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A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy can be an asset protection tool that can assist a homeowner in protecting one’s family residence. Our skilled lawyers at Stone Rose Law have helped people avoid foreclosure of their home even when they were many months behind on their mortgage. A Maricopa County Chapter 13 Bankruptcy may be used to protect your family home from foreclosure or to reduce your monthly debt obligation if you cannot qualify for a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.
You may file a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy without needing to satisfy a means test, which means that more people qualify for a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy than a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Maricopa County. However, the protection afforded by a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is also less extensive. While a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy permits a person to eliminate virtually all unsecured financial obligations, a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy involves repaying one’s debts including at least some portion of unsecured debts over a 3- or 5-year period.
While filing any bankruptcy in Maricopa County is complicated, the challenges involved in filing a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy far exceed those of filing a Chapter 7. While the ability to obtain a broader discharge of unsecured debt makes a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy more attractive, someone who is facing foreclosure or is otherwise past due on mortgage payments will more typically be able to save their home by filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Maricopa County.
The process of filing a Chapter 13 is far more complex than filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. There also is frequently more at stake because many people seeking Chapter 13 are trying to avoid the loss of their family home. A Chapter 13 packet can easily exceed 45 pages in length. The Chapter 13 filing must not only provide the kinds of information that is required in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filing but must also provide a detailed repayment plan. There are strict rules that govern how different creditors are to be treated under the plan. The plan must abide by these rules in terms of recognizing certain types of unsecured priority debts that must be repaid in full. If a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy filing does not include a feasible repayment plan that specifies how secured, unsecured priority and unsecured non-priority debts will be handled according to the required guidelines, the plan may be rejected.
An important criterion for having your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy plan approved is that your income must be sufficient to fund the plan. This mean that you must be able to prove that you have enough income each month that you can make your plan payment as well as keep your current secured debts like your mortgage and your living expenses current. It is strongly recommended that you do not attempt to file a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy without seeking the advice and representation from an experienced Maricopa County bankruptcy attorney.
At Stone Rose Law we help our clients develop a Chapter 13 plan that is workable based on their income while also working to minimize the amount they repay on unsecured debt. A bankruptcy offers a unique opportunity to avoid certain financial obligations or at least reduce the amount you must pay so your best option is to work with a bankruptcy law firm that can help you maximize your savings under a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy plan.
Successful completion of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Maricopa County requires that all plan payments be made during the 3 or 5 year term. Because the plan will have provided for paying off or bringing current all secured debts and priority unsecured debts, which may not be discharged, these obligations will be current at the time a plan is completed. While there may still be remaining balances on certain unsecured non-priority debts, these obligations will be discharged so that they no longer need to be repaid. This is why the construction of one’s Chapter 13 plan is so important because you may be able to increase the amount that you are not obligated to repay.
At Stone Rose Law, our experienced bankruptcy attorneys are committed to helping those throughout Maricopa County keep their homes, which may be a family’s most important financial investment. It is important that once you complete your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy plan that you keep your mortgage current. One way to make this easier is to be cautious about incurring new credit card debt. We have seen many people who were once very close to losing their home and struggling to make ends meet achieve financial comfort and stability after a successful Chapter 13 discharge.
Stone Rose Law provides customized bankruptcy solutions that can preserve your most important assets and your family’s financial future so contact us today at 480-498-8998 today so that we can begin building a financial solution to fit your needs.