BANKRUPTCY - CHAPTER 13
A Chapter 13 bankruptcy helps individuals in financial difficulty who want to repay their creditors through a plan for financial reorganization and restructuring. Some of the benefits of filing for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code are:
Able to Keep and Protect Assets
Chapter 13 bankruptcy is also known as a “personal” reorganization bankruptcy. Under Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy, a person is able to retain certain assets that would otherwise be sold to pay creditors under Chapter 7. In most Chapter 13 cases, an individual can keep his/her home and car as long as they propose a Chapter 13 Plan that conforms to the Bankruptcy Code.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy protects individuals from creditors, allows them to keep their personal property and real estate and provides people the chance to repay their debts through certain reduced payments.
Eliminating Second Mortgages
Many people who purchased homes in recent years did so by taking out first and second mortgages. Now that real estate prices are have fallen dramatically in many parts of the State, your home may be worth much less than what you paid for it. If the current value of your property has dropped below the loan balance on your first mortgage, bankruptcy under Chapter 13 may allow you reduce your second mortgage or eliminate it altogether.
Lowering Car Payments
If the loan on your car or truck is more than two and a half years old, bankruptcy may allow you to reduce your monthly loan payments by lowering your loan balance to the current value of your vehicle and trimming your interest rate to a percentage that is set by the bankruptcy court. Pursuing this option requires that you repay the modified loan balance in monthly installments over a three to five year period through the Chapter 13 Plan.
These are just some of the benefits offered through a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy filing. If you think Chapter 13 is the right option for you, contact a bankruptcy attorney today.
Call the Hawaii bankruptcy lawyers at the Affinity Law Group in Honolulu to learn if Chapter 13 is the best direction for you and your family. We can be reached at (808) 545-4600, or by completing our contact attorneys web form.
Affinity Law Group, LLLC is a full service debt resolution law firm and one of the areas of our practice of law is to provide debt relief by filing for bankruptcy relief under chapter 7, chapter 13 and/or chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.