Szabo Law Group’s Jacksonville office is at 5011 Gate Parkway in the Southside business district. We file Chapter 7, 11 and 13 cases in the Jacksonville Division of the Middle District of Florida, defend foreclosures across Duval, Clay, St. Johns and Nassau counties, and handle immigration matters including military and military-family naturalization. English and Hungarian.
Jacksonville Office
5011 Gate Parkway, Building 100, Suite 100
Jacksonville, FL 32256
Areas We Serve
Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Orange Park, St. Augustine, Fernandina Beach, Middleburg and Duval, Clay, St. Johns and Nassau counties
Bankruptcy Attorneys in Jacksonville
Northeast Florida cases are filed in the Jacksonville Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida, in the Bryan Simpson United States Courthouse at 300 North Hogan Street downtown. The division covers Duval, Clay, St. Johns, Nassau, Baker, Putnam and neighbouring counties — so clients from Orange Park, St. Augustine and Fernandina Beach file here as well.
Your 341 meeting of creditors is conducted by Zoom, not in the courthouse. You will need a device with a working camera and microphone, photo identification and proof of your Social Security number, and we go through the questions with you before the date.
Chapter 7
Discharges most unsecured debt in roughly four to six months. Eligibility runs through the means test against the Florida median household income.
Chapter 13
A three- to five-year plan that cures mortgage or vehicle arrears and protects a home from a scheduled foreclosure sale.
Chapter 11 / Subchapter V
Reorganization for Northeast Florida businesses — logistics, marine, construction and professional practices — without a shutdown.
Servicemembers, Veterans and Military Families
Jacksonville is one of the largest military communities in the country, with Naval Station Mayport, Naval Air Station Jacksonville and a substantial veteran population. That changes the analysis in two directions, and both come up regularly in this office.
On the debt side, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act gives active-duty personnel protections that civilians do not have: a cap on interest for obligations incurred before service, the ability to ask a court to stay a civil proceeding while on duty, and limits on foreclosure and repossession without a court order. Certain VA and military disability benefits are also treated differently from ordinary income. A security clearance concern is often the real reason a servicemember hesitates to file — that is worth discussing openly, because unaddressed debt is more frequently the problem than a bankruptcy filing is.
On the immigration side, service in the U.S. armed forces opens a distinct naturalization path with reduced residence requirements, and spouses and children of servicemembers have their own routes, including provisions for those stationed abroad. These filings are procedurally different from a standard N-400 and are worth handling as such.
Foreclosure and Creditor Defense in Duval County
Foreclosures in Duval, Clay and Nassau counties are filed in the Fourth Judicial Circuit, and — as everywhere in Florida — the process is judicial. You generally have 20 days from service to file a response, and the great majority of judgments are entered by default because nobody did. We answer the complaint, test the lender’s standing and accounting, negotiate modifications and short sales, and use a Chapter 13 filing to stop a sale where that is the better tool.
Florida’s exemptions are among the strongest in the country. The homestead exemption protects unlimited equity in a primary residence, subject to acreage limits and a federal look-back period for recent arrivals. Florida Statutes § 222.25 protects $1,000 of vehicle equity and $1,000 of personal property, with a $4,000 wildcard available if the homestead exemption is not claimed, and § 222.11 shields head-of-family wages from garnishment.
Immigration Attorneys in Jacksonville
Northeast Florida’s immigrant population is smaller than South Florida’s but growing quickly, concentrated in healthcare, logistics around JAXPORT, the ports and shipbuilding trades, hospitality and the university corridor. Applicants in this region are scheduled at the USCIS Jacksonville Field Office for green card and naturalization interviews.
Family-based immigration
Spouse and relative petitions, adjustment of status, consular processing and removal of conditions on a two-year green card.
Employment and investment
L-1 transfers, E-2 treaty investor visas and employment-based green cards, including for owners relocating a business to Northeast Florida.
Military naturalization
N-400 filings for servicemembers and their families, including cases with deployments, overseas residence or expedited processing.
Criminal defense of immigrants
Analysis of how a Duval County charge or plea would affect status, before the plea is entered.
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 Jacksonville attorney about your options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which court handles a Jacksonville bankruptcy case?
The Jacksonville Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida, in the Bryan Simpson United States Courthouse at 300 North Hogan Street. It serves Duval, Clay, St. Johns, Nassau, Baker, Putnam and surrounding counties.
I am on active duty. Will filing bankruptcy affect my security clearance?
Filing is not automatically disqualifying, and unresolved debt, judgments and garnishments are more often treated as the concern. Every clearance case is fact-specific, so this should be discussed with counsel and, where appropriate, with your command or security officer before you decide.
What is the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and does it apply to me?
The SCRA is a federal law protecting active-duty personnel. It can cap interest on obligations you took on before entering service, allow a court proceeding to be postponed while you are on duty, and require a court order before certain foreclosures or repossessions. It applies alongside, not instead of, bankruptcy relief.
Is naturalization faster for members of the military?
Service in the U.S. armed forces creates a separate naturalization path with reduced continuous-residence and physical-presence requirements, and there are dedicated provisions for spouses and children. The filing differs from a standard civilian N-400.
Do you take cases from St. Augustine and Orange Park?
Yes. The Jacksonville office serves Duval, Clay, St. Johns and Nassau counties, and those cases are filed in the same Jacksonville Division of the bankruptcy court.
Our other Florida offices:
This page is general legal information about our practice in Northeast Florida 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.