Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Paying Debts Over Time
Home in Foreclosure? Car Being Repossessed?
If you are behind on your mortgage or creditors are calling day and night, Chapter 13 bankruptcy can stop foreclosure, stop repossession and immediately stop the harassing phone calls. It gives you a chance to take a break, reorganize your finances, and pay back a portion of your debts over time.
Bankruptcy lawyer Richard Stevenson in
Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
Not everyone qualifies to eliminate debts completely through Chapter 7 bankruptcy But Chapter 13 provides strong protection from creditors. If you qualify, creditors must immediately halt collection actions. In chapter 13, you propose a plan, based on your ability to pay, to make a monthly payment toward a certain percentage of the unsecured debt over a three to five year period. At the end, any remaining amount owed to your creditors is discharged.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy makes sense if:
- You would lose a lot of equity in home foreclosure
- You are behind on car or mortgage payments and want to catch up
- You want to get your repossessed vehicle back
- You failed the means test for Chapter 7
- You strongly believe you should pay the debts back
In a Chapter 13 filing, you do not risk having a trustee sell your assets. It also provides greater bargaining power to lower and consolidate debts. Depending on the bankruptcy court's determination of how much you can pay, you may have to repay only a fraction of your total debt.
If your home is worth less than the mortgage balance, and you have a second mortgage that is completely underwater, then you can use a chapter 13 bankruptcy to completely "strip off" the second mortgage, turning the debt into unsecured debt.
Contact an experienced bankruptcy attorney. Mr. Stevenson will personally meet with you to discuss your situation and guide you through the process. We offer flat fees, and a free initial consultation.
We are a debt relief agency.
We assist people in filing for relief under the Bankruptcy Code.