subject: Need To File Bankruptcy Chapter 13 [print this page] Unlike chapter 7, it is easier to qualify for a chapter 13 because the new bankruptcy law encourages it. This new law was effective October 2005 under the BAPCPA. It requires everyone considering filing for bankruptcy to go to a credit counseling agency for credit counseling sessions. The sessions provided by these agencies are required also by law to be documented. This will be used as proof in court that a person attended those credit counseling sessions. The other thing that makes it easy to be eligible to file chapter 13 than chapter 7 is for the reason that credit counseling agency also provides repayment plans. These repayment plans are proposed to your creditors in the meeting of the trustee. The only requirement that you need to have to make the repayment plan proposal acceptable is that your income should exceed your expenses.
If you need to file bankruptcy chapter 13 in a short time, you might get disappointed. Chapter 13 takes a longer time to file compared to chapter 7. This is because chapter 7 involves a lot of planning, meetings and agreement between you and your creditors. As compared to chapter 7 also, filing for a chapter 13 bankruptcy costs more. This is because you need more people like the agency, attorney or lawyer to file for your bankruptcy and you need to pay them. You also must know that bankruptcy chapter 13 is not definite, which means that if you are in the process of the repayment plan and you find yourself in a situation where your income has changed and you can no longer keep up in paying your debts through the repayment plan then you can change your bankruptcy chapter 13 to a chapter 7 if your income does not exceed your expenses and will cause you undue hardships.
If you need to file bankruptcy chapter 13 without spending much money, there are ways which you can do that. The first way is through the internet; you try to surf the web for a couple of days to go through each website and compare prices and services. Doing this is easy, fast and convenient. The only thing you need is a computer and an internet connection. The next way you can cut cost in filing for chapter 13 is finding cheap lawyers. Do not get discouraged by the word cheap, it does not equal to the word unqualified. Chances are, there are great lawyers who offer free legal aid and charge at low rates. If you meet a lawyer and you feel that there is something left to be desired, do not hesitate to find another lawyer that suits you.
Another way which I strongly suggest is finding a petition preparer or a bankruptcy lawyer to prepare your papers for you. This is the most affordable way and the end result is still the same. You can just pay them their flat fee and you can do the rest of the work. This way, you do not have to dwell on preparing your own papers which can cause you to lose more assets or paying more for lawyers. For more support on how can you file bankruptcy, visit the link below.
