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Our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys want you to consider your decisions.
The San Diego bankruptcy attorneys available to you through Legal Helpers have a great deal of experience in helping clients who have financial difficulties. These San Diego bankruptcy attorneys understand why you may choose to file and are fully equipped to help you.
Consider your financial situation with a free on-line evaluation
Our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys know that the most common reason people file for Chapter 13 is that they have fallen behind on their mortgage payments. Our attorneys also understand that once you have accrued a delinquency, your mortgage company may refuse to work with you. By helping you file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, they can put you in a position where you will pay the amount you are behind on through a Trustee. This way, your attorneys can put you back in a situation where you can afford your monthly payments and keep your property.
Another major reason clients file Chapter 13 bankruptcy is that they have an asset that would be sold by the court in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case. Assets include money in the bank, stocks, bonds, rights to inherit, among others. The most common asset, however, is interest in real estate, like your home. If, for example, you have a house worth $200,000 with a mortgage of $150,000 and state law allows you to protect (exempt) $10,000 of equity in your home, then you have $40,000 of unprotected equity. In this situation, if you filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the Trustee has the power to sell your house and use the sale proceeds of $40,000 to pay your unsecured creditors.
You may have to file Chapter 13 because you simply have too much income to qualify for a Chapter 7. In order to qualify for a Chapter 7, you may not have any "disposable income." Disposable income is money that is left over at the end of the month after you have paid your basic living expenses, including your rent or mortgage, car payment, utilities, food, transportation costs, and the like.
Accordingly, if you take home $2,000 after taxes per month from your pay checks, and your monthly living expenses total only $1,400, then you do not qualify to wipe out your unsecured debt in a Chapter 7, and must file a Chapter 13, committing the $600 per month in disposable income to repay your debts to the extent possible over a minimum of three and maximum of five years. So, for example, if you have $70,000 in credit card debt and medical bills, and have $600 per month disposable income, then you must repay $600 per month for 36 months, for a total of $21,600, or 31% of your debt. The other 69% of your debt is discharged upon successful completion of your Chapter 13.
Be informed of your debt consolidation options
Legal Helpers maintains one of the most sophisticated consumer debt consolidation law practices. We provide a combination of affordable fees, highly experienced lawyers and excellent client service. We rely on the most current information within the debt consolidation and elimination industry.
Use our free legal evaluator to see if you should contact Legal Helpers