Going through a bankruptcy can be a stressful and time-consuming situation. We at The Weller Legal Group are here to help make the bankruptcy process easier and more efficient for you and your family. In this article we are going to talk about some facts about the Tampa Bankruptcy Court that will hopefully answer some of the most common questions in regards to the Tampa Bankruptcy Court that you may have.
Location
The Tampa Bankruptcy Court is currently located at 801 N Florida Ave, Suite #555, Tampa, FL 33602, USA. Directions to the property is take the I-275 North toward the I-4. You will then take EXIT 44 towards Downtown-East West. Make sure to keep right at the fork while following signs for Tampa St. Merge onto N Tampa St and then turn left onto E Polk St. Turn left onto N Florida Ave and the destination should be on your right.
Hours
The hours of operations in regards to the Tampa Bankruptcy Court are from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM which is open Monday through Friday. The court is closed on Saturdays and Sundays. There are also a few holidays we wanted to mention below that the courts will be closed even on weekdays.
Court Holidays
January 1st – New Year’s Day
January 21st – Martin Luther King’s Birthday
February 18th – President’s Day
May 27th – Memorial Day
July 4th – Independence Day
September 2nd – Labor Day
October 14th – Columbus Day
November 11th – Veterans Day
November 28th – Thanksgiving Day
December 25th – Christmas Day
*Make sure to call your local courts ahead of time to verify if they will be closed or not on these holidays mentioned above
Important Phone Numbers
Recorded Court Information: 813-301-5162
Voice Case Information: 866-222-8029 #91
Current Judges
Chief Judge Michael G. Williamson
Judge Catherine Peek Mcewen
Judge Caryl E. Delano
Judge Roberta A. Colton
Dress Code
This is an important part of this article that you should not ignore. When you show up to your court hearing you should dress to impress. It is recommended that men should wear dress shoes with socks, long dress pants with a belt, collared shirt that is tucked in, preferably with a tie, and can be accompanied with or without a blazer jacket. It is recommended that women wear shoes, a dress or skirt, preferably that is no more than two inches above the knee, or can also wear long pants or a blouse, accompanied by a sweater or casual dress shirt. Some things that you should not wear to the Tampa Bankruptcy Court is the following: shorts, hats, see-through top, flip flops, ripped shirts, ripped jeans, baggy pants, clothing with emblems or words that promote illegal activities, and clothing that promotes violence just to name a few.
Parking
The Tampa Bankruptcy Court does not have any public parking facility for people to park their cars. There is metered street parking that is available and also some privately-owned lots where you can pay to park your car nearby. Be prepared to walk a decent distance if it is a particularly busy day at the Tampa Bankruptcy Court. Sometimes it can be difficult to find parking near the Tampa Bankruptcy Court, make sure to give yourself enough time to find adequate parking so you don’t feel rushed to get to your hearing on time.
Food & Coffee
Another way to try to relax and prepare for your court hearing is to take some time eating or drinking coffee nearby before your court hearing. There is plenty of food and coffee shops near the Tampa Bankruptcy Court. Make sure to give yourself enough time if you are planning to grab a bite to eat before your court hearing. There are some restaurants and coffee shops nearby that can satisfy you. We are going to name a few for you: Subway, Domino’s Pizza, The Attic On Kennedy, Bruegger’s Bagels, and The Portico Café.
Bonus Tips
It is important that you show up to your court hearing early. When you show up to your hearing make sure that you are well dress, think of your hearing as if you are going to a formal job interview. It is a formal setting so make sure that you are dressed appropriately and prepared. We suggest that you arrive at the court at a minimum 30 minutes before your scheduled hearing. Parking is not always available in that area so it is important that you give yourself enough time because you may have to park far away from the Tampa Bankruptcy Court if there are no parking spaces available nearby. Also, you will have to go through security when you arrive to the court, which will delay your time even more especially if there is a long line. Make sure to bring multiple forms of identification with you to the hearing, a Driver’s License, US Passport, and Social Security Card are documents that will meet these requirements. The last tip that we want to leave you with is a very important one. Unless you are an Attorney, do not bring your cellphone to any Hearings in the Bankruptcy Court. You are not allowed to bring your cellphone into the building, do not make this mistake or this may make you late to your hearing, especially if you have to waste time walking back to your car to put away your cellphone.
Final Thoughts
We at The Weller Legal Group hope that the information provided to you in this article helped you understand more about the Tampa Bankruptcy Court. Going through a bankruptcy is not the end of the world and may even be a great start to a fresh new beginning. We at The Weller Legal Group have years of experience in helping our clients with bankruptcies and improving their credit scores. We have offices located throughout Florida, including, Clearwater, Port Richey, and Lakeland. If you have any other questions in regards to the Tampa Bankruptcy Court, filing bankruptcies or working on improving your credit score feel free to give us a call today at 1-800-407-3328.
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