Putting You Back in Financial Control in Southeastern Louisiana
How Chapter 13 works:
Allows those with debt to pay off a certain amount of debt in installments over a 3–5-year period and the remainder of the qualifying debt is discharged. Chapter 13 helps you to avoid home foreclosure. A court-issued automatic stay stops foreclosure as soon as you file for petition. The repayment period and amount that is paid depends on your income, assets and debt. If you’re no longer in need of assistance, you can withdraw from your case. You can file for Chapter 13 individually or jointly with a spouse. You can also get rid of unsecured debt left over from a divorce, a failed business, personal guarantees, trade creditors, and income taxes over 3 years old, etc. We will help lower your debt payments and protect all co-debtors. You can qualify for Chapter 13 as long as your unsecured debts are less than $526,700 and secured debts are less than $1,580,125 as of the date of filing for bankruptcy relief. 11 U.S.C. § 109(e)
Source: United States Courts
General steps in a chapter 13 filing:
1. Begins by filing a petition with the bankruptcy court serving the area where you reside. In order to complete the official bankruptcy forms for the petition you will need:
a. a list of all creditors and the amounts and nature of their claims
b. the source, amount, and frequency of the debtor’s income
c. a list of all the debtor’s property
d. a detailed list of the debtor’s monthly living expenses, (i.e. food, clothing, shelter, utilities, taxes, transportation, medicine, etc.)
2. After you file the petition, the Chapter 13 trustee will hold a meeting of creditors to see if the court will grant you an extension. If not, you will need to file a repayment plan with the petition or within 14 days after the petition is filed. The trustee will then distribute the funds to the creditors according to the terms of your plan. This may offer creditors less than full payment on their claims. Refer to types of claims for more information!
3. Within 30 days after filing, even if the plan is not approved by the court, you (the debtor), must start making payment plans to the trustee.
Types of claims:
- Priority – granted special status by the bankruptcy law
- Secured – creditor has the right to take back certain property if you do not pay the underlying debt
- Unsecured – the creditor has no special rights to collect against particular property owned by debtor
Contact us now if you are interested in filing!
