Anyone can get into deep debt. Even if you have a high income, it’s easy to make a bad investment that hurts your portfolio, or sinking housing prices can be a major hit to your family’s wealth.

Many people with higher incomes resist filing for bankruptcy because they don’t want to lose their assets, like homes and vehicles, but just because you file for bankruptcy doesn’t mean you have to sell all of your property. For many Union City residents, Chapter 13 bankruptcy is an ideal way to reorganize their debts while keeping up their current lifestyles. If you’re unfamiliar with the bankruptcy process, an Union City Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney with years of experience in the bankruptcy courts can help guide you through the process.

Why File for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in Union City?

Often, Union City residents see bankruptcy as just a way to quickly discharge excessive debts. While debts are ultimately discharged in Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the process is a little more involved than just submitting your debts and assets to the court, like in Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Once a debtor files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in California, he or she must submit a repayment plan to the court. This plan is based on their current income and lasts either three or five years.

A debtor is allowed to keep his or her assets in the course of Chapter 13 proceedings, though understanding which assets are nonexempt under California law is something a Union City Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney can better advise you of.

If a debtor has a change in circumstances over the course of the repayment plan, the court has discretion to allow a modification.

But once the debtor completes all of the payments as required under the plan, all remaining unsecured debt is then discharged. The debtor is then under no obligation to make any further payments, and creditors are no longer allowed to pursue collection of these debts.

What Debts Can Be Eliminated in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy?

There is no limit to the amount of unsecured debt that can be discharge in Chapter 13 bankruptcy once a repayment plan is concluded. Debts that are typically discharged in Chapter 13 bankruptcy include credit card bills, medical bills, utility bills and personal loans. One advantage that Chapter 13 bankruptcy has over Chapter 7 bankruptcy for many debtors is that allows for junior liens, such as second mortgages, to be discharged, while these liens remain in place at the conclusion of Chapter 7 proceedings.

Contact a Union City Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Lawyer

The Law Offices of Melanie Tavare help Union City residents who are drowning in debt to come up with Chapter 13 repayment agreements that let them keep their assets and discharge many debts. The firm has spent years helping people in Union City through the bankruptcy process. To schedule a consultation, contact us online or call the office today at 510-255-4646.