Mission Hills Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Lawyer
Chapter 13 is not a smaller, gentler version of Chapter 7. It is a different tool built for a different problem: you have income, you want to keep what you own, and you need a court-supervised way to fix what has fallen behind. Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that handles Chapter 13 filings for homeowners and working families, and as a Mission Hills Chapter 13 bankruptcy lawyer team it serves clients throughout Mission Hills and the rest of Los Angeles County.
The reason people in Mission Hills and the surrounding San Fernando Valley come to Chapter 13 is usually a house or a car they refuse to lose. A reorganization plan lasts three to five years, folds your overdue obligations into one monthly payment, and binds your creditors once the court confirms it. The decisions that matter most are made before you file: whether Chapter 13 beats Chapter 7, which exemption system fits your property, and how large a payment your income can truly carry.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Chapter 13 Cases
The firm is led by two Board-Certified Specialists in Consumer Bankruptcy through the American Board of Certification, Raj Wadhwani and Greg Shanfeld, both founding shareholders and partners. Together with the associate attorneys, paralegals, and legal assistants on the team, the firm carries more than 90 years of combined legal experience and serves clients across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties.
Chapter 13 punishes sloppy preparation. A plan that overstates what your budget can bear fails months in, and a plan that ignores a priority tax claim or a mortgage arrearage gets rejected at confirmation. Greg Shanfeld, a University of Southern California law graduate, has handled more than 10,000 bankruptcy cases over three decades. Raj Wadhwani, a Southwestern Law School graduate, helped pilot the Best Case Bankruptcy software in 1998 and was the first attorney to file a bankruptcy case electronically in the Central District of California. That familiarity with how cases are built and filed in this court matters when a plan has to be right the first time.
Clients reach an attorney directly from the first call, and the firm acts fast when a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is days away. The first consultation is free, and your entire case can be handled by phone, email, video, and online chat, with 100% virtual consultations available. The firm also practices in every division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. As a Mission Hills Chapter 13 attorney team, the firm builds each plan around your income, your property, and your goals rather than a standard filing.
Situations That Point Toward a Chapter 13 Plan
- Mortgage Arrears and a Scheduled Foreclosure Sale: Chapter 13 lets you cure missed payments over the life of the plan while staying current going forward. The automatic stay halts the sale the moment the petition is filed, which matters because California reinstatement rights end five business days before the sale date.
- Income Above the Chapter 7 Means Test: If your household earns more than the California median for your household size, and your allowed expenses do not close the gap, Chapter 7 may be closed to you. Chapter 13 has no such cutoff.
- Home Equity Beyond the Homestead Exemption: Valley homeowners who have owned for years often hold more equity than the exemption protects. In Chapter 7 that equity could be at risk; in Chapter 13 you keep the property and pay creditors the value of the non-exempt portion through the plan.
- Car Loans in Default: A repossession can start with little warning. Chapter 13 can stop it and spread the past-due balance across the plan, so you keep the vehicle you need to get to work.
- Priority Tax and Support Debts: Income tax claims that cannot be wiped out and child or spousal support arrears must be paid in full, but Chapter 13 lets you do that over time without enforcement action.
- Wage Garnishment from a Judgment: Ordinary judgment garnishments take a capped share of your disposable earnings. Filing stops the garnishment at filing through the automatic stay, and the judgment debt is handled inside the plan.
- A Wholly Unsecured Second Mortgage: When your home is worth less than the first mortgage balance, a second mortgage may be stripped off and treated as unsecured debt in Chapter 13.
- A Recent Prior Bankruptcy: Chapter 13 can be available sooner after a Chapter 7 than another Chapter 7 would be, with a four-year wait after a prior Chapter 7 discharge.
What to Do Right Now If You Are Considering Chapter 13
Start with the clock. If a foreclosure notice of default has been recorded, the earliest a sale can happen is three months and 20 days afterward, and the notice of sale must be mailed and posted on the property at least 20 days before the sale. You can reinstate by paying the missed amounts up until five business days before the date. Chapter 13 gives you another path, but the filing needs to happen before the sale occurs, so call as soon as you see a notice, not after the date is set.
If a lender has repossessed or is threatening to repossess a vehicle, know that California requires at least 15 days’ written notice before a repossessed car is sold, and you may request a 10-day extension of the redemption period in writing. If a creditor has sued you, do not ignore the summons. An expired statute of limitations is a defense you must raise in a written answer, or a court can still enter judgment against you. Hold on to every notice, summons, and letter; they tell us which deadlines are actually running.
Then gather the documents a plan is built from: recent pay stubs, your most recent tax returns, bank statements, your mortgage and car loan statements, a list of every creditor, and anything from a collector or court. Because your payment is set by your actual budget, an honest accounting of income and expenses is more useful than a rosy one. Do not pay one creditor heavily or move property to a relative before talking to an attorney, since those moves can create problems in the case.
For clients in Mission Hills, bankruptcy petitions are generally filed in the San Fernando Valley Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, which serves Mission Hills along with Granada Hills, North Hills, Northridge, Sylmar, San Fernando, and many other Valley communities. The division is determined by your street address, and we confirm it before filing. After you file, you will attend a meeting of creditors, usually conducted by phone or video, and the court then reviews your proposed plan for confirmation. You begin making plan payments shortly after filing, before confirmation, so the budget must work from the first month.
Choosing Your California Exemption System in a Chapter 13 Case
California has opted out of the federal exemption scheme, so you choose between two state systems, and you must use the same one for the entire case. One system carries a substantial homestead protection for homeowners, set by a formula tied to county median home prices with a statutory floor and a ceiling that are adjusted for inflation each year. The other offers smaller dollar amounts for a residence and vehicle but includes a flexible wildcard that often suits renters. To use either, you generally must have lived in California for at least 730 days.
