Former National Football League star O.J. Simpson will lose his southern Florida home after being unable to keep up on mortgage payments for the property. Simpson's bank, JP Morgan Chase, told a Miami-Dade court that its process server automatically attempted to serve Simpson with foreclosure papers at the home, but was unsuccessful.

Simpson, however, is currently in prison out-of-state, serving 33 years for a 2008 armed robbery and kidnapping. The soonest he could be released is 2017, when he becomes eligible for parole.

According to court documents, Simpson bought the one-story home for $522,000 in September 2000, taking out a $575,000 loan in order to fund the purchase. Sources now report that he owes more than $700,000 in connection with the property. In addition to delinquent mortgage payments, this includes penalties, interest and legal fees.

Simpson reportedly stopped making payments on the mortgage in 2010, when he was already in prison. JP Morgan Chase initiated the foreclosure soon after it became clear that Simpson did not intend to pay the hundreds of thousands of dollars he currently owes on the home.

An attorney explained that the attempt to serve Simpson his foreclosure documents at his home was likely a mistake of the lender's process procedure. He explained that the bank knows Simpson is in prison, but that an automated system probably directed the papers to be sent before anyone noticed and intervened. Simpson's lawyer will contest the filing, despite Simpson's failure to participate in a mediation program designed to help him avoid the foreclosure.

Florida homeowners should know that just because they are presented with a foreclosure filing, it does not mean that they will immediately lose their home. There are legal options available to fight foreclosure, such as getting a mortgage modification to lower the monthly payments.

Source: Examiner, "JP Morgan Chase to Foreclosure Court: Process Server Cannot Find O.J. Simpson," William Lewis, Jan, 16, 2012