How many years does a Chap 13 last

[lrn]

I'm 3 years into a 5 year BK and I have no horror stories. There are many BKforum members whose only horror stories came before they filed BK.


Then, besides consulting with some attorneys, keep reading about BK and asking questions. I'll tell you the biggest pro about BK: Regardless of what Chapter you file, when you file BK, you take control of your financial situation and your debt away from the creditors.

Thank you for your support.
How many years normal bk?
do they take all the money from your bank account?
do you feel like in financial jail, with no credit cards, no buy airplane tickets or rent a car?

regards

[TheBajan]

Chapt 13 for most people is a five year plan. In some cases it is as little as three years. Contrary to feeling like you are in jail, filing Chapt 13 gave me a sense of freedom I had not previously had in many years. Yes... the final freedom will come when I'm discharged. However, chapt 13 allowed us to re-gain control over our finances and get foothold again. We have learned to save money again and BTW... it's absolutely crucial that you build and maintain an emergency savings. You won't have credit cards to fall back on and life is still going to throw you some curve balls. You can still buy airline tickets, you can still rent cars, you can still have a checking account (close the old one related to your debt). In fact, you can have a normal life, free of the creditors calling. You will need to learn new habits regarding money. You will need to learn to budget. You will need to learn the difference between needs vs wants (that's sometimes very difficult).

I can't tell you how many of us here wish we had filed sooner. I can't convey the utter relief once the filing was over and the plan was confirmed. We now make one payment to the trustee that is reasonable and we go on and live our lives. This is a great community. Stick around. You are among friends here...

Welcome!
The Bajan

[LadyInTheRed]

lrn, I moved your post out of the Foreclosure Forum into the Chap 13 Forum. I'm assuming your question related to Chap 13, but you really need to consider Des' suggestion that you file a Chap 11. If you don't want to keep the real estate you own, you should consider a Chap 7 if you qualify.

A Chap 13 lasts 36 to 60 months. If your income is above median for your household size in your state, your BK must last 60 months or until all of your unsecured debt has been paid, whichever comes first. If your income is below median, your plan will be at least 36 months, unless it needs to be longer to be feasible.

If you have non exempt assets, to be feasible your plan must pay at least the value of the non-exempt assets to your unsecured creditors. So, even if your income is below median, you may prefer to have a 60 month plan so your payments are lower.

You keep all of your assets in a Chap 13, but your plan must pay your unsecured creditors at least the value of all property you cannot exempt. For information on FL bankruptcy exemptions go to http://www.legalconsumer.com/bankrup...-law.php?ST=FL

A Chap 13 should not feel like jail. I had more money to spend after I filed Chap 13 than I did when when I was making minimum credit card payments every month. It is true that you can't use credit cards. But, that forces you to learn to live within your means so that you don't get yourself into debt again. You can buy airplane tickets and rent cars using a debit card. There will be no problems buying the airline tickets. The car rental agencies will place a hold on your card for the rental amount, and maybe even more. Some rental agencies won't rent to you with a debit card. Check with the car rental agency about their policies when you make your reservation.

[Please post in complete sentences and use correct capitalization and grammar. This is not text messaging.]