What Chapter 13 can do
Chapter 13 is a common way to deal with foreclosure or recent taxes. Chapter 13 will stop foreclosure, garnishments, repossessions, and all other collection immediately upon filing. Chapter 13 is also available if you cannot file chapter 7 because your income is too high or if you have filed chapter 7 within the past 8 years. Chapter 13 will allow you to reduce the interest on your car loan to around 4.25%. If you have property that would be taken from you in chapter 7, you can file chapter 13 and keep the property.
Chapter 13 lasts 3-5 years. In that time you will need to catch up on, or pay off all loans for your home or car that you want to keep. You can also pay back any past due child or spousal support and any taxes you owe from the last 3 years without any garnishments.
What chapter 13 cannot do
Chapter 13 cannot modify the interest rate or balance on your home loan. Therefore, chapter 13 cannot help you keep a home you cannot afford. However, it can give you time to sell a home that has equity.
Chapter 13 eligibility
Chapter 13 is available for individuals or married couples. We can file chapter 13 for business owners who want to keep their business operating. To file chapter 13 you must have less than $1,081,400 in secured debt. Secured debt is debt that has collateral such as a home loan or a car loan. You must also have less than $360,475 in unsecured debt. To file chapter 13 you must also have regular income.
Our services
Keith Karnes has filed chapter 13 for individuals and businesses owners throughout Oregon. He offers a free consultation. We are a full service law firm. We will prepare your bankruptcy forms, provide the correct information to the trustee, attend your meeting of creditors with you, and guide you each step of the way.
Our services do not stop with the end of your case. If you have creditors that continue to collect during or after your bankruptcy we can help. We typically send warning letters to creditors who continue to collect after you have filed bankruptcy. If this does not stop the problem then we can sue your creditors for violating your right to a fresh start.
We will review your credit reports to help you rebuild your credit after bankruptcy. While many creditors understand that people sometimes file bankruptcy, they do not understand when your credit report shows delinquent debts after your bankruptcy is over. This makes it appear as though you have debts that you did not pay after you filed bankruptcy. We can help you dispute the inaccurate information on your credit report. This is the best thing you can do to improve your credit score after bankruptcy. If your disputes about your credit report do not solve the problem we can sue those responsible for wrongfully damaging your credit.
Contact Keith Karnes for a free full length consultation to discuss if chapter 13 is right for you.