The Chapter 13 Process

Once you file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, an automatic stay will go into effect. The automatic stay will prevent creditors from collecting their debt outside of bankruptcy.  This means that foreclosure actions stop, lawsuits filed against you will stop, tax collection will stop, sheriff sales of your home will stop - basically any kind of collection practice will be stopped by the chapter 13 bankruptcy filing.

A chapter 13 bankruptcy is a type of bankruptcy that will force creditors into some kind of payment plan. The amount of this payment and the length of the payment plan will vary from case to case, and will depend upon a number of factors: income in the household, monthly living expenses, assets owned by the filer, and type of debt that need repayment. Some types of debt, including mortgage arrears, car loan arrears, and most tax liabilities must be repaid in full during the bankruptcy case. Depending on the circumstances, some type of debt like credit...