Panorama City Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Lawyer
A mortgage that slipped three or four payments behind, a car loan in arrears, and a paycheck that still covers most of your bills: that combination is exactly what Chapter 13 was written for. Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that handles Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 cases for individuals and families in Panorama City and across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties.
If you are searching for a Panorama City Chapter 13 bankruptcy lawyer, the real question is usually not “what is Chapter 13” but “can this plan actually save my house, and can I afford it?” Chapter 13 does not erase most debt the way Chapter 7 does. It gives you three to five years to repay on a court-approved schedule, binds your creditors to that schedule, and lets you cure a mortgage default over time instead of in one lump sum. For a Valley homeowner with steady income, that trade is often the difference between keeping the property and losing it.
The sections below cover who Chapter 13 fits, how California’s exemption rules shape the plan, what to do in the days before a foreclosure sale or garnishment, and the questions people ask most often before filing.
Why Panorama City Residents Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Chapter 13
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 its attorneys, the firm brings more than 90 years of combined legal experience to consumer debt cases. The firm serves clients throughout the San Fernando Valley, the wider Los Angeles area, Orange County, and the Inland Empire, and it 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. That matters in Chapter 13, where the paperwork is heavy: budgets, plan payments, mortgage arrears calculations, and amended schedules all have to be accurate and filed on time. 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. Chapter 13 plans live or die on details like how arrears are calculated, which creditors are paid in full, and how the trustee reads your budget, and that depth of case history is what those details demand.
Clients get direct access to an attorney from the first call, a free consultation, and fast action when a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is only days away. Cases can be handled entirely by phone, email, video, and online chat, and consultations can be held 100% virtually, which is useful if you work shifts or cannot easily travel. The firm builds each plan around your income, your property, and your goals rather than a one-size-fits-all filing, and it also handles debt settlement, loan modification, and Chapter 7, so the recommendation you get reflects what fits your situation rather than the only service on offer.
Debt Situations That Point Toward a Chapter 13 Plan
- Mortgage Arrears With a Foreclosure Looming: Chapter 13 lets you spread missed mortgage payments across the plan while you resume regular payments, and the automatic stay halts a scheduled sale the moment the case is filed.
- Car Loan Default or Repossession Risk: If your vehicle is behind on payments or has just been repossessed, a plan can bring the loan current over time, and an attorney can advise on the timing of a filing relative to the repossession.
- Income Above the Chapter 7 Means Test: If your household income exceeds the California median for your household size after allowed expenses, Chapter 7 may not be open to you, and Chapter 13 becomes the main route to relief.
- Priority Tax Debt and Support Arrears: Recent income tax debt, child support arrears, and similar priority obligations cannot be wiped out in Chapter 7, but a Chapter 13 plan can pay them down over time, often without added interest and penalties piling up.
- Home Equity Above the Exemption: If your equity exceeds what California’s exemptions protect, Chapter 7 could put the property at risk. Chapter 13 lets you keep it and pay creditors at least what they would have received in a liquidation.
- A Wholly Unsecured Second Mortgage: When the home is worth less than the first mortgage balance, a second mortgage may be removed through the plan, a result that can meaningfully lower your housing costs.
- Wage Garnishment From a Judgment: Creditor judgments can take a large share of each paycheck. Filing stops most garnishments through the automatic stay and folds the judgment debt into one manageable payment.
What to Do When a Sale Date, Garnishment, or Lawsuit Is Closing In
Start by gathering the documents that set your deadlines: any notice of default, notice of trustee’s sale, summons and complaint, garnishment order, or repossession notice. In a California foreclosure, a sale cannot be set earlier than three months and 20 days after the notice of default is recorded, the notice of sale must be mailed and posted at least 20 days before the sale, and you can reinstate a monetary default until five business days before the sale date. Those windows are why speed matters. If a sale is close, a Chapter 13 filing can be prepared and filed quickly, and the automatic stay takes effect the instant the petition is filed.
If you have been sued by a creditor, do not ignore the summons. The statute of limitations on a written-contract debt is four years and on an oral-contract debt is two years, but that defense must be raised in a written answer, or the court can still enter judgment against you. A payment on an old debt does not revive one that is already time-barred, though a signed written acknowledgment can restart the clock, so be careful what you sign or say to a collector. Judgments are enforceable for 10 years and can be renewed, which is why a judgment sitting in the background still matters when you plan a filing.
For garnishments, an ordinary judgment garnishment is capped at the lesser of 20 percent of weekly disposable earnings or 40 percent of the amount by which those earnings exceed 48 times the applicable minimum hourly wage, with different multipliers for biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly pay. Your employer cannot fire you because of a garnishment on a single judgment. If a creditor levies your bank account, California automatically shields a set amount in a deposit account without any claim of exemption, but that protection does not cover every kind of debt, so do not assume your balance is safe.
Panorama City sits within the San Fernando Valley, and the bankruptcy court division is determined by the street address of your residence using the Central District’s Court Locator. Panorama City is on the list of communities served by the San Fernando Valley Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, which sits in Woodland Hills. Your attorney will confirm the division before filing. After you file, you will attend a meeting of creditors, usually by video or phone, and the court will review your proposed plan at a confirmation hearing. Do not skip plan payments between filing and confirmation, and do not take on new debt without talking to your attorney first. Those two mistakes derail more plans than any other.
How California Exemptions Shape a Chapter 13 Plan
Chapter 13 requires that unsecured creditors receive at least as much through your plan as they would if your non-exempt property were sold in Chapter 7. That means your exemptions directly set the floor for what your plan must pay. California does not use the federal exemption scheme. You must choose one of two state systems for the entire case: the standard system under CCP § 704, which includes a homestead exemption tied to local home prices and adjusted for inflation, or the alternative system under CCP § 703.140(b), which offers a much smaller residence exemption but a flexible wildcard that can cover cash, a vehicle, or other property. Homeowners with real equity usually do better under the first system, while renters and those with little home equity may do better under the second.
