subject: Understanding A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy [print this page] The main purpose of this form of bankruptcy is to regain control of your financial situation and have a fresh start. Under this plan it is possible to get fractional payment to creditors. In many cases this will be equal to 50 cents on the dollar, or less. The payments will be arranged in a repayment plan that will be controlled by the courts with the assistance of a court appointed trustee.
The first step to filing chapter 13 is to acquire the proper forms from the US courts system. You can download these forms onto your PC by accessing them from several different court form websites or you can seek counsel from a bankruptcy attorney. Once you have the forms downloaded you simply need to follow the directions that were downloaded with the forms.
Once you have completed the forms you should save a completed copy to your PC for easy access in the future. You then can file the paperwork electronically. Once you have filed then you should contact a credit counselor. There are numerous credit counselor agencies that can help you with this process. They will arrange for two sessions during which they will ask a series of questions about your debt and financial status. Most services will have a follow-up phone call to verify this information.
When you file you should receive a certificate number, it is important that you hang onto this number for court purposes. You will be appointed a court trustee that will provide you with information regarding your case. Be sure to follow their instructions closely, any court appointments and other information you are provided by the trustee must be followed.
The trustee will provide you with your detailed payment plan including monthly installments and the length of the repayment plan. Once you have received your terms your credit counseling agency may desire to have a follow-up session that will instruct you on budgeting and keeping up to date on your chapter 13 payments. During this entire period the court appointed trustee will be available if you have any questions.
