Monday, July 2, 2007

Can You File For Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

Chapter 13 bankruptcy is for small businesses and people who have a steady income. Chapter 13 helps you to pay off a portion of you debt and avoid filing for bankruptcy. You receive enough time to repay your debts while retaining your property. You need to have a monthly income in order to file a chapter 13 so that you can live comfortably and still make a monthly repayment to your debtors. In most cases, a repayment plan allows for up to five years for repayment.

Before Filing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

You need to consult with a debt credit counselor who has been approved for such a task. You need to participate in a course that teaches you about financial budgeting and teaches you how to manage your money instead of going in debt again. This course will show the courts you have learned to budget your money and be able to repay the money you agreed on for the repayment plan.

Chapter 13 bankruptcies has certain limits for filing which includes personal loans of less than three hundred thousand dollars and a maximum debt of nine hundred and twenty-two thousand dollars. There are some things excluded in filing bankruptcy, they include support, alimony, criminal fines, loans for education, and court ordered restitution.

When you make a repayment plan, you are committing to a legal binding agreement with the creditors to repay the debt. In most cases, a part of the debt is forgiven with an arranged payment plan. For the most part, you do not pay the payment yourself. A credit counselor who will represent you as a trustee receives the money from you monthly and distributes the money to the creditors in the agreement plan. Once the repayment plan is enforced, debtor cannot take action against you as long as you pay the monthly payments.

While the court order of protection under the chapter 13 bankruptcy exists, you cannot ring up any other debt exceeding two hundred and fifty dollars. This protects everyone concerned. Once you have a filed bankruptcy document, creditors cannot take any collection action against you or take any of your property.

Once you pay the filing fees and your papers for chapter 13 bankruptcies, you have up to fifteen days to file all the necessary paperwork regarding your finances. This is the critical step in filing for bankruptcy.

Keep in mind that debtors do not have to agree to the terms you and credit counselor set up, they have forty-five days to accept or decline the proposal. If they feel the deal does not benefit them, they will have another ninety days to file their claims with the court.

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Summarized

You have the option to repay your creditors without collection procedures hindering your cause. Your property and assets are protected starting the day you file the papers. You will make a monthly repayment plan and need to stick to it in order for the order of protection to stay in affect. If you default on the repayment, you are subject to collections from the creditors and possibly a contempt of court order. Chapter 13 bankruptcy will protect you if you follow the instructions from the court.

You can also find more info on Bankruptcy Court and Bankruptcy Exemptions. Filingpersonalbankruptcyhelp.com is a comprehensive resource to get help in Bankruptcy.


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