Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Keep Your Property & Repay Debts Over Time

by Cara O'Neill Attorney

Overview

Stop creditors. Get more time to pay.

Filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy stops creditors, lawsuits, wage garnishments, bank levies, and other collection actions, giving you time to restructure debts in a three- or five-year repayment plan. Each monthly payment goes primarily toward the debts that matter most—your mortgage, car loan, support obligations, and taxes. Credit card balances, medical accounts, and utility bills usually receive a small fraction of the balance. Chapter 13 filers can also use the plan to avoid foreclosure and vehicle repossession or pay to keep property they’d lose in Chapter 7 over time. Sometimes, they can even reduce or eliminate secured loans.

This guide explains the benefits of Chapter 13 and more, including how to find and hire the right lawyer and calculate the monthly payment. It also covers what to expect during the process, which debts get erased after completing plan payments, how to rebuild credit after the case ends, and more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781413327601
Publisher:	NOLO
Publication date:	05/26/2020
Edition description:	Fifteenth Edition
Pages:	440
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 6.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Cara O’Neill is a legal editor and writer at Nolo specializing in bankruptcy and small claims litigation. Cara authors several Nolo book titles, including How to File for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, The New Bankruptcy, and Everybody’s Guide to Small Claims Court. She also coauthors Legal Research: How to Find and Understand the Law, The Foreclosure Survival Guide, Solve Your Money Troubles, and Credit Repair, and edits several more. Before joining Nolo, Cara practiced law for over 20 years in civil and criminal litigation, bankruptcy, and administrative law. During that time, she served as an administrative law judge, took dozens of criminal and civil cases to jury verdict, appeared before the California Court of Appeals, and taught undergraduate and graduate law courses. She earned her law degree in 1994 from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, where she served as a law journal editor and graduated as a member of the Order of the Barristers—an honor society recognizing excellence in courtroom advocacy. 

Table of Contents

Part 1: Is Chapter 13 Right for You? 1.How Chapter 13 Works 2.The Automatic Stay 3. Are You Eligible to Use Chapter 13? 4. Do You Have to Use Chapter 13? 5. Can You Propose a Plan the Judge Will Approve? 6. Making the Decision Part II: Filing for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy 7. Complete Your Bankruptcy Forms 8. The Chapter 13 Plan 9. Filing the Bankruptcy Case 10. Handling Routine Matters After You File Part III: Making Your Plan Work 11. Common Legal Issues 12. Carrying Out Your Plan 13. If You Cannot Complete Your Plan 14. Life After Bankruptcy Part IV: Help Beyond the Book 15. Hiring and Working With a Lawyer 16. Legal Research Glossary Appendixes A: State and Federal Exemption Charts B: Chart and Sample Forms Index

Interviews

Living under the weight of financial burden is stressful—but there is a way out. You’ll find the easy-to-understand explanations in Chapter 13 bankruptcy will help you decide whether bankruptcy is right for you.

Editorial Reviews

Author Comments: "Living under the weight of financial burden is stressful—but there is a way out. You’ll find the easy-to-understand explanations in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy will help you decide whether bankruptcy is right for you."

"An excellent book that can guide you through the [Chapter 13] process." Forbes Magazine

"Chapter 13 Bankruptcy will save you a fortune in attorney fees and confusion." The Midwest Book Review

"This is the best book going if you choose to file alone or if you want background on the Chapter 13 process." Attorney Gary Klein, Co-Author of Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice

"It explains how Chapter 13 works, the automatic stay, determining eligibility for Chapter 13, the means test, proposing a plan the judge will approve, and making the decision; filing for bankruptcy; common legal issues, carrying out the plan, what to do if the plan cannot be completed, and life after bankruptcy; and hiring and working with a lawyer and doing legal research. This revised edition includes recent changes in bankruptcy law, as well as updated 50-state exemption tables and key Supreme Court decisions." Eithne O'Leyne, Editor, Ringgold, Inc.. ProtoView

From the Publisher