Chapter 13
Stop Foreclosure - Save Your Home
Stop Repossessions - Save Your Car
Our law office of Tommy Andrews, Jr., P.C. is passionate about saving your home and/or car. We are dedicated to legal excellence.
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is primarily used to stop foreclosure of your home. The bankruptcy petition would need to be filed before the sale date of your property. After filing, you will propose a plan to repay the amount you fell behind on the mortgage. You will also begin to again pay your regular mortgage payments, which under the operation of law must be accepted by your mortgage company.
If you are facing foreclosure, lawsuit, repossession or wage garnishment a Chapter 13 bankruptcy can rearrange your financial affairs allowing you to get back on your financial feet.
Chapter 13 law is very powerful: It stops a house foreclosure, allowing you to make up missed mortgage payments and keep your home. It stops repossession, and in most instances allows you to recover a vehicle that has already been repossessed. It stops interest accruing on personal debt, including back TAXES (an exception to this are student loans). In exchange for stopping any and all collections activity, one proposes to pay all or, in specific circumstances, a portion of the debt through a Chapter 13 plan. The filing of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy stops ALL collection activity though something called the automatic stay. The automatic stay remains in effect during the life of the case unless the court orders otherwise.
A Chapter 13 is a reorganization of debt, allowing consumers (if “you” are a business a Chapter 11 bankruptcy will help reorganize business debt) to repay all or a portion of your debt through a Chapter 13 plan while protecting real and personal assets. The concept is similar to debt consolidation, but it permits you, the consumer(s), to pay unsecured debt down without accruing interest (student loans are an exception) and without having to deal with those annoying calls from debt collectors. Under a typical plan, you make monthly payments to a court appointed bankruptcy trustee for generally three to five years. The amount of your monthly payment is determined by several factors such as the amount of debt you have, your ability to repay and the extent that you have assets. The bankruptcy trustee distributes the money to your creditors.
We can assist in proposing a successful Chapter 13 plan with the following: (1) stable and regular income; (2) disposable income, from which to make monthly plan payments, determined from the excess moneys after paying for basic human needs; (3) secured debt—e.g., home and car loans—that do not exceed $871,550; and (4) unsecured debt—e.g., credit card debt, medical and legal bills, student loans—that do not exceed $290,525.
A Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan allows you to catch up on your missed house and/or car payments. Because one is making monthly payments, one can include entire car note(s), or small mortgage(s) or loan(s) into the Chapter 13 plan. While in bankruptcy, in addition to the plan payment, one is responsible for making regular mortgage payments, car loan payments, food, utilities and other basic needs expenses.
Bankruptcy can be helpful for folks in financial distress, but the legal system is a maze of complex laws, rules, and regulations. Creditors have aggressive legal counsel to fight you at every stage of the process, if you want to be a winner in the process, then you need the best possible legal counsel to guide you in the process. We want to put our experience, knowledge and expertise to service for you.
Questions & Answers
- What is stable and regular income?
Stable and regular income is income from regular wages or salary, income from self-employment, wages from seasonal work, commissions from sales or other work, pension payments, Social Security benefits, disability or workers' compensation benefits, unemployment benefits, strike benefits and the like, public benefits (welfare payments), child support or alimony you receive, royalties and rents, and proceeds from selling property - What is and where does disposable income come from? Disposable income is the money left over after you pay for basic human needs: mortgage or rent, utilities, food, transportation, insurance, certain installment payments and the like. These are the moneys from which a monthly plan payment will be proposed.
- How much will my plan payment be? The monthly plan payment is based on the amount of debt you have. In some circumstances your payments will be enough to pay all your creditors dollar-for-dollar. Some debt need not be paid in full and can be paid pennies-on-the-dollar.
- Can I buy and sell property while in bankruptcy? While in bankruptcy one's assets, including one's earnings, are part of the bankruptcy estate. During the duration of the Chapter 13 bankruptcy case, one should generally not take out new loans. In order to sell a home or other real property, one will first require Court authorization.
- What kind of debt is dischargeable? Dischargeable debt includes unsecured debt—e.g., credit cards, medical bills, some taxes, etc. Student loans and liens are not dischargeable, though they can be paid through a Chapter 13 plan.
