The Judge

I was talking to a lawyer the other day about the foreclosure crisis.  He is an excellent attorney in his field, but like almost all lawyers, he knows very little about this are of the law. As we were discussing the ins and outs, I came up with an analogy that I was surprised had eluded me earlier:

The Trustee in a non-judicial foreclosure is the judge.

There are two kinds of foreclosure in America:

1. Judicial Foreclosure:  The bank must take its case in front of a JUDGE before they can foreclose.  This system is used in states like New York and Florida.

2. Non-Judicial Foreclosure: In these states, a TRUSTEE is appointed, so that the property does NOT have to go in front of a judge.  This is the law in Missouri, California, Arizona and many other states.

In those states, there is no court-appointed neutral, but there is a person appointed by the parties themselves who is supposed to be neutral:  The Trustee.  The thought was obviously that this person could be trusted to look out for both sides.

• But what if the judge is also the lawyer for one side?
• What if the judge continually fails to make the party asking for foreclosure to produce the paperwork showing that they have the right to do so?

That's exactly what's happening right now.  What we do is help bring your case in front of a REAL judge, not one paid exclusively by the banks, not one helping to try to take your home from you.

Here come THAT judge.