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Do You Qualify for Chapter 13: The Debt Limits

By Cathy Moran

13 debt limits

Chapter 13 debt limits are one of the eligibility requirements to file for this form of bankruptcy reorganization. The test has two prongs: unsecured debt and secured debt. Come in under each prong and you meet the debt limits test. For cases filed on April 1, 2025 and afterwards, the Chapter 13 debt limits are: […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: 2025, chapter 13, debt limits

What You Think About Chapter 13 Is Dead Wrong

By Cathy Moran

bankruptcy misunderstanding

The difference between bankruptcy’s Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 is often expressed this way:    Chapter 7 is a liquidation proceeding Chapter 13 is a repayment plan And therein lies the biggest misconception about Chapter 13:  13 does not necessarily repay everything you owe. It’s a repayment plan alright, but not necessarily a 100% repayment . […]

Filed Under: Chapter 13, Featured Tagged With: 2018, chapter 13, repayment

How 13 Works To Save Your House From Foreclosure

By Cathy Moran

save house

Saving a house from foreclosure is the single reason most people file bankruptcy. Bankruptcy stops foreclosure- that’s a given. But then what? How can bankruptcy save the house from foreclosure,  rather than just putting off the inevitable loss? After all, the mortgage lender has a lien on the house, and liens aren’t discharged in bankruptcy. […]

Filed Under: Chapter 13, Real property & mortgages Tagged With: 2017, chapter 13, foreclosure, keep house, save house

7 Keys To Keeping Your House: Chapter 13 After You File

By Cathy Moran

keep the house

You filed filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy to keep your house and stop the foreclosure.  You’ve protected your home, for the moment. Bankruptcy gets you a sheltered legal environment to address the problems with your mortgage. You heave a sigh of relief. But the fight to keep your house isn’t over, just because there’s a stay.  […]

Filed Under: Chapter 13, Real property & mortgages Tagged With: 2019, chapter 13, keep the house

Save The House Even AFTER The Foreclosure Sale

By Cathy Moran

after foreclosure

The fall of the hammer at the foreclosure sale threatened to leave my widowed client homeless and poorer by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Instead, we recovered her house from the foreclosure sale under new California law which delays the finality of the change of title. She had rights after foreclosure. The prompt filing of […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: 2023, California, chapter 13, foreclosure

How Chapter 13 Cuts Car Loan Down To Size

By Cathy Moran

Car lenders who make new car loans with an underwater trade-in will face the music in Chapter 13. The Supreme Court declined to review a 9th Circuit decision that stripped car loans of their protected specially protected status in bankruptcy; as a result, Californians will continue to benefit from the debtor-friendly decision in Penrod, rising out of […]

Filed Under: Chapter 13, How bankruptcy works Tagged With: car loan, chapter 13, underwater trade in

Chapter 13 Dismissed After All Payments Are Made: Self Inflicted Wounds

By Cathy Moran

Debtors shoot themselves

There’s been a rash of bullet-ridden feet lately in Chapter 13 cases. Debtors seem to whip out their pistols and shoot themselves in the foot with increasing regularity. Just when their goal of keeping the house was within reach, had they paid attention, they lose it all. It happens when debtors don’t hold up their […]

Filed Under: Chapter 13, Featured Tagged With: california bankruptcy, chapter 13

Bankruptcy Basics

About The Soapbox

You’ve arrived at the Bankruptcy Soapbox, a resource of bankruptcy information and consumer law.

Soapbox is a companion site to Bankruptcy in Brief, where I try to be largely explanatory and even handed (Note I said “try”).

Here, I allow myself to tell stories and express strong opinions. We dig deeper into how to consider bankruptcy and navigate a bankruptcy case.

Moran Law Group
Bankruptcy specialists for individuals and small businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area

How Bankruptcy Works

Bankruptcy Alphabet: F is for First

In my Bankruptcy Alphabet, F is for First meeting of creditors. Lots of rumors exist about the that meeting; it produces unwarranted anxiety that is avoidable if you understand what's up. Let's check it out. The first meeting of creditors, also called the 341 meeting, is often the only time a debtor has to appear … Read more

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