Sarasota Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Lawyer

What is Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy was designed to give people the option of applying a percentage of their future earnings to a portion of their current debts over an extended period of time. Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows the filer to keep their property (like a home and car) while consolidating and reorganizing their debt. This provides the debtor a reasonable opportunity to arrange installment payments for a portion or all of amounts that owe to creditors. The filer is protected from creditors by an "automatic stay" (an injunction against the continuance of any action by any creditor against the debtor or the debtor's property) while the plan for repayment is developed and carried out.

Under your Chapter 13 bankruptcy payment plan, you agree to pay back all of your secured debt over a three to five-year period. Secured debt is any debt that is backed (secured) by property like a home or a car. You will pay back a percentage of your unsecured debt such as credit card bills, lawsuit judgments, and hospital or medical bills. This percentage will be determined in part by your income that is available to repay unsecured debt.

Filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy puts an immediate stop to foreclosures, evictions, utility shut-offs, car repossessions, and wage garnishment. Creditors must also cease all collection activities including phone calls.

Why might you choose to file Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?

There are many reasons why you may want to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy:
You may want to repay your debts, but may need more time to manage the payments. Chapter 13 gives you 3 to 5 years to repay some or all of your debts.
You may wish to avoid having assets and or properties liquidated (this occurs in a Chapter 7).
You may need to stop foreclosure on your home.
You may not qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which provides a full discharge of most unsecured debts.
Filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy may allow you to protect assets you would otherwise lose by filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy gives you more time to catch up on mortgage payments to prevent a home foreclosure.
There are some tax debts you can discharge in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy that can't be discharged in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Hiring a Chapter 13 Lawyer

If you are thinking about filing for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in the State of Florida, contact The Forrest Law Firm today! We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Florida bankruptcy attorney Christopher Forrest represents clients in Sarasota County, Manatee County, Pinellas County, Hillsborough County, Venice, North Port, Sarasota, Bradenton, Tampa and St. Petersburg, and surrounding areas.