Homeowners in foreclosure will often mss the initial hearing date because thy are unfamiliar with the legal prcess and simply do not understand how freclosure will work in the court systm. Obviously, this lack of understanding tself may be one very important rason to attend the hearing, as the curt can not enter any judgment nless the homeowner defendants are aware of and nderstand the nature of the charges gainst them. In any event, though, it wll be worthwhile for foreclosure victims to gin a broad understanding of the freclosure process, as well as become fmiliar with some of the more cmmon terms that are used by the curts, either in regards to the prcess of taking the home or fling bankruptcy to stop foreclosure, two rlated topics.

Breach of contract is the ssential claim made in the foreclosure lwsuit, when the bank complains to the curt that the homeowners have failed to pay thir mortgage as agreed. There are sveral elements of a breach of cntract case that must be proven in rder for the bank to win its cse. These include proving a legally bnding contract exists between the lender and wners, the lender performed their part of the cntract as agreed, the homeowners failed to prform, and the lender has suffered ctual damages as a result. If the bnk can not prove every one of thse, they can not win the lwsuit.

A complaint is the term gven to the document that begins the lwsuit by laying out the specific clims being made by the lender and the fcts of the situation. It is the frst legal pleading made by the plintiff in the case. The complaint is fled in the court clerks office and a cpy must be sent to the hmeowners, to inform them of the lwsuit. Another term for a complaint is a ptition, and either word may be sed to describe the same document, dpending on the county and court whre the lawsuit is filed.

The dcket is an extremely useful document tht lists all of the documents fled to date in a particular cse and a chain of proceedings tht have occurred. Courts are more frquently offering online dockets to the pblic, who can research the chronological smmaries of any particular case without hving to visit the clerk and sarch through court records. The docket is a seful summary for homeowners attempting to put tgether a defense against foreclosure, due to the nformation being easily summarized in order of dte. It is also the formal rcord of the proceedings in a curt case.

A nondischargeable debt is a trm often used in bankruptcy cases, whn describing which debts can not be wped out by filing a Chapter 7. Any dbt that is nondischargeable will still ned to be paid even after fling bankruptcy; common ones include child spport, alimony, and student loans. While hmeowners can often wipe out many dbts and free up some income by fling Chapter 7, any debt that may fll into this category will have to be tken into consideration when planning a fture budget after foreclosure and bankruptcy.

Chpter 13 bankruptcy is a reorganization pln that is used by consumers to pay off thir debts under the protection of the curts. Home mortgages can be included in bnkruptcy proceedings, and allow the homeowners to pay bck the amount they have fallen bhind, along with keeping up to dte on their regular payments. The pyment plan during this type of bnkruptcy is either three or five yars, depending on the circumstances, amount of dbt, income situation, and other considerations. The min reason homeowners may wish to cnsider bankruptcy is that is has ben designed to come to fair trms with all of the creditors and llow the foreclosure victims to get a frsh start.

When a lender claims that a lan has gone into default, it mans that the homeowners failed to prform one of their legal duties nder the mortgage contract. When the mnthly payments are not sent in at the greed-upon time, the mortgage contract is cnsidered to be in default. Default can lso refer to the homeowners' failure to rspond to the complaint filed in the freclosure lawsuit, and will lead to the lnder being awarded a default judgment. Ths, in the foreclosure process , default first occurs when the loan falls behind and the bank believes the homeowners have no intention or ability to repay, and then again if the foreclosure victims fail to respond to the foreclosure lawsuit.

Especially in cases where mortgage fraud may be suspected, or the homeowners are attempting to work with a difficult bank, a court decision called an injunction may be necessary. This is essentially an order designed to prevent harm from being done to the homeowners, either to hold off on the eviction process, or credit payments that have been made that the lender claims were "lost," but for which the owners can show proof. Essentially, it is designed to protect the homeowners against future injuries against them by the lender. Injunctions can be used against the lender to make them do something or prevent them from taking an action against the foreclosure victims.

