Things to Know
7 things to know about chapter 7
1 | You probably qualify, don’t get hung up on the “means test” and your income
2 | Your house is likely protected and you can keep it and keep paying for it
3 | Your car is likely protected and you can keep it and keep paying for it
4 | The property you already own is protected, in most instances
5 | Once the case is filed, creditors must leave you alone or they will deal with me!
6 | Though it’s called “liquidation”, it is uncommon for folks who file ch 7 to be forced to liquidate anything
7 | Husband and Wife can file a joint case for the same price it costs to file an individual case
13 things to know about chapter 13
1 | A protective bubble immediately goes around you and protects you from creditors while you reorganize your financial matters
2 | You can stop a foreclosure and catch up your mortgage payments
3 | You can stop a repossession and catch up your car payments
4 | You can stop a garnishment and maybe even get back some or all of the money that was garnished
5 | You can protect a co-signer and catch up on the payments that you owe on the joint debt
6 | It stops additional interest from being added to credit card debt
7 | You can pay off tax debt without any additional interest, late charges or penalties being added
8 | You may be allowed as long as 60 months to reorganize your financial matters
9 | Husband and wife can file together or they can file separately
10 | Your retirement accounts are protected in full when you file Ch 13 or Ch 7
11 | Creditors cannot call you, sue you, garnish you or add any interest or late charges while you are reorganizing in a ch 13
12 | Even if you are in a ch 13, you can purchase a car or house
13 | Rather than liquidating any unprotected property, you can keep your property and simply pay the creditors a set amount over a period of time up to 60 months