Deerfield Beach Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Attorney
Chapter 13 helps individuals struggling to meet their monthly obligations organize and adjust their debts to an affordable amount so they can make their payments more comfortably without having to worry about creditors coming to repossess their car, take back their appliances or home furnishings they bought on credit, and stop the constant harassment of letters, phone calls and threats of lawsuits. Perhaps most importantly, Chapter 13 can keep you in your home and stop foreclosure in its tracks! If you are working and have a regular source of income, you might make too much money to qualify for Chapter 7, but you could be an excellent candidate for debt relief through Chapter 13. Learn more about Chapter 13 bankruptcy below, and call the Law Office of Adam I. Skolnik, P.A, for assistance. Our Deerfield Beach Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney helps individuals and families struggling with debt in Broward and Palm Beach County communities from Fort Lauderdale to Boca Raton. Call us for a free consultation to see how we can help.
Chapter 13 – The “Wage Earner’s Plan”
Chapter 13 is known by various names – reorganization bankruptcy, individual debt adjustment, wage earner’s plan. The idea behind Chapter 13 is that it enables you to work out a payment plan that fits within your available (disposable) income, taking into account all your income and expenses. Chapter 13 brings all your creditors together into one plan. The plan prioritizes creditors into different classes and allows you to adjust some debts so they are more affordable. This includes paying interest at a much lower rate than the creditors normally charge; for some debts, you can have the interest, along with late fees and other penalties, completely discharged.
The wage earner’s plan gives you either three or five years to complete, depending on your monthly disposable income. At the end of the plan period, any unsecured debts (credit cards, doctor bills, personal loans) that remain are discharged. Creditors are required to abide by the terms of an approved plan and not bother you so long as you are sticking to the plan.
Although the discharge of debt under Chapter 13 is not as complete as it is under Chapter 7, it is easier to qualify for Chapter 13. Also, Chapter 13 does not require any selling of property, so you don’t have to concern yourself with the Florida bankruptcy exemptions or worry about losing any assets. Also, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy gets removed from your credit report sooner than a Chapter 7 does. For many people, however, Chapter 13’s biggest draw is its ability to stave off foreclosure and adjust your home mortgage.
Save Your Home With Chapter 13
If you’ve defaulted on your mortgage, foreclosure can happen very quickly. However, the minute you file for bankruptcy, the court imposes an automatic stay on all collection activities. This stay applies to foreclosures as well, even if proceedings are already underway. The automatic stay is key to taking pressure off individuals and giving them some breathing room while they work on a plan to get out of debt.
Chapter 13 takes you out of mortgage default by allowing you to roll your missed payments into your overall plan. As long as you stick to the plan and keep up with payments going forward, the lender has no cause to foreclose. Chapter 13 provides even more powerful tools if you are upside down on your mortgage, meaning that you owe more on the mortgage than the house is worth on the current housing market. If this is the case, Chapter 13 allows you to cramdown your mortgage balance to an amount closer to the home’s value. The excess amount is considered unsecured debt and can get discharged at the end of your plan. Likewise, if you have a second or third mortgage but are underwater on your first mortgage, you can have those junior liens stripped away as unsecured debt as well. Chapter 13 not only gets you out of foreclosure; it puts you in the position to afford your mortgage and stay in your home long after the bankruptcy is completed.
Get Help Today With Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton
Talk to an experienced Deerfield Beach Chapter 13 bankruptcy lawyer today to find out if Chapter 13 is the right approach to get you out of debt and on track toward a brighter financial future. In Palm Beach or Broward County, call the Law Office of Adam I. Skolnik, P.A., in Deerfield Beach for a free consultation.
