Program Makes Legal System Ally Against Foreclosure

By LYDIA X. McCOY STAFF WRITER / (812) 464-7431 mccoyl@courierpress.com

In 2008, there were 45,394 foreclosure filings in Indiana - more than the number of divorces.

"This is really a stunning fact and a very sad one. It is, of course, a reflection of the economy," said Indiana Chief Justice Randall Shepard.

"It's everyone's hope that one way or another as many people as possible will be able to ride this out and somehow be able to stay in their homes that they and their families have been living in."

On Monday, Shepard announced that a new state program has trained more than 1,000 judges, attorneys and mediators on how to better handle foreclosure cases. The training sessions are an effort to encourage attorneys to provide free legal help to homeowners in need of assistance.

"One of the things that all three branches of Indiana government are trying to do is to devise ways to maximize people who can survive this dreadful environment," he said during a news conference at the Courts Building.

"The world of mortgages and of mortgage loans has changed enormously in the last 15 years, so we decided that one of the things that the court system could do and the legal profession could do would be to create as many knowledgeable lawyers and judges who would understand the modern dynamic of mortgage foreclosure."

Of the 1,000 judges, attorneys and mediators who have completed the training, only 45 are from Southern Indiana. Those who have participated are learning about documents necessary to complete a foreclosure and how to spot red flags of predatory lending.

An additional piece is to get the all the parties involved in a foreclosure into the same room for a "face-to-face negotiation," Shepard said.

"It'll be our ambition to help trial courts in helping create this new way, we hope, of individual negotiations. Not everyone can be rescued.. but there are some who can," he said

"Given that we have some 50,000 a year being filed, this is a big task, and it's one that the trial courts, so far, have done their best to manage. This will be one of a variety of ways that we try to keep people in their homes during this hurricane as we possibly can."

In Vanderburgh County, 1,159 mortgage foreclosures were filed last year. That amount was up by 112 cases from 2007, according to the Indiana Supreme Court's Division of State Court Administration, which keeps data on the number and types of cases filed in courts across the state.

Since the training began, about 300 cases have benefited from mediation, Shepard said.

If you're a homeowner in foreclosure, "call for help," he said.

"That's why we came today is to tell people that there are lawyers, housing counselors and other mediators who are prepared to help them through this situation if it's at all possible. It is important for people to know that there's help available."

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FILINGS

Mortgage foreclosure filings for 2007 and 2008 for area counties:

Daviess (Ind.) 70, 80

Dubois 78, 85

Gibson 138, 138

Knox 141, 146

Perry 75, 107

Pike 56, 54

Posey 100, 125

Spencer 89, 96

Vanderburgh 1,047, 1,159

Warrick 226, 273

Source: Indiana Supreme Court Division of State Court Administration

FOR HELP

To find out more about the mortgage assistance program or to get help, call 1-877-GET-HELP.

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