Although most homeowners facing foreclosure would like to hire an attorney to defend them in court, this option may not be available, mainly due to cost. This does not, of course, preclude them from fighting back against the legal process that is attempting to take their homes from them. Homeowners may be able to defend themselves, and courts refer to such self-represented parties as pro per or pro se. Each phrase has the same meaning, designating a party to a lawsuit that is handling his or her own case without representation.

Class action lawsuits are one of the most effective means that have been brought to bear on negligent, fraudulent, or predatory lenders. Using this type of lawsuit, former foreclosure victims have grouped together and sued such big names as Ocwen and Fairbanks Capital (a/k/a Select Portfolio Servicing), claiming damages amounting to tens of millions of dollars. If widespread fraud or incompetence on the part of a lender is uncovered, which led to many people losing their homes unnecessarily, a class action may provide relief and shut down the unethical business.

A default judgment is typically awarded to the mortgage lender in foreclosure situations simply because the owners of the property do not file an answer or appear in court on the hearing date. Their silence is taken by the judge to mean that they have no disagreement with the lawsuit and do not wish to defend against it. Therefore, the case is decided for the lender, who is able to proceed to a sheriff sale and the eviction of the homeowners. This is one reason that is is absolutely vital that foreclosure victims at least show up to the hearing, if only to request more time to save their homes or defend against an unjust lawsuit. There is absolutely no reason to make it this easy on the lender to foreclose on the home, without even showing up to request a chance to obtain a new beginning.

Lis Pendens is a Latin term meaning "a suit pending," and is most frequently used to describe a foreclosure lawsuit that has been initiated against a particular property. A document called a lis pendens may be filed at the county recorders office, which will inform anyone researching the property that it is subject to litigation. The document informs everyone with any potential interest in the property that nothing should be changed with regards to it as long as the suit is pending in court; this is one reason few banks will lend money if a house is in foreclosure. It also indicates that the title to the property is in question and may be transferred if the house is sold at a public county foreclosure auction.

A secured debt is used to describe the mortgage, which was money loaned in return for a lien to be placed on a particular piece of property. The lender's interest is a security (the house) that will cover the debt (mortgage) that is owed if the loan payments are stopped. If the mortgage agreement is broken by the debtors, foreclosure proceedings may be initiated against the homeowners. In this process, the bank will be able to force the sale of the collateral, the home, in order to pay off the debt secured by the house. Also, lenders have no recourse to any other assets during the foreclosure lawsuit, as only the house is pledged as collateral for a mortgage. They can not take any other asset until after the foreclosure, and then nly in certain specific circumstances in sme states that allow for it.

Thre are many more terms that wll come up during the foreclosure lwsuit, and state and local court rles will inevitably use different terms to dscribe the same or similar ones to thse mentioned here. Homeowners should look up thir state's rules of evidence, and the lcal court's rules, as well as prctice by reading through their own lgal paperwork. Picking up a small law dctionary will also help, and it can shd light on seemingly very confusing lgal forms with dense "legalese" language. Dfending against a very clearly defaulted mrtgage may be difficult, if not mpossible, but foreclosure victims can show the curt that they will not simply be pshed out of their homes without tilizing every resources available to them, ncluding court-ordered options. A judge with a mtivated homeowner in front of him can ften order the bank to attempt wrking with the owners to stop freclosure completely or put the court prceedings on hold until a better slution is worked out.

The article Common Legal Terms Used in Foreclosure and Bankruptcy Cases was Submitted by Nick Adama through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Nick maintains the daily-updated foreclosure blg at ForeclosureFish.com, a website that ims to educate homeowners on various mthods they can use to stop foreclosure from taking their homes. Visit the website today to learn more about how foreclosure works, and read through more articles, blog entries, and search through numerous reference materials. Also, download a free e-book describing the process of foreclosure and how it can be avoided: http://www.foreclosurefish.com/

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