Pros and Cons of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

The pros and cons of Chapter 13 include preventing foreclosure, potentially helping with a second mortgage and assisting with debts in arrears.
Information in this article does not constitute legal advice, it is for informational purposes only, and may not constitute the most up-to-date information. Readers should contact their attorney for advice on any particular legal matter.

You may have recently entered coronavirus unemployment and are considering debt settlement or bankruptcy.

You may be preferring bankruptcy and doubting on the pros and cons of a chapter 13 bankruptcy.  Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases are bankruptcy court-ordered debt repayment plans.  It is a deliberate restructuring; hence no person can force you to file a bankruptcy case under chapter 13. Also, your lender cannot file an intuitive chapter 13 bankruptcy case.  

Conversely, Chapter 13 bankruptcy is not factual for each circumstance. Some people might profit more from the non-bankruptcy practice of debt relief. Let us observe the pro and cons of chapter 13 carefully.

Keep on reading, or jump ahead to the section that interests you most.

Table of Contents

Benefits of Filing A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Case

Chapter 13 has several benefits. A few of the reasons individuals decide to file on bankruptcy under chapter 13 include the following:

Preventing their home from foreclosure 

A chapter 13 bankruptcy case may save your home from a foreclosure sale. In chapter 13 bankruptcy, you can continue to repay past due mortgage over a number of years. To halt a foreclosure without chapter 13, you would require paying off the debts in one colossal payment, being suitable for a loan amendment, or refinancing your home mortgage. When you are struggling with debts, those preferences may be impossible. 

With support from bankruptcy courts, you can maintain your home property by filing a chapter 3 plan.  It will permit you to restructure your other loans so that you can have enough money to recommence mortgage disbursements. 

Trying to lose a second mortgage

You may perhaps be in a position to offload a second mortgage in chapter 13. In a situation where your home value is less compared to your first mortgage, you can file a motion to rate the second mortgage as zero.

If the court approves your motion, the entire balance of the second mortgage becomes an unsecured debt. However, if your home value is worthy even by $1 more than what you owe the first mortgage, then this will not work.

Trying to lose tax debts

Income tax debt in bankruptcy is may not dischargeable or pardonable in a bankruptcy case. Still, you can extend the range of those repayments between 3 to 5 years to help you discard old tax debts. Moreover, if some of the income tax is more past tax debt and suits various conditions, you might be entitled to reject the tax debt for not as much of that you owe the taxation authorities.

Assistance with car payments 

In a situation you are behind your car repayment plans, chapter 13 can cover you and help avoid repossessions. Under this chapter 13, you are in a position to lower your car payments only if you owe more on your car that it is worth, and also you have had the vehicle for a period of not less than 910 days prior to filing for bankruptcy relief. Otherwise, you can get at best stretch out the car loan repayments for an additional 60 months, which may well lower the costs to an inexpensive payment. 

Assistance with domestic support payments 

Domestic support obligations (DSOs), alimony, and child support are not acquittal in bankruptcy. Though, you can embrace child support and overdue alimony payouts in your chapter 13 plan. As an alternative of prison detention or other court consents, you can recommence your late DSO payments under the bankruptcy case. You have to make forthcoming alimony and child support payments early to stay in chapter 13.

Trying to lose unsecured debts 

Typical unsecured debts, like credit card debts, hospital expenses bills, old utility bills, past rent payments, and personal loans, can be hard to meet them because if the total sum. Dependent on your financial state of affairs, you may dispose of those debts under Chapter 13 by reimbursing a slight fraction of the debt under the bankruptcy repayment plan.

Negatives of Filing a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Case

Chapter 13 bankruptcies also have some negatives. For instance, the advocate's charges are generally much high for this particular chapter 13 case. Even though many of the advocates take into account most, if not all, of their costs in the plan.

Moreover, a chapter 13 bankruptcy case is a 3 to 5 years debt payoff plan. Throughout that time, you cannot enter into new debt or trade your property with bankruptcy court consent.

Likewise, if your earnings rise, your chapter 13 payment plan may perhaps increase. You are obligated to pay all nonrefundable funds into your chapter 13 plan. A chapter 13 bankruptcy also in on your record that can be retrieved via PACER. This explains you will be blocked from getting any form of credit for a while. Negative statistics from bankruptcy is an aspect that can negatively affect your credit score

Conclusion (Pros and Cons Calculator for Chapter 13)

The purpose of this article is to provide the pros and cons of Chapter 13 bankruptcy. With any debt relief option, there are pros and cons, so it may be helpful to consider all of the pros and cons before making a final decision.

We've built a Chapter 13 calculator to help you understand and estimate your options, whether it's Chapter 13 Bankruptcy or Debt Settlement, the calculator can breakdown the costs for you to help you make a more informed decision.

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