Cerritos Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Lawyer
Keeping your house, catching up on a mortgage or car loan, and ending up with one payment you can actually make: that is what most people in Cerritos want out of a repayment plan. Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that handles Chapter 13 cases for residents of Cerritos and the surrounding communities of Los Angeles County and Orange County, and as a Cerritos Chapter 13 bankruptcy lawyer team we build plans around your income, your property, and your goals.
Chapter 13 is a different tool from Chapter 7, and it works best when you have steady income and something worth protecting. Instead of wiping out debt and letting go of whatever is not exempt, you propose a plan that runs three to five years. You pay what you can afford, the court confirms the plan, and creditors are bound by its terms. Missed mortgage payments get spread out over the plan rather than demanded all at once, and the foreclosure that was scheduled stops the moment the case is filed.
For many Cerritos homeowners, the question is not whether they can pay their mortgage going forward, but whether they can catch up on what they missed after a job loss, a medical emergency, or a stretch of reduced hours. Chapter 13 was built for that problem.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Your Chapter 13 Case
Wadhwani & Shanfeld has helped more than 30,000 individuals and families resolve debt, and the firm is led by two Board-Certified Specialists in Consumer Bankruptcy through the American Board of Certification. Between them, the attorneys carry more than 90 years of combined legal experience. The firm serves clients across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties, including Cerritos, Artesia, Norwalk, Bellflower, and Long Beach, and files in every division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California.
Raj Wadhwani, a founding shareholder and partner, is a Southwestern Law School graduate who 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. Greg Shanfeld, also a founding shareholder and partner, earned his law degree from the University of Southern California and has handled more than 10,000 bankruptcy cases over three decades. Both are Board-Certified Specialists in Consumer Bankruptcy, a distinction held by a small fraction of attorneys nationwide.
That experience matters in Chapter 13 because the chapter is a negotiation as much as a filing. The plan payment, the treatment of your arrears, and the way your equity is valued all shape whether the plan gets confirmed and whether you can finish it. You speak directly with an attorney from your first call, the consultation is free, and the firm can act fast when a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is only days away. If you prefer not to travel, your case can be handled fully by phone, email, video, and online chat, and virtual consultations are available.
Situations That Lead Cerritos Residents to Chapter 13
- Behind on the Mortgage: The classic Chapter 13 case. Arrears are folded into the plan and paid over time while you stay current on new payments, which can stop a trustee sale before it happens.
- Income Above the Chapter 7 Means Test: If your household income is too high to qualify for Chapter 7 after comparing it to the California median for your household size, Chapter 13 gives you a lawful route to relief.
- Home Equity Beyond the Exemption: Chapter 7 can put non-exempt equity at risk. In Chapter 13 you keep your property and pay unsecured creditors at least what they would have received had the equity been liquidated.
- Tax Debt and Support Arrears: Priority debts such as certain income taxes and past-due support generally cannot be erased in Chapter 7. A Chapter 13 plan lets you pay them in installments without interest-driven collection pressure.
- Car Loans and Repossession Risk: If a lender is threatening to take a vehicle you need to commute, a plan can restructure the loan and stop repossession while you catch up.
- Wholly Unsecured Second Mortgage: When the first mortgage exceeds the home’s value, a second mortgage may be stripped off and treated as unsecured debt, reducing your total monthly burden.
- Wage Garnishment and Creditor Judgments: Filing triggers the automatic stay, which halts garnishments, bank levies, and collection lawsuits right away.
- Recent Chapter 7 Discharge: If you filed Chapter 7 within the last few years, waiting periods apply to a new discharge, but Chapter 13 may still be available sooner depending on timing.
What to Do Now if Your Home, Car, or Paycheck Is at Risk
Start by pulling together every piece of paper that has a deadline on it: mortgage statements, any notice of default or notice of sale, repossession notices, court summonses, and garnishment orders. Dates drive strategy in Chapter 13. In a California foreclosure, a notice of default begins the clock, and a sale generally cannot happen until at least three months and 20 days afterward. The notice of sale must be mailed and posted at least 20 days before the auction, and a borrower can reinstate a monetary default up to five business days before the sale date. If you are inside that window, call immediately so the filing can be timed correctly.
If a car has been repossessed, the lender must send written notice at least 15 days before disposing of it, and that notice gives you a limited window to redeem. You can ask in writing for a 10-day extension. If a collector has sued you, do not ignore the summons. Your response deadline is short, and a default judgment can lead to garnishment of up to 20 percent of disposable earnings or a bank levy. Employers cannot fire you because of a garnishment on a single judgment, but the pay reduction itself is real, and filing bankruptcy stops most garnishments when the case begins.
Gather your last six months of income records, recent tax returns, a list of everything you own with rough values, and a full list of creditors, including ones you suspect are time-barred. Do not move money, transfer property, or pay back a relative before talking to an attorney, because those moves can create problems in the case. Do not keep making payments on old, expired debts either; under California law a payment cannot revive a debt that is already time-barred, but it can complicate how the debt is handled.
Your case will be filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. The filing division depends on the zip code of your street address, and Cerritos residents are generally assigned to the Los Angeles Division, which sits at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. We confirm the correct division before filing. After filing, you attend a meeting of creditors, usually quickly and often by video, make your first plan payment to the Chapter 13 trustee within 30 days of the filing date, and stay current while the court reviews and confirms the plan.
Protecting Your Property Under California’s Two Exemption Systems
California has opted out of the federal exemption scheme, so bankruptcy filers choose between two state systems and must stay with the one they pick for the entire case. One system carries a substantial homestead exemption that is tied to the prior year’s median home price in the county, subject to a statutory floor and ceiling that adjust annually. The other offers a smaller residence exemption but a flexible wildcard that can be applied to bank accounts, cash, or other assets, which is often better for renters or people with little equity. To use California’s exemptions, you generally must have lived in the state for at least 730 days before filing.
