Szabo Law Group’s Hollywood office is on Sheridan Street, minutes from Memorial Regional Hospital and Hollywood Beach. We handle Chapter 7, 11 and 13 bankruptcy, foreclosure and condominium assessment problems, and the full range of family, employment and investor immigration matters for South Broward. We speak English and Hungarian.
Hollywood Office
5741 Sheridan Street
Hollywood, FL 33021
Areas We Serve
Hollywood, Hallandale Beach, Dania Beach, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Davie, Cooper City and southern Broward County
Bankruptcy Attorneys in Hollywood, Florida
South Broward cases are filed in the Fort Lauderdale Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, at 299 East Broward Boulevard — about twenty minutes north of our Sheridan Street office. Hollywood, Hallandale Beach, Dania Beach, Pembroke Pines and Miramar all fall within that division.
Your 341 meeting of creditors takes place over Zoom rather than in a courthouse; the U.S. Trustee Program moved to virtual meetings in October 2023. You will need a device with a camera and microphone, government photo identification and proof of your Social Security number. We rehearse that appearance with every client beforehand.
The three chapters, in plain terms
Chapter 7
Wipes out most unsecured debt — credit cards, medical bills, deficiency balances — usually within four to six months. Eligibility turns on the means test against the Florida median income.
Chapter 13
A three- to five-year plan. The practical tool for catching up a mortgage, a car loan, or several years of unpaid condominium assessments without losing the property.
Chapter 11 / Subchapter V
For Hollywood Boulevard retailers, restaurants, salons and contractors that need to restructure rather than close. Subchapter V made this realistic for genuinely small businesses.
Condominium Assessments, Foreclosure and Garnishment in South Broward
Hollywood and Hallandale Beach have one of the oldest condominium stocks in Florida, and the tightened state requirements for milestone inspections and structural integrity reserve studies have translated into special assessments that many long-time owners simply cannot absorb — often five figures, sometimes payable on short notice. An association can place a lien and foreclose on that lien even when the mortgage is perfectly current. This is now one of the most common reasons South Broward homeowners call us.
Unpaid assessments are treated as debt in bankruptcy, and a Chapter 13 plan can spread arrears that accrued before filing over as much as five years while you stay in the unit. Assessments that come due after filing generally remain your responsibility, which is exactly why the timing of a filing matters here more than in most places.
The same office also defends mortgage foreclosures — Florida requires the lender to sue you in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and you have roughly 20 days from service to respond — along with wage garnishments and vehicle repossessions. Under Florida Statutes § 222.11 the wages of a head of family are strongly protected, and the automatic stay stops collection the moment a petition is filed.
Immigration Attorneys in Hollywood
Hollywood sits on the Miami-Dade line and its neighborhoods are among the most international in the state. Broward residents are generally scheduled at the USCIS Oakland Park Field Office for green card and naturalization interviews, while removal proceedings are heard at the Miami Immigration Court.
Family petitions
Spouse, parent and sibling petitions, adjustment of status, consular processing and removal of conditions on a two-year card.
Work and investment
L-1 intracompany transfers, E-2 treaty investor visas for owners of local businesses, and employment-based green cards.
Naturalization
N-400 filings, including the harder cases: long trips abroad, tax issues, or an old arrest that needs analysis before anything is filed.
Immigration consequences of arrest
Charges in Broward County can end a green card. We advise on the immigration side before a plea is entered, not after.
A large share of Hollywood’s economy — healthcare around Memorial, hospitality along the Broadwalk, construction and personal services — is staffed and owned by foreign nationals. Financial trouble and immigration status frequently collide in those households, and having one firm handle both means a bankruptcy filing is reviewed for its immigration effect before it happens.
Why Clients Choose Szabo Law Group
- Both practice areas, one firm. Debt relief and immigration are handled together, so a bankruptcy filing is reviewed for its effect on a pending petition before anything is filed.
- Bilingual representation. Aron T. Szabo is a native Hungarian speaker admitted in Florida and the District of Columbia, with earlier experience at an international firm in Budapest and postgraduate study at the University of Oxford.
- A long client record. The firm has been reviewed more than 45 times by clients on Avvo with an average of 4.8 out of 5.
- Four Florida offices. Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Orlando and Jacksonville, so representation continues if you move within the state.
Talk to a Hollywood attorney about your options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which court will hear my Hollywood bankruptcy case?
The Fort Lauderdale Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, at 299 East Broward Boulevard, which covers Hollywood, Hallandale Beach, Dania Beach, Pembroke Pines, Miramar and the rest of Broward County.
Can bankruptcy help with a large condominium special assessment?
Often, yes. Assessments that became due before you file are dischargeable debt and can be cured over a Chapter 13 plan while you keep the unit. Assessments that come due after filing generally remain payable, so timing is critical — talk to a lawyer before the association records a lien if you can.
Will my association still foreclose if my mortgage is current?
It can. A Florida condominium or homeowners association has its own lien rights for unpaid assessments, independent of your mortgage. A bankruptcy filing triggers the automatic stay and halts that action immediately.
Does filing bankruptcy hurt a pending green card or citizenship application?
Bankruptcy is a lawful federal remedy and is not a ground of inadmissibility or removal. It can still interact with Affidavit of Support obligations and the good-moral-character review in naturalization, which is why both matters should be looked at together.
Do you offer consultations in Hungarian?
Yes. Aron T. Szabo is a native Hungarian speaker, and consultations at any of our four Florida offices can be held in Hungarian or English.
Our other Florida offices:
Fort Lauderdale · Orlando · Jacksonville · All contact details
This page is general legal information about our practice in South Broward County and does not create an attorney–client relationship or constitute legal advice for your situation. Court divisions, procedures and statutory exemption amounts change; verify current details with counsel. We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.