Redlands Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Lawyer
Chapter 13 is the one kind of personal bankruptcy that is built around keeping what you own, and most people who search for a Redlands Chapter 13 bankruptcy lawyer are doing so because something they cannot afford to lose is at risk: a house with a sale date on the calendar, a car about to be repossessed, or a paycheck being garnished. Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that handles Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 cases for clients in Redlands and across San Bernardino County, Riverside County, Los Angeles County, and Orange County.
Unlike Chapter 7, which wipes out qualifying debt in a few months, Chapter 13 is a repayment plan. You make one monthly payment, usually over three to five years, and the court-approved plan binds your creditors. That structure is what lets you catch up on a mortgage over time, pay back taxes without penalty pressure, and keep property that a Chapter 7 trustee might otherwise reach. It also requires steady income and discipline, so the decision to file deserves a careful look at your numbers before anything is submitted.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Your Chapter 13 Case
Between them, the firm’s attorneys bring more than 90 years of combined legal experience to cases for clients in Redlands, Loma Linda, Yucaipa, and the rest of the Inland Empire. When you call, you reach an attorney directly from the first conversation, and the firm acts fast when a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is days away. Consultations are free, and you can handle the entire case by phone, email, video, or online chat, including 100% virtual consultations.
Raj Wadhwani, a founding shareholder and partner, is a Board-Certified Specialist in Consumer Bankruptcy and a Southwestern Law School graduate. He 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 and a Board-Certified Specialist in Consumer Bankruptcy, earned his law degree from the University of Southern California and has handled more than 10,000 bankruptcy cases over three decades. That depth matters in Chapter 13 in particular, because the plan is negotiated with a trustee and creditors for years, and details such as plan length, payment amount, and which assets are protected are set at the start.
The firm files in every division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, and builds each plan around your income, your property, and your goals rather than a one-size-fits-all filing.
Situations That Lead Redlands Residents to Chapter 13
- Mortgage Arrears and Foreclosure: If you have fallen behind on your home loan, Chapter 13 lets you spread the missed payments across the plan while staying current going forward. Filing triggers the automatic stay, which halts a pending foreclosure sale.
- Car Loans and Repossession: A plan can bring a delinquent auto loan current over time and, in some cases, reduce what you pay, so you keep the vehicle you need to get to work.
- Income Above the Chapter 7 Limit: If the means test, which compares your household income to the California median for your household size, shuts the door on Chapter 7, Chapter 13 is the route that remains open.
- Home Equity Beyond the Exemption: California’s homestead exemption protects a substantial amount of equity, but homeowners in strong markets can exceed it. A Chapter 13 plan lets you keep the house while paying unsecured creditors at least what they would have received if the property were sold.
- Tax Debt and Support Arrears: Priority debts such as certain income taxes and past-due support survive Chapter 7. Chapter 13 gives you a structured way to pay them off in full over the plan without collection action.
- Wage Garnishment: Filing stops most garnishments at once. Even on an ordinary judgment, a garnishment can take a significant share of each paycheck, and a plan replaces that with a single predictable payment.
- Wholly Unsecured Second Mortgages: When your home is worth less than the first mortgage balance, a second mortgage may be stripped off through the plan and treated as unsecured debt.
- Creditor Lawsuits and Judgments: A suit from a collection firm or an entered judgment can be brought into the plan, and the stay stops further enforcement while the case is pending.
What to Do If a Sale Date, Garnishment, or Lawsuit Is Looming
Start by collecting the paperwork that is driving the urgency: any notice of default or notice of sale on your mortgage, summonses and complaints, garnishment orders, and repossession letters. Dates on these documents determine how much room you have. In a California foreclosure, a sale cannot be set until at least 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 a monetary default can generally be cured by reinstating the loan until five business days before the sale. Once you are inside that window, filing a bankruptcy case is often the fastest way to stop the sale outright.
Repossession works on a shorter clock. A lender must give written notice of its intent to sell a repossessed vehicle, generally at least 15 days, and you can ask in writing for the redemption period to be extended by 10 days. If you have been served with a lawsuit, do not ignore the response deadline. An expired statute of limitations is a defense you must raise in a written answer, or a court can still enter judgment against you. For most written-contract and credit card debt in California, the window to sue is four years, and a payment on a time-barred debt does not bring it back to life.
Because Redlands is in San Bernardino County, bankruptcy cases for residents are filed in the Riverside Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, which serves both Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. The filing division is determined by the street address where you live, not a P.O. box. Before you file, you will complete credit counseling, gather income records, and list every debt and asset, and an omission can cost you protection, so accuracy matters more than speed. Avoid common missteps: do not pay back a relative or favored creditor right before filing, do not transfer property, and do not stop making mortgage payments you could afford while you are deciding. A call to the firm before any of these steps lets an attorney tell you what is safe.
How a Chapter 13 Plan Actually Works
A Chapter 13 case begins with the petition and a proposed plan. A trustee reviews it, creditors have a chance to object, and the court holds a confirmation hearing. Once confirmed, the plan binds your creditors, and you make payments to the trustee, sometimes deducted directly from your paycheck, who distributes them according to the plan. Plans run three to five years depending on your income and what you owe. Secured arrears and priority debts are paid in full, while many unsecured creditors receive only a portion, and any qualifying balance is discharged when you finish.
