Articles from Tucson Bankruptcy Attorneys Trezza & Associates

Before the court confirms your chapter 13 plan, you will have to pass what is commonly referred to in bankruptcy law as the “feasibility” test. This isn’t really a test, but the court will look at whether or not the information we provide in the bankruptcy forms and schedules show enough income so that you can make the proposed payments. Whether it is the monthly payments you are proposing or a lump sum payment to be paid at the end of the plan, we should be able to show that the plan can be reasonably completed with the resources we report in the schedules.

In previous blogs, I have written introductory information about the basic process in chapter 13 bankruptcy. In this next series of articles, I will discuss some of the issues surrounding chapter 13. In order to file chapter 13, you must be an individual with regular income. There are limits to the amount of debt you can have and still be eligible to file chapter 13. As of April 1, 2013 the limits are now $1,149,525.00 for secured debt and $383,175.00 for unsecured debt. These numbers are adjusted every three years.

The overhaul of the U.S. Bankruptcy laws in 2005 significantly impacted the way secured debt is handled in a bankruptcy proceeding. Those changes were to the great benefit of debtors, our clients. Secured debt is a loan where you have pledged an asset (most commonly a car or a house) as collateral. In the event you do not repay the loan, the creditor has the right to take possession of the property, sell it, and recover what money it can from the sale.

The ultimate goal of your chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy is receiving a discharge from the court. In a chapter 7 bankruptcy this occurs after your paperwork is filed, the meeting of creditors is held, the time period has passed for any creditors to object to a discharge, and you have completed your required financial education course. The post Bankrupcty Discharge appeared first on Tucson Bankruptcy Attorney.