You also generally need to have lived in California for at least 730 days to use these exemptions. The dollar figures in both systems are adjusted on a schedule, so your attorney will apply the current amounts to your home, vehicle, tools of the trade, and bank accounts. Getting this choice right can shrink your required plan payment substantially, and getting it wrong can mean paying creditors more than necessary or exposing property you meant to protect.
Frequently Asked Questions About Chapter 13 in Panorama City
How long does a Chapter 13 plan last?
Plans run three to five years. Your income relative to the California median, your debts, and what you need to pay creditors determine where in that range your plan falls. You make one monthly payment to the trustee, who distributes it to your creditors under the confirmed plan.
Will Chapter 13 stop a foreclosure on my Panorama City home?
Yes, filing triggers the automatic stay, which halts a scheduled sale. The plan then lets you cure the missed mortgage payments over time while you stay current going forward. You must keep making your regular post-filing mortgage payments for the stay to do its job over the long run.
Do I have to pay back everything I owe?
Not necessarily. Your plan must cover priority debts, mortgage and car loan arrears you want to cure, and at least what unsecured creditors would receive in a Chapter 7 liquidation. Depending on your income and assets, many general unsecured creditors receive only a portion of what they are owed, and what remains is discharged when you complete the plan.
Can I qualify for Chapter 13 if my income is too high for Chapter 7?
Yes. Chapter 13 is built for people with regular income, including those above the Chapter 7 means test limits. You will need to show steady income sufficient to fund the plan, along with a budget that reflects your actual household expenses.
What happens to my wages while I am in Chapter 13?
The automatic stay stops most wage garnishments once the case is filed. In many cases, plan payments are deducted directly from your paycheck, which means your employer may learn about the filing for that reason. Federal and California law prohibit an employer from firing you solely because you filed for bankruptcy.
Can I keep my car in Chapter 13?
Often yes. A plan can cure a car loan default and, in some cases, adjust how the loan is paid. California requires a lender to give at least 15 days’ written notice before selling a repossessed vehicle, extended to 20 days in certain out-of-state mailing situations, and a debtor can ask in writing for a 10-day extension of the redemption period. These details affect timing, so raise a repossession with your attorney immediately.
How soon can I file Chapter 13 after a prior bankruptcy?
The waiting periods depend on what you filed before. You generally must wait 4 years to file Chapter 13 after a Chapter 7 and 2 years between Chapter 13 filings. Those rules are strict, so your attorney will check your filing history before recommending a path.
What if I miss a payment during my plan?
A missed payment does not automatically end the case, but it can prompt the trustee to seek dismissal. Tell your attorney as soon as you see trouble coming. Options may include modifying the plan, a short delay to catch up, or in some cases converting to Chapter 7 if you qualify.
Can a debt collector keep calling me after I file?
Once the automatic stay is in effect, creditors and collectors who know of the case must stop collection activity. California’s Rosenthal Act separately covers original creditors as well as third-party collectors and lets a consumer recover actual damages, plus additional statutory damages of $100 to $1,000 for willful and knowing violations, along with attorney fees. The suit deadline under that law is one year, so report ongoing harassment promptly.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer rather than using a paralegal or petition preparer?
For Chapter 13, almost always. A petition preparer can type information into forms but cannot give legal advice, choose your exemption system, or represent you if the trustee or a creditor objects. A plan that is miscalculated or poorly structured can get denied confirmation or dismissed, and you could lose property or the benefit of the automatic stay.
How will Chapter 13 affect my credit?
A Chapter 13 filing is typically removed from your credit report after 7 years, sooner than the 10 years a Chapter 7 can remain. Many filers already have damaged scores from missed payments, and responsible use of a secured card and on-time payments can begin the recovery during the plan itself.
Serving Panorama City and Chapter 13 Clients Across Southern California
Panorama City falls within the San Fernando Valley, and we work with Chapter 13 clients throughout the surrounding communities, including Van Nuys, North Hills, Mission Hills, North Hollywood, Reseda, Northridge, Granada Hills, Sylmar, San Fernando, Sherman Oaks, Encino, and Woodland Hills. We also serve Santa Clarita, Hollywood, Santa Monica, and the wider Westside.
Across Los Angeles County, we represent clients in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Torrance, Compton, Inglewood, Lakewood, Gardena, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Cerritos, Signal Hill, Huntington Park, and the Antelope Valley communities of Lancaster, Palmdale, and Acton. In the eastern San Gabriel Valley and Inland Empire, we serve Pomona, Claremont, Glendora, West Covina, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Ontario, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, San Bernardino, Riverside, and the Coachella Valley. In Orange County, our reach includes Anaheim, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Buena Park, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Westminster, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Tustin, La Habra, Placentia, Cypress, Mission Viejo, and Laguna Niguel. Because cases can be handled by phone, video, email, and chat, location is rarely a barrier to getting started.
Talk With a Panorama City Chapter 13 Attorney Before the Next Deadline
If a sale date, garnishment, or court deadline is approaching, the most useful thing you can do is speak with a Panorama City Chapter 13 attorney before it passes. Wadhwani & Shanfeld offers a free consultation, direct access to an attorney from your first call, and virtual meetings if that is easier for you. We will review your income, mortgage, car loans, and other debts, explain whether Chapter 13, Chapter 7, or a non-bankruptcy option fits best, and tell you plainly what a plan would cost you each month. Call today to get started.
