Chapter 13 is one of the many chapters under the Bankruptcy Code. It is also known as the wage earner’s plan. If you file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition, you must submit a payment plan to the court and make the payments under the plan. Chapter 13 bankruptcy allows the debtor to repay the creditors in installments. Homeowners facing foreclosure can file a Chapter 13 petition and include the mortgage in the payment plan if they want to retain their homes. Most individual debtors file for bankruptcy petition under Chapter 7 but debtors with a regular source of income should opt for filing under Chapter 13. In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding, the bankruptcy trustee liquidates your non-exempt assets to repay your debts. A Chapter 13 proceeding allows you to retain all your assets as long as you stick to your payment plan.

Debtors based in Alpine should contact an experienced Alpine Utah bankruptcy lawyer if they are considering bankruptcy as an option. By availing the services of an experienced Alpine Utah bankruptcy lawyer, you can successfully get a bankruptcy discharge. There are a lot of lawyers in Utah but you should contact a bankruptcy lawyer located in Alpine.

The rules and procedure for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy is complex. If you fail to abide by the rules and procedure, your hopes of getting a discharge will disappear and your petition will be dismissed. An experienced Alpine Utah bankruptcy lawyer will provide the debtors who contact him or her seeking assistance for bankruptcy filing with a questionnaire. The lawyer will use the answers provided by the debtor to draft the Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition and will file it in the bankruptcy court. The lawyer will also use the answers to prepare the schedules that must accompany a Chapter 13 petition including the details of assets, liabilities, income, expenditure, etc. Once a person files a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition, the law prohibits the creditors from taking steps to recover the dues. In effect it stays all actions against the debtor. The creditors cannot even contact the debtor.

Payment Plan

Along with the Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition, the debtor must also submit a payment. The debtor can file the payment plan within 15 days from the date of filing. An experienced Alpine Utah bankruptcy lawyer can assist debtors prepare a payment plan based on their available resources. The debtor must make regular contributions every month towards the payment plan. Generally the payment plans provide for payment of the debts within three years. However in some cases, the bankruptcy court will approve payment plans that provide for payments within five years. The debtor must make the contributions directly to the bankruptcy trustee who will then distribute the payments to the creditors. The debtor must start making the contributions within 30 days from the date of filing of the payment plan.

At the creditors meeting, the creditors can object to the payment plan. Having an experienced Alpine Utah bankruptcy lawyer draft your payment plan will ensure that your payment plan does not receive any objections. Even if a creditor objects to the plan, your lawyer will deal with the objections and convince the bankruptcy court to approve your payment plan.

Cram Down Provision

One advantage of filing under Chapter 13 in Utah is the cram down provision. An experienced Alpine Utah bankruptcy lawyer can assist debtors take advantage of this provision and legally lower the outstanding on a secured loan.

In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceeding, the debtor gets to retain all assets unlike in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding where a court appointed trustee takes over all non-exempt assets and liquidates them to pay off the debts. In Chapter 13 proceedings the debtor can retain the collateral so long as the payment plan provides for repayment of the loan or the collateral’s market value.

Using the cram down provision of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you can lower or strip a second mortgage or lower the mortgage on rental and investment properties. When you cram down a mortgage, the part of the mortgage which is equal to the current market value of the collateral will be considered as secured and must be repaid in full. The other part will be considered as unsecured and an experienced Alpine Utah bankruptcy lawyer can negotiate with the lender and you will be able to discharge the unsecured part of the mortgage by paying pennies for the dollar. The cram down provision cannot be used to lower the mortgage on your principal residence. However there are cases where the courts have permitted debtors to cram down the mortgage on their principal residence when there is additional collateral.

Buy a car before or after Chapter 7 filing with the help of a Alpine Utah bankruptcy lawyer

Debtors in the Alpine Utah area considering bankruptcy but wanting to buy a car before filing must consult with an experienced Alpine Utah bankruptcy lawyer. An experienced Utah bankruptcy attorney can also advise debtors who get a bankruptcy discharge on buying a car after bankruptcy. Only attorneys in Alpine Utah who focus regularly on bankruptcy can provide accurate advice on buying a car before or after bankruptcy. Bankruptcy law in Utah is complex. A debtor can legally discharge his or her debts through bankruptcy. In Utah most debts are discharged in a bankruptcy proceeding. Bankruptcy filing can also help homeowners save their homes from foreclosure.

Before Filing

A bankruptcy proceeding begins with the filing of the bankruptcy petition. The bankruptcy petition must be filed in the bankruptcy court. Most individual debtors file for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 7. A Chapter 7 debtor can claim certain assets as exempt assets. The bankruptcy trustee will not take over the exempt assets. The debtor will retain possession of the exempt assets in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding. If you have purchased a car before filing for bankruptcy, an experienced Alpine Utah bankruptcy lawyer can assist you get exemption for your car. Under the Federal bankruptcy code, you can seek exemption for your car up to a certain limit. But if your equity in the car is above that limit, then you will have a problem. Your equity is determined by reducing the car loan amounts from the market value of the car. An experienced Alpine Utah bankruptcy lawyer can assist you get exemption for your car even if your equity in the car is above that limit. You can use available exemptions from other categories to get exemption for you case if your equity exceeds that limit. There are many lawyers in Alpine Utah but attorneys who specialize in bankruptcy know how to negotiate with the bankruptcy trustee. If your equity in the car exceeds that limit, negotiations with the trustee will allow you to retain the car if you pay the amount of equity that exceeds that limit.