Exemptions drive a great deal of the math. California has opted out of the federal exemption scheme, so you must choose one of two state systems for the entire case: the standard system, which includes the larger homestead protection for homeowners, or the alternative system with a flexible wildcard that often suits renters. To use California’s exemptions, you generally must have lived in the state for at least 730 days. The homestead amount is tied to the county median home price within a statutory floor and ceiling and adjusts for inflation, so the right choice depends on your equity and your other property. This is one of the first decisions the firm’s attorneys make with you, because it determines how much a plan must pay unsecured creditors.
Chapter 13 also has timing rules for repeat filers. If you previously received a Chapter 7 discharge, you generally must wait four years before filing Chapter 13, and two years between Chapter 13 filings. On credit reports, a completed Chapter 13 is typically removed after seven years, shorter than the period for Chapter 7.
Redlands Chapter 13 Questions, Answered
How long does a Chapter 13 plan last?
Plans run three to five years. The length depends on your income relative to the California median and on how much you must repay to priority and secured creditors. A longer plan lowers the monthly payment but extends the commitment.
Can Chapter 13 stop a foreclosure on my Redlands home?
Yes. The automatic stay takes effect the moment your petition is filed and halts the foreclosure sale. The plan then lets you repay the missed payments over time while keeping up with new ones, as long as you can afford the payment.
Will I lose my house or car?
Chapter 13 exists so that you can keep them. Because you are repaying creditors rather than surrendering assets, the property stays with you as long as you complete the plan and stay current on ongoing payments.
How do I know whether I qualify for Chapter 13 instead of Chapter 7?
Chapter 13 requires regular income sufficient to fund a plan, while Chapter 7 requires you to pass the means test. Many people with income above the Chapter 7 limit use Chapter 13. An attorney will review your income, expenses, property, and debts to tell you which fits.
What happens if I miss a plan payment?
A single late payment is not automatically fatal, but repeated missed payments can lead the trustee to seek dismissal, which ends the stay and exposes you to creditors again. If your income changes, you can ask to modify the plan rather than let payments lapse.
Can a Chapter 13 stop a wage garnishment?
Filing stops most garnishments right away through the automatic stay. Ordinary-judgment garnishments in California are capped by a formula tied to your disposable earnings and the minimum wage, but bankruptcy removes them altogether while the case is pending, and your employer cannot fire you simply because of a garnishment on one judgment.
What about a judgment that has been entered against me?
A California money judgment is enforceable for 10 years and can be renewed, though recent law limits renewals for certain personal-debt and medical judgments to a single five-year extension. A judgment can be addressed in your plan, and the stay halts levies and liens from being pursued while the case is open.
Can I use Chapter 13 if I already filed a bankruptcy before?
Often yes, subject to waiting periods. After a prior Chapter 7 you generally wait four years, and between two Chapter 13 cases you wait two years. Bring your prior case information to the consultation so the timing can be checked.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer instead of using a document preparer?
A petition preparer can enter information on forms but cannot give legal advice, choose your exemptions, or appear for you if the trustee or a creditor objects. In Chapter 13, where a plan must be confirmed and then performed for years, a mistake can mean lost property or a dismissed case.
Will my employer find out I filed?
Not automatically. They may learn if they are a creditor, if a garnishment must stop, or if plan payments are deducted from your paycheck. State and federal law prohibit an employer from firing you solely because you filed.
Do I have to drive to an office to get started?
No. The firm handles cases fully by phone, email, video, and online chat, and offers fully virtual consultations, so you can get answers about your Redlands case from home.
Serving Chapter 13 Clients Across Redlands and the Inland Empire
The firm’s work for Redlands clients begins in San Bernardino County and extends outward. From Redlands, the firm represents people across the Inland Empire, including San Bernardino, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Ontario, Chino, Chino Hills, and Montclair. Clients in the eastern San Gabriel Valley communities of Pomona, Claremont, Glendora, and West Covina also rely on the firm, as do residents of Riverside County, including the city of Riverside and the Coachella Valley.
Across Los Angeles County, the firm represents homeowners and wage earners from Los Angeles, Long Beach, Torrance, Compton, Inglewood, Lakewood, Gardena, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Cerritos, Cypress, Signal Hill, and Huntington Park, as well as the San Fernando Valley communities of Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Encino, Woodland Hills, Reseda, Northridge, Granada Hills, North Hollywood, North Hills, Mission Hills, San Fernando, and Sylmar. The firm also serves Hollywood, Santa Monica, Santa Clarita, and the Antelope Valley, including Lancaster, Palmdale, and Acton. In Orange County, clients come from 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 Redlands Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Attorney Before Your Deadline Arrives
If a sale date, a levy, or a lawsuit response deadline is approaching, the most useful thing you can do is get your numbers in front of an attorney now. A Redlands Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney at Wadhwani & Shanfeld will review your income, your home equity, and what you owe, tell you honestly whether Chapter 13, Chapter 7, or a solution outside of court fits best, and move quickly if the clock is short.
Call to schedule your free consultation and speak directly with an attorney, or arrange a virtual consultation if that is easier. You can handle your whole case remotely, from first conversation through discharge.
