What is Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?

The basic difference between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 is that under Chapter 7 the debtor´s non-exempt property ( if any exists) is liquidated to pay as much as possible of the debtor´s debts, while under Chapter 13 a portion of the debtor´s future income is used to pay as much of the debtor´s debts as is feasible considering the debtor´s circumstances.

As a practical matter, under Chapter 7 the debtor loses all or most of his or her nonexempt property and receives a Chapter 7 discharge, which releases the debtor from liability for most debts. Under Chapter 13, the debtor usually retains his or her nonexempt property, must pay off as much of his or her debts as the court deems feasible, and receives a Chapter 13 discharge, which is broader than a Chapter 7 discharge and releases the debtor from liability for some debts that are not dischargeable under Chapter 7. However, a Chapter 13 case normally lasts much longer than a Chapter 7 case and is usually more expensive for the debtor.

Chapter 13 is usually preferable for a person who:

1. wishes to repay all or most of his or her unsecured debts and has the income with which to do so within a reasonable time
2. has valuable nonexempt property or has valuable exempt property securing debts, either of which would be lost in a Chapter 7 case is not eligible for a discharge under Chapter 7
3. has sufficient assets with which to repay most debts, but needs temporary relief from creditors in order to do so, or save your house from foreclosure or your car from being repossessed.

In a Chapter 13 case, the bankruptcy court can provide aid to the debtor that private debt consolidation services cannot provide. For example, the court has the authority to prohibit creditors from attaching or foreclosing on the debtor´s property, to force unsecured creditors to accept a Chapter 13 plan that pays only a portion (sometimes zero) of their claims, and to discharge a debtor from unpaid portions of debts. Private debt consolidation services have none of these powers.

Only an individual with regular income who owes, on the date you file the petition, less than $290,525.00 in unsecured debt and $871,550.00 in secured debts. These debts must also be noncontingent and liquidated, meaning that they must be for a certain, fixed amount ( or easily determinable amount) and not subject to any conditions or bona fide disputes.

Chapter 13 protects individuals from the collection efforts of creditors, permits individuals to keep their real estate and personal property, and provides individuals the opportunity to repay their debts through reduced payments. You may also be able to discharge debts in a Chapter 13 that would be nondischargeable under other chapters, for example, fraud judgments and certain tax obligations. Certain tax obligations or repayments can be made easier by virtue of the elimination of interest payments. You may also be able to get rid of junior liens on your real property.

In a Chapter 13 case, the bankruptcy court can provide aid to the debtor that private debt consolidation services cannot provide. For example, the court has the authority to prohibit creditors from attaching or foreclosing on the debtor´s property, to force unsecured creditors to accept a Chapter 13 plan that pays only a portion (sometimes zero) of their claims, and to discharge a debtor from unpaid portions of debts. Private debt consolidation services have none of these powers.

If you miss any payments at all that are due under your plan, your case will be dismissed by the Court. You also cannot borrow money (incur new debt) exceeding approximately $250.00 during the pendency of your case (usually 3 years), without first obtaining court approval. This can be somewhat of a problem if, for example, your car lease expires and you need to get a new car during this period. It is entirely possible that the Court will not allow you to get a “new” car for a higher monthly payment than your last car was and if your payment is less they might require that extra money to be paid towards your plan.

First of all, you must have a “regular income”. Meaning, you must have some source of income that is regular or at least can be averaged regularly on an annual basis. You are usually required to pay all of your disposable income to the Trustee (the Trustee is the person who administers the debtor´s case until it is closed and collects the payments from the debtor and then distributes them to the creditors) through your plan (your plan states how much money or other property the debtor will pay to the Trustee, how long the debtor´s payments will continue, how much will be paid to each of the creditors, etc.) usually for 36 months.

Disposable income is defined as income received by you that is not reasonably necessary for the maintenance and support of your or your dependents. The keyword is “reasonably”.

For example: if you are used to spending $2,000.00 a month on a car, you would not be allowed that much of an expense for that since that is not considered “reasonable”. Thus, your disposable income is calculated by taking your monthly income and subtracting your reasonable monthly expenses. Typically, the plan payments last for 36 months, unless additional time is requested, but in no event will they last more than 60 months.

Therefore, if your payments analysis shows, for example, that you can afford to pay $200.00 per month ( over & above your normal living expenses) you would pay that each month to the Chapter 13 Trustee, who would disperse it pro-rata among your creditors. At the end of 36 months, you are discharged from all dischargeable unsecured debts, regardless of how much your creditors have received.

In addition, to your plan payments, you must stay current with any ongoing obligations you have to secured creditors (only if you wish to keep that item. You may “surrender” it and then it becomes an unsecured debt. “Surrender” means you give it back to the creditor) such as on your mortgage or car payment. Chapter 13 (or any other chapter) only affects debts that you owe on or before you filed the bankruptcy petition.

Therefore, on your mortgages and other secured debts, your monthly plan payment goes to pay any arrearages (past due amounts) that existed on the date, you file and you can repay that arrearage over the life of the plan; but, you must stay current from the filing date forward with any payment on that obligation.

Some paralegal services charge a minimal fee to prepare and file the necessary paperwork to file a bankruptcy. While in some cases this may not be a major problem, it has been my personal experience that the risk is simply not worth it.

Much of what goes into the bankruptcy petition comes from the insightful and probing questioning from a qualified bankruptcy attorney. Paralegals and other “bankruptcy petition preparers” are strictly prohibited from practicing law and, therefore, cannot give legal advice or ask the necessary questions to make sure you are completing your paperwork fully and completely.

Even if they were legally allowed to do so, they are not able to adequately assess the laws surrounding exemptions and to determine what your best options are. Are you willing to risk possibly losing your 401(k) or other assets because the proper exemption wasn´t used or they didn´t know the exemption existed; all to save a couple of hundred dollars?

In addition, most paralegals are not qualified to prepare a Chapter 13 plan. Are you willing to risk overpaying, or even worse, the possibility of your plan not being confirmed by the Trustee and have your case dismissed? You also may be assuming there is no problem with listing a particular asset or reaffirming a particular debt, only to find out months or even years from now, that because you filed the bankruptcy or didn´t take appropriate steps, that you did not get rid of that debt, or that you may lose an asset or any number of other problems.

Perhaps most importantly, they also cannot represent you in court or at the 341 hearing (more commonly known as the meeting of creditors). Further, if you list things incorrectly in your petition, or omit necessary items it is YOUR problem, not the paralegals. You sign all your bankruptcy papers under penalty of perjury.

Ultimately you may have to spend several thousand dollars to attempt to remedy a situation that could have been prevented, or at least planned for, at the beginning. It´s your choice.

Now you are somewhat familiar with what CHAPTER 13 is and how it works. SHOULD you HAVE THE NEED TO FILE A CHAPTER 13 BANKRUPTCY YOU now have a choice to make. You can either do nothing AND LET THE CREDITORS HARASS YOU AND POSSIBLY GARNISH YOUR WAGES, FORECLOSE ON YOUR HOUSE OR REPOSSESS YOUR CAR or you can SEE AN ATTORNEY WHO SPECIALIZES IN BANKRUPTCY TO HELP YOU PLAN AND TAKE CARE OF YOUR DEBTS. The choice is yours.