Debtors located in the Alpine Utah area should consult with an experienced bankruptcy attorney if they intend to buy a car prior to bankruptcy filing. Generally, the bankruptcy trustee will question the purchase of a car if it is an unsecured purchase and made within 90 days prior to the filing. It will be seen as an attempt to divert available funds away from the bankruptcy estate. An experienced Alpine Utah bankruptcy lawyer can convince the bankruptcy trustee that you purchased the car because you needed and that you did not purchase the car merely to divert the available funds away from the bankruptcy estate in an attempt to avoid paying your creditors. A seasoned bankruptcy attorney can assist debtors with older debt free cars legally trade them for newer cars with proper planning. This will ensure that the purchase of the new car is within the framework of law. The law prohibits bankruptcy lawyers from advising debtors to buy a new car because buying a new car means incurring a new debt.

During bankruptcy proceedings

While it is possible to buy a car after filing a bankruptcy petition and before the discharge, it is advisable to wait for sometime after the filing. An experienced Alpine Utah bankruptcy lawyer can help you with the purchase but will ask you to make the purchase after the creditor meeting is over and never prior to the creditors meeting. Buying a car after you have filed for bankruptcy and before the discharge can be difficult unless you have someone who is willing to lend the money. The usual lenders will be reluctant to lend to you and those willing will charge high interest rates. You will be asked to explain your repayment plan.

After Bankruptcy

A debt who receives a bankruptcy discharge will find it easy to buy a car. Once you receive a bankruptcy discharge, there is no legal bar on buying a car or anything else. Your only problem will be your credit score which will take a hit when you file for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy will lower your credit score by 160 to 220 FICO points. An experienced Alpine Utah bankruptcy lawyer can provide you with invaluable advice on how to improve your credit score after a bankruptcy discharge.
Alpine Utah bankruptcy lawyers can also provide you with details of Alpine lenders willing to finance car purchases by persons who have just been discharged in a bankruptcy proceeding. There are many such lenders in Alpine. The loan will be secured by the car and the lenders know that since you have just obtained a bankruptcy discharge you cannot file another bankruptcy petition in the near future. So if you default, they can sell the car and recover the loan.

Automatic Stay

Most attorneys will inform you that once you file a bankruptcy petition, an automatic stay will come into operation and your creditors can no longer contact you or take steps to recover their dues. However an Alpine Utah bankruptcy lawyer will inform you that there are exceptions to the automatic stay rule. Only experienced bankruptcy lawyers are aware of the exceptions. If you are located in Alpine and considering bankruptcy to prevent the foreclosure of your home using the automatic stay provision, you should consult with an Alpine Utah bankruptcy lawyer. An Alpine Utah bankruptcy lawyer is your best source of information about the bankruptcy laws and the procedures of the bankruptcy court.

Exceptions to automatic stay provisions

The automatic stay will not apply to:

• Criminal Actions

• Enforcement of Alimony/Child Support Payments

• Action to Perfect or Maintain a Purchase Money Security Interest

• Enforcement of Governmental Regulatory and Police Power

• Withholding, suspension or restriction of a driver’s license

• Actions against non-debtors. However stay applies if non-debtor is an alter ego.

Merely giving notice of default is not a stay violation. But if the notice terminates your contract, then it is a violation of the stay. Any notice threatening legal action if the default is not cured will also amount to a violation of the stay.

The automatic stay will not apply to post-petition claims that arise from the trustee’s operation of the debtor’s business. If foreclosure sale is completed before filing, property is out of the estate and no longer subject to the stay. The stay does not extend redemption periods beyond that allowed by § 108(b).

The provisions of the bankruptcy code are meant to help you get out of debt by discharging your debts and to give you a fresh start. But bankruptcy laws are complex. An Alpine Utah bankruptcy lawyer can help you navigate this complex maze.

Violation of Stay

Initially violations of the stay were dealt by contempt actions. But, changes to the bankruptcy law in 1984 allowed damages to be awarded to debtors injured by “willful” violations of the stay. Contempt probably is an alternative basis to sanction violations of the stay. However, exercise of contempt authority by bankruptcy court has doubtful statutory basis. Any action taken in violation of the stay can be invalidated by the bankruptcy court. The action that violates the stay can be “voidable” if violation is merely “technical”. An Alpine Utah bankruptcy lawyer can help you get damages for willful violations of the stay provision by your creditors.

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When you need a fresh start and are overwhelmed by debt, please call Ascent Law for your Free Consultation at (801) 676-5506. We want to help you.

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