Should You File Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy?

Hello, My name is Michael Hollins and I'm the owner of Hollins bankruptcy law office, where we practice bankruptcy law, credit repair. And we also do some mortgage refinancing. So if you'd like any information on any of those topics, please head on over to Hollins bankruptcy.com, where you can get that information. And you can also set an appointment to talk to me about your personal situation today. I would like to answer the question if chapter seven or chapter 13 is the right bankruptcy for you. First, let's talk about what those chapters are now in a bankruptcy case. Under chapter seven, you are filing a petition asking the court to discharge your debts. The basic idea of chapter seven bankruptcy is to wipe out or discharge your debts in exchange for you giving up property that is not exempt. So the idea is to use the law in your favor to exempt your property, which is my job.

Now, in most cases, all of your property will be exempt, but for property that's not exempt, the trustee could potentially sell it and distribute that money to creditors. Now, if you have property like a home or a car that you would like to keep chapter seven may not be the best solution for you because it doesn't eliminate the right of mortgagers to foreclose or lien holders to repossess vehicles. Now in a chapter 13, not only do you file a petition, but you also file a plan showing how you plan to pay off any past due amounts, along with what the current payments are for the house or car. Now, the most important thing about a chapter 13 case is that you're allowed to keep the home and the car while you're paying this plan. These are items that otherwise might be lost in a chapter seven, where chapter 13, you get to keep these items.

Now, in most cases, these payments, there will be not much more than what you're paying for those items. You pay your normal car note, your normal house note, and then you will pay a little bit more stretched over three to five years to make up for the past due amounts or the arrearage. So if you fall behind and you want to keep your assets, chapter 13 is for you. However, if you don't have a vehicle or a home that you're looking to hold on to, or that you're not past due on, and you just want to discharge that, then chapter seven is for you. Again, my name is Michael Hollins. I'm the owner of the Hollins bankruptcy law office. Please like this video, if you liked it and share it with anyone whom you know, that may need this information and also go on over to Hollins bankruptcy.com to get more information and as always thank you for listening.