In Chapter 13 the exemption choice has a direct effect on your payment. Under the plan, unsecured creditors must receive at least what they would have received had you filed Chapter 7, which means the value of your non-exempt property sets a floor on what the plan must pay. Picking the system that protects the most of your equity can lower your monthly payment substantially. Our board-certified attorneys run both calculations before choosing.
How Long a Plan Runs and What Happens Along the Way
A plan runs three to five years, and the length depends on your income and what must be paid. Income below the California median can support a shorter plan, while higher incomes generally require the longer term. Your trustee collects a monthly payment, often by payroll deduction, and distributes it to creditors under the confirmed plan. Missed payments are the most common reason plans fail, so we build in a realistic cushion and revisit the plan with you if your income changes. If your circumstances shift in a serious way, options such as modifying the plan exist, and we raise them before a default becomes a dismissal.
Mission Hills Chapter 13 Questions Answered
How does Chapter 13 stop a foreclosure?
The automatic stay takes effect when the petition is filed and halts the foreclosure process, including a scheduled sale. The missed payments are then repaid through the plan while you resume regular mortgage payments. It stops the sale, but you must keep current on payments that come due after filing.
Will I lose my house in Chapter 13?
Chapter 13 exists largely so you can keep your home. You do not surrender property to a trustee; instead you pay creditors, including the value of any non-exempt equity, through the plan. The risk is not liquidation but failing to complete the plan, which is why the budget has to be realistic.
How much will my monthly plan payment be?
It depends on what must be paid: mortgage or car arrears, priority debts such as certain taxes and support arrears, the non-exempt value of your property, and your disposable income after allowed expenses. We calculate it from your documents rather than guess, and we explain the number before you commit.
Can I file Chapter 13 if I recently had a Chapter 7?
Yes, with a waiting period. You generally must wait four years after a Chapter 7 filing to file Chapter 13. If you previously filed Chapter 13, the wait is two years between Chapter 13 filings. Because timing rules turn on filing dates rather than discharge dates in some cases, we confirm yours.
What debts does Chapter 13 handle that Chapter 7 cannot?
It lets you pay priority tax claims and support arrears over time without collection pressure, and it lets you cure mortgage and car loan defaults while keeping the property. Chapter 7 cannot do those things for secured arrears, which is why it is not always the answer for homeowners.
How long does Chapter 13 stay on my credit report?
Credit bureaus typically remove a Chapter 13 after seven years, compared with up to ten years from filing for Chapter 7. The effect on your score fades well before removal, particularly if you pay every bill on time while the plan is running.
Will my employer find out I filed?
Not automatically. An employer may learn of it if it is a creditor, if wages being garnished must stop, or if plan payments are deducted from your paycheck. Federal and California law bar an employer from firing you solely because you filed for bankruptcy.
What happens if I fall behind on plan payments?
Call us before the trustee does anything. A missed payment can sometimes be made up, a plan can sometimes be modified to match a change in income, and a dismissal can often be avoided. Waiting until the case is dismissed removes the automatic stay and exposes you to creditors again.
Is a judgment against me still enforceable if I file?
The automatic stay halts enforcement, including bank levies and wage garnishments on a judgment. A California money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from entry and can be renewed, though recent changes limit renewals for certain medical and personal debt judgments. Chapter 13 gives you a structure to deal with the judgment rather than let enforcement continue.
Is Chapter 13 worth it if I am only a few months behind?
Often yes, if the alternative is losing the house. A short-term arrearage can be cured in a plan, and because you are bound only to what the court confirms, creditors cannot demand more. A consultation lets us compare it against reinstatement, loan modification, and Chapter 7 so you choose with real numbers.
Can I handle the case without coming into an office?
Yes. We handle cases fully by phone, email, video, and online chat, and 100% virtual consultations are available. That is convenient for Mission Hills clients balancing work and family while a deadline is running.
Why not use a document preparer to file my Chapter 13?
A petition preparer can type information into forms, but cannot give legal advice, choose your exemptions, or represent you if a creditor or trustee objects. A Chapter 13 plan lives or dies on the legal choices behind it, and mistakes can cost you property or your discharge.
Serving Mission Hills and Neighboring Chapter 13 Clients
We represent homeowners and families in Mission Hills and across the San Fernando Valley, including Granada Hills, North Hills, Sylmar, San Fernando, Northridge, Reseda, Encino, Woodland Hills, North Hollywood, Van Nuys, and Sherman Oaks, as well as Hollywood and Santa Monica on the Westside. Our reach extends throughout Los Angeles County, including Los Angeles, Santa Clarita, Long Beach, Lakewood, Torrance, Compton, Inglewood, Gardena, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Cerritos, Huntington Park, and the Antelope Valley communities of Lancaster, Palmdale, and Acton.
We also serve the Inland Empire, including Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, San Bernardino, Pomona, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Claremont, Glendora, West Covina, Riverside, and the Coachella Valley, along with Orange County cities such as Anaheim, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Buena Park, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Westminster, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Tustin, La Habra, Placentia, Mission Viejo, and Laguna Niguel.
Talk to a Mission Hills Chapter 13 Attorney Before Your Next Deadline
If a sale date, a repossession notice, or a garnishment is bearing down, the options narrow quickly, and a call now keeps more of them open. Speak directly with a Mission Hills Chapter 13 attorney at Wadhwani & Shanfeld for a free consultation, and we will review your income, your property, and your debts and tell you honestly whether Chapter 13, Chapter 7, or a solution outside bankruptcy gives you the best result. Call today, or schedule a virtual consultation at a time that fits your day.