In Chapter 13, exemptions work differently than in Chapter 7. You are not giving property up, but the value of your non-exempt assets sets a minimum you must pay to unsecured creditors through the plan. That means the exemption choice directly affects your monthly payment. A homeowner with significant equity may do better under the homestead system, while someone with a modest house and other savings might benefit from the wildcard. Our attorneys run the numbers both ways before filing, because the choice cannot be changed later.
How the Plan Is Built, Confirmed, and Completed
Your plan length, either three or five years, depends largely on your income compared to the California median for your household size. Lower-income filers can often propose a three-year plan, while higher earners generally need five years. The monthly payment is built from your disposable income, your arrears on secured debts, any priority claims such as taxes or support, and the minimum owed to unsecured creditors based on your non-exempt assets.
After you file, the trustee reviews the plan, creditors can object, and the court holds a confirmation hearing. Once confirmed, the plan binds everyone, and your job is to make each payment on time. Many Chapter 13 filers have the payment deducted from their paycheck, which makes it easy to stay current. If circumstances change, such as a job loss or a medical emergency, the plan can often be modified, and in some cases a hardship discharge is available. When you complete all plan payments, the court issues a discharge of remaining qualifying debt.
Cerritos Chapter 13 Questions, Answered
How much will I pay each month in a Chapter 13 plan?
The payment depends on your disposable income, how much you owe in mortgage or car arrears, any tax or support debts that must be paid in full, and the value of your non-exempt property. We calculate it before you file so you know the number going in and can confirm it fits your budget.
Will Chapter 13 stop a foreclosure sale in Cerritos?
Yes. The automatic stay takes effect the moment the petition is filed and halts the sale. The plan then lets you pay the missed amounts over three to five years while you keep making current payments. Because a reinstatement right ends five business days before the sale, filing before that point gives you the most flexibility.
Do I keep my home and my car in Chapter 13?
That is the whole point of the chapter. You keep your property as long as you complete the plan and stay current on new payments. You are not required to surrender assets the way you could be in a liquidation.
Can I file Chapter 13 if I make too much for Chapter 7?
Yes. Chapter 13 has no means test cutoff in the same way, and it is often the only route for people whose household income exceeds the California median for their household size. You do need regular income and debts within the statutory limits.
What happens if I miss a payment during my plan?
A single missed payment is not automatically fatal, but the trustee can ask the court to dismiss the case if payments fall behind. If you see trouble coming, tell us early. Plans can often be modified, and sometimes a short catch-up arrangement resolves it.
Can a Chapter 13 plan get rid of a second mortgage?
If your home is worth less than the balance owed on the first mortgage, a second mortgage that is entirely underwater can sometimes be stripped off and treated as unsecured debt. Whether this works depends on a current valuation of your home, which we review with you carefully.
How long can a creditor sue me or enforce a judgment in California?
Written contract debts generally carry a four-year limitations period for filing suit, and oral contracts two years. But the expired deadline is a defense you must raise in a written answer, or a court can still enter judgment. Once a judgment is entered, it is enforceable for 10 years and can be renewed, with limits on renewals for smaller personal and medical judgments.
Does filing Chapter 13 affect my job?
Your employer is not notified automatically. They may find out if your wages were being garnished or if your plan payment is taken from your paycheck. State and federal law bar an employer from firing you solely because you filed.
Can I file Chapter 13 if I recently filed before?
Often yes, but waiting periods apply. After a Chapter 7 discharge you must wait four years before receiving a Chapter 13 discharge, and two years between Chapter 13 filings. Whether you can file sooner to get the automatic stay depends on the facts, and we review your history before recommending a path.
Is a Chapter 13 filing worth it if I only have one problem debt?
Sometimes the answer is no. If a single debt is the issue, debt settlement or a loan modification may be cheaper and faster. Because we handle both bankruptcy and its alternatives, we tell you honestly when Chapter 13 is not the best fit.
Do I have to come to an office to file?
No. We handle cases fully by phone, email, video, and online chat, and the free consultation can be held virtually.
Chapter 13 Representation Across Cerritos and Southeast Los Angeles County
We start with Cerritos itself and the neighboring cities that share the same corridor along the Los Angeles and Orange County line: Artesia, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Cypress, Lakewood, Long Beach, Signal Hill, Gardena, and Huntington Park. From there our work extends through Los Angeles County to Compton, Inglewood, Torrance, Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Santa Clarita, and the Antelope Valley communities of Lancaster, Palmdale, and Acton.
Just across the county line, we represent Orange County clients in Anaheim, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Buena Park, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Westminster, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Tustin, La Habra, Placentia, Mission Viejo, and Laguna Niguel. In the Inland Empire and eastern San Gabriel Valley, we serve Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, San Bernardino, Pomona, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Claremont, Glendora, West Covina, and Riverside, as well as the Coachella Valley. Wherever you live, a Chapter 13 filing follows the same rules in federal court, and we handle the process from start to discharge.
Talk With a Cerritos Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Attorney Today
If a foreclosure notice, repossession letter, or garnishment order is putting a deadline on your life, speak with a Cerritos Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney at Wadhwani & Shanfeld before that deadline passes. The consultation is free, you will talk directly with an attorney, and we will tell you plainly whether Chapter 13, Chapter 7, or a solution outside of court gives you the best chance to keep what matters and move forward. Call today or schedule a virtual consultation, whichever works better for you.
