Sunday, 4 September 2016

What You Need To Know Before Filing A Chapter 13 Monterey

By George Nelson


Consumers have a variety of options when it comes to dealing with their debt. One of the options at their disposal is declaring bankruptcy. There are many types of bankruptcy, but chapters 7 and 13 are the most popular with individual debtors. Before declaring bankruptcy under any of these chapters, consumers are advised to familiarize themselves with the benefits and repercussions of becoming bankrupt. Read on to learn more about Chapter 13 Monterey.

Chapter thirteen entails consolidation and restructuring of the debts in question as opposed to liquidation. Debtors are usually only required to make monthly payments to the trustee over a specified period. Once this period lapses, all unpaid debts are written off. As a result, the applicant gets to keep all assets while their debts are written off.

It is important to note that while this option allows debtors to keep their assets, defaulting on payments will lead to automatic liquidation of assets. The bankruptcy trustee will automatically liquidate the non exempt assets of the consumer and recover funds to offset their debts. It is, therefore, in the best interest of the applicant to make regular payments as expected to the trustee.

After filing the necessary paperwork in court, the applicant is required to draft a plan to repay the debt in question. The plan should include the total monthly income, expenses and what the debtor is able to pay every month towards servicing their debt. The plan must then be presented to the committee of creditors who will ask questions, which the debtor must answer.

There are a number of requirements which consumers must satisfy to qualify for this option. The first is proof of income. A person must have a decent job that provides a steady monthly income. The applicant must also have few valuable assets. It is the responsibility of the trustee to determine whether or not the applicant qualifies for debt restructuring.

The repayment plan the debtor comes up with must be tested by creditors and defended by debtors, after which they will take a vote on the plan. Votes are usually based on the percentage of debt each creditor owns. However, the plan can still be approved by the court even if creditors have rejected it.

Once the debtor has been declared bankrupt under this legal provision, creditors will be required not to communicate with the debtor in any way. This means no phone calls, emails, faxes or house visits by creditors or their collection agents. Furthermore, the monthly payments will be forwarded to the trustee, who will disburse the payments to creditors according to their fraction of debt and order of priority.

Compared to other available options, this option has more benefits. For one, it allows consumers to retain all their assets since there is no liquidation. Secondly, it allows debtors to continue living their life normally without any bad debt. Thirdly, it provides creditors with a legal option for recovering most of their debts and writing off what they do not recover in a legal way. This will entitle them to a tax deduction, which ensures the written off debt does not affect their bottom line.




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