As across the nation, Essex County has experienced a high rate of foreclosure filings and increased bankruptcy filings, especially in its urban centers. Located within the New York Metropolitan area, Essex County is located in the northeastern part of New Jersey. Essex County is bordered by New Jersey counties Passaic County to the north, Bergen County and Hudson County to the east, Union to the south and Morris County to the west.
Essex County has a total land area of 126 square miles and a population of 793,633. It is the second most densely populated county in New Jersey. Essex County has a median household income of $44,944, with the majority of its affluent residents living in the western suburbs. There are a large amount of commuters among its residents, who typically commute to nearby New York City for work. Several large corporations have facilities in Essex, including Anheuser-Busch, Dun & Bradstreet and Prudential. Essex County is also home to Newark Liberty International Airport and Port Newark Elizabeth Marine Terminal.
Urban Areas in Essec Particularly Hard Hit by Foreclosures
Urban areas, such as Newark, New Jersey, in Essex County, have been hard hit in the foreclosure crisis and increase in bankruptcy filings. In the urban areas, there was an extraordinary run up in real estate prices prior to the dramatic drop in prices. Most of this run up was caused by the easy credit and homeowners easily obtaining mortgage loans. When homeowners could no longer afford the mortgages, the prices and market collapsed. Refinancing or selling these properties are out of the question because they are now worth less than the mortgage loans secured against them.
Bankruptcy may be Only
Many times, the only option for homeowners to be able to deal with the foreclosures is bankruptcy. Bankruptcy may give you the ability to restructure the loans and perhaps strip off or cram down second mortgage loans that are completely underwater, i.e., the houses are worth much less than the loans against them. Depending on the situation, Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy may be appropriate for a homeowner. We represent many homeowners in the hard hit county of Essex County, New Jersey and most of our cases are in the Newark Bankruptcy Court, which covers most of northern New Jersey. The Bankruptcy Court in Newark is located at the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Courthouse, 50 Walnut Street, Newark, New Jersey.
Essex County Courts
Essex County has the largest and busiest trial courts in New Jersey with a staff of approximately 60 Superior Court Judges and about 1,100 staff. The Superior Court of New Jersey serving the 22 municipalities of Essex Vicinage is located in downtown Newark in five separate buildings.
The Essex County Superior Court Addresses are as follows:
Veterans Courthouse
50 West Market Street
Newark, NJ 07102
Hall of Records, 465 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Newark, NJ 07102
Historic Courthouse
470 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
Newark, NJ 07102
Robert N. Wilentz Court Complex
212 Washington Street
Newark, NJ 07102
Probation Division
60 Evergreen Place
East Orange, NJ 07108
CONTACT AN ATTORNEY IN OUR FIRM'S NEW JERSEY OFFICES
Contact an Essex County bankruptcy lawyer in one of our New Jersey offices to discuss how to best proceed. Our law firm offers bankruptcy solutions and legal strategies to clients throughout cities and towns in Essex County, New Jersey.
