If you are currently in the midst of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, your property isn't liquidated. In Chapter 7 bankruptcies, normally the court will seize and auction off your assets in order to repay and discharge your debts. When it comes to Chapter 13 bankruptcy, however, you maintain control of all of your property. Instead, an attorney helps you to organize a repayment plan which you must work to pay very steadily in order to facilitate a satisfactory outcome.
Ideally, you will be able to pay off all of your dents in three to five years with your payment plan. As a result, you will be able to move on and recover to financial fitness once again. Unfortunately, there are times that this doesn't happen. There are times when a complication may arise, and as a result in may be wiser to modify the Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan. You are permitted to modify your payment plan if you experience an understandable and difficult financial complication.
One of these complications is unemployment. If you are currently paying on a bankruptcy repayment plan, but then suddenly lose your job, you can petition with the court. Oftentimes, a bankruptcy trustee will let you modify your bankruptcy plan if you can prove that you will experience income loss for a pretty long-term or even a permanent situation.
Another reason that you may be permitted to modify your agreement is if you experience a "surprise" debt. This happens when you discover a debt that wasn't included in the original filing. The bankruptcy trustee will normally allow a modification if you discover a debt and want to included it in your modification. If the debts included in the chapter 13 are higher than your original estimates, the bankruptcy trustee will allow you to modify the Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan to reflect the actual amount of the debts.
If you experience unexpected increases in your expenses, the bankruptcy trustee may allow you to modify your repayment plan. You will have to show what your unexpected expenses are, and prove that they are justifiable. Some justifiable expenses include increases in health care expenses or the birth of a child.
Illness and medical emergencies in general can also be a reason to modify a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Typically, if you can prove that you experienced unexpected health crises, then you can get the plan modified to account for your financial loss.
Also, if you pay off debt then you can modify your Chapter 13 repayment plan to account for this. For example, if you are paying debt on a house but then decide to just sell the house, this would be considered to be paid off debt. You can ask the bankruptcy trustee to alter your payment plant so that it reflects this satisfied debt.
If you want more information about modifying bankruptcy payment plans, contact a local bankruptcy attorney today to learn more. If your trustee rejects your petition for modification, then you are going to want to convert your case to a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy or maybe ask for discharge of debts based on the claims of undue hardship.
A skilled bankruptcy lawyer near you can help you to discuss these options and get more information about how we can assist you in your case. Don't hesitate to call a local firm today to learn more about bankruptcy modifications and to hear more about how a skilled lawyer can help. You need to trust that a skilled lawyer at the firm will be able to assist you with all of your difficulties today!