Foreclosure
Stopa Law Firm receives many heartbreaking emails from prospective clients in truly desperate situations, but the one I just received is beyond heartbreaking. This man, a single father, got hurt on the job, had to take time off work after back surgery, then was terminated because his employer didn’t want to accommodate him through his injury (even though it was an on-the-job injury). Perhaps worse yet, he hasn’t been able to get a new job because his former employer is telling prospective employers he had surgery and can’t work.
Not surprisingly, this father has been unable to pay his mortgage and, even less surprisingly, the bank has been unwilling to help him. The situation is so bad for this man and his son that he concluded his email to me by saying:
I’m considering suicide so my kids have some money and my life insurance is being cancelled in 3 weeks … big decisions to make.
Horrifying. I worked hard in law school, but trust me – I’ve never been trained on how to deal with a situation like this … not from anything I learned in law school or as a lawyer, anyway.
I just finished talking with this gentleman (who consented to me discussing his situation here) and I think/hope I was able to make him realize suicide is not an option, that there is help available. For some people, that’s essential to hear:
The bank isn’t going to kick you out of your home tonight or any time soon.
The bank has to win a foreclosure lawsuit to evict you, and you’re entitled to have a lawyer like me defend the lawsuit each step of the way.
Suicide is not the answer; help is available.
On a day like today, a rainy Monday when I, quite candidly, would have just as soon not worked, this was a glaring illustration of why I do what I do. There are countless homeowners in Florida and throughout the country who are desperate, hopeless and, yes, even suicidal. It is incumbent upon all of us, as people and as Americans, to make people in these types of situations realize that there is hope, there is help, and suicide is not the answer.
Mark Stopawww.stayinmyhome.com
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