Cure begins
Mortgage arrears paid through trustee. Forward payment direct to lender.
Chapter 13 is for households with a foreclosure on the calendar, a vehicle on the tow lot, tax debt that won’t go away, or assets they need to keep. You repay what you can over 36 to 60 months — the rest is discharged.
Calculate my plan payment Or compare with Chapter 7If Chapter 7 is for the household with nothing left to protect, Chapter 13 is for the household fighting to keep what they’ve already built.
Chapter 13 cures up-to-date the missed mortgage payments through the plan, while the regular monthly payment continues post-petition. The auto-stay halts the sale instantly.
If your car is older than 910 days at filing, the plan can “cram down” the lien to the vehicle’s actual value — potentially saving thousands.
Older tax debt can be wholly discharged. Recent tax debt becomes a priority claim repaid over 5 years — with all penalties and interest frozen.
If you fail the means test for Chapter 7, Chapter 13 is the federal alternative. Disposable income flows to creditors at cents on the dollar over 60 months.
The Chapter 13 co-debtor stay protects friends and family who co-signed your consumer debts — a protection unavailable in Chapter 7.
You can file Chapter 13 just four years after a Chapter 7 discharge to cure new arrears or restructure new debt. Strategic re-filing is rare but real.
Your plan payment is determined by your disposable income and the priority/secured-claim math — not by what your creditors want. Here’s a worked example for a typical household.
$72,000 household income, $34,000 unsecured debt, $9,400 mortgage arrears, $2,800 tax priority claim, vehicle current.
Your case lives in the federal docket for five years, but only three of those years require active management. We watch your plan; you live your life.
Auto-stay activates. Plan confirmed at month 4–6.
Mortgage arrears paid through trustee. Forward payment direct to lender.
Trustee mails first 12-month accounting.
Refresher meeting with attorney; modification optional.
Court enters discharge order; case closes.
~12-min Zoom meeting at week 5.
Most priority tax claims clear by month 18.
If income drops 15%+, we modify the plan.
Remaining disposable income flows to unsecured pool.
Trade-lines update to “included in bankruptcy.”
30 days after filing — even before confirmation.
Most plans let you keep first $2,500 of refund per year.
Some clients refinance the mortgage at year-3 mark.
Final 2-hr course due before discharge.
Same 12-month rebuild playbook as Chapter 7.
Aggregate numbers from our last 200 confirmed Chapter 13 cases.
You file a hardship modification within 60 days. The plan can be reduced, paused for up to 6 months, or converted to Chapter 7 if the income drop is permanent. Conversion is a single 3-page motion.
Yes — with a motion to sell. The sale proceeds typically cure the plan in full and trigger an early discharge if the unsecured pool is satisfied.
You need trustee permission for any new credit over $1,000. We file the motion; approval is routine for replacement vehicles, urgent home repairs, and small business equipment.
If the first mortgage exceeds the home’s value, a second mortgage can be wholly stripped — treated as unsecured debt and discharged at plan completion. We run the appraisal math at intake.
Bring your last 6 months of paystubs and your most recent mortgage statement. We’ll model the plan live, on Zoom or in person.
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