Calabasas Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Lawyer
Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that helps Calabasas homeowners, professionals, and families who earn steady paychecks but have fallen behind on mortgages, car loans, taxes, or credit cards, and it serves clients throughout Los Angeles County and the rest of Southern California. A Calabasas Chapter 13 bankruptcy lawyer is often the right call for people in exactly this position, because Chapter 13 is the chapter built for people who have income and property worth keeping.
Calabasas is a high-value housing market, and that shapes how bankruptcy works here. Homes in this part of the Santa Monica Mountains foothills often carry equity or loan balances that look very different from the rest of the county. When a Chapter 7 filing could put equity at risk, or when a missed-payment stretch has pushed a mortgage toward foreclosure, a Chapter 13 repayment plan lets a filer keep the property and spread the catch-up over three to five years.
The sections below cover who Chapter 13 fits, how California’s exemption rules interact with Calabasas home values, what happens in the first weeks after filing, and the questions people most often ask before they call.
Why Calabasas 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, certified through the American Board of Certification. Between its attorneys, the firm has more than 90 years of combined legal experience. The firm handles Chapter 7, Chapter 13, debt settlement, foreclosure defense, wage garnishment, creditor lawsuits, IRS tax debt, student loan strategies, second mortgage settlements, loan modification, and small business debt. Clients get direct access to an attorney from the first call, and cases can be handled entirely by phone, email, video, and online chat, with 100% virtual consultations available. For Calabasas clients with demanding work schedules, that matters.
Raj Wadhwani, 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, 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.
Chapter 13 rewards precision. The plan has to be feasible on your income, the right exemption system has to be chosen, and the trustee and creditors will test every number. Having board-certified attorneys build the plan, rather than a form preparer, is the difference between a plan that is confirmed and one that falls apart. The firm files in every division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, and when a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is days away, it moves fast.
Situations That Point Calabasas Filers Toward Chapter 13
- Mortgage Arrears and Pending Foreclosure: Chapter 13 lets you cure missed mortgage payments over the life of the plan while keeping the home. Because the automatic stay takes effect the moment you file, it halts a scheduled trustee’s sale, even one set within days.
- Home Equity Above the Exemption: California’s homestead exemption is tied to the countywide median home price, within a floor and ceiling that adjust annually. Calabasas properties can exceed what a filer can protect in Chapter 7, and Chapter 13 allows you to keep the property while paying creditors what the equity would otherwise have produced.
- Income Above the Chapter 7 Means Test: Higher earners whose household income exceeds the California median for their household size may not qualify for Chapter 7. Chapter 13 has no such cutoff, though the plan must be funded from your disposable income.
- Car Loans and Repossession Risk: Chapter 13 can stop a repossession and restructure a vehicle loan, which is often more workable than trying to reinstate a contract after the creditor has already begun the repossession process.
- Back Taxes and Priority Debts: Recent income tax debt, support arrears, and other priority claims survive Chapter 7 but can be paid through a Chapter 13 plan, usually without added interest and penalties piling up while the plan runs.
- Wholly Unsecured Second Mortgages: When a home is worth less than the first mortgage, a second mortgage or HELOC with no equity behind it can in some cases be stripped off and treated as unsecured debt in the plan.
- Wage Garnishment and Creditor Judgments: Filing stops most garnishments when the case begins, and a plan can address judgment creditors on a schedule you can actually afford.
- Business Owners and Professionals: Self-employed filers and small business owners with personal exposure on business debts often need a plan that accounts for fluctuating income, which Chapter 13 can accommodate.
What to Do First When You Are Behind in Calabasas
Start by gathering the documents that drive a Chapter 13 analysis: your last six months of pay stubs or business income records, recent tax returns, mortgage and car loan statements, and every collection letter, lawsuit summons, or notice of default you have received. The dates on those papers matter more than people expect. A creditor lawsuit carries a response deadline, a notice of default starts a foreclosure clock, and a repossession triggers its own notice periods. Bring them all to your first consultation.
If a foreclosure is underway, know the timeline. A trustee’s sale cannot happen earlier than three months and 20 days after the notice of default is recorded, and the notice of sale must be mailed and posted at least 20 days before the sale date. A missed-payment default can be reinstated until five business days before the sale. Chapter 13 is often used after that reinstatement window has closed, since the automatic stay can stop a sale that is days away. If a sale is postponed, the lender must give written notice of the new date, so keep every mailing.
If you have been sued, do not ignore the summons. The expired-deadline defense on an old debt is not applied automatically; it has to be raised in a written answer, or a court can still enter judgment. Contract-based debts generally carry a four-year limit for written agreements and two years for oral ones, and a payment on a time-barred debt does not revive it. A bankruptcy filing also freezes the lawsuit, so talk to an attorney before your response deadline passes.
Calabasas filers file in the San Fernando Valley Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, which sits in Woodland Hills and lists Calabasas among the communities it serves. The filing division is determined by your residential zip code, so we confirm it before filing. After filing, you will attend a meeting of creditors with the Chapter 13 trustee, and the court will hold a confirmation hearing on your plan. Missing plan payments or skipping required paperwork is the most common reason cases are dismissed, so keep your records organized and stay in contact with your attorney.
Choosing Between California’s Two Exemption Systems
California has opted out of the federal exemption scheme, so every filer must choose one of two state systems, and that choice binds you for the whole case. One system is the standard California exemption scheme, which includes a homestead exemption set by a formula tied to the prior year’s countywide median single-family home sale price, with a statutory floor and a ceiling that adjust annually for inflation. The other is the alternative system, which has a much smaller residence exemption but a flexible wildcard that can be applied to any property, along with set amounts for vehicles and tools of the trade. These dollar amounts are adjusted on a schedule, so we apply the current figures at filing rather than relying on old numbers.
For a Calabasas homeowner, the first system usually does more work because of the homestead. For a renter or someone with little home equity, the second can be better. The decision also affects how much the plan must pay unsecured creditors, because Chapter 13 requires that creditors receive at least what they would have gotten in a Chapter 7 liquidation of your non-exempt property. To use California exemptions at all, you generally need to have lived in the state for at least 730 days before filing.
How a Chapter 13 Plan Actually Works
A Chapter 13 plan runs three to five years, and your payments are based on your income and allowable expenses. You make a single monthly payment to the trustee, who distributes it to creditors under the plan. Once the court confirms the plan, creditors are bound by its terms. Mortgage arrears are cured through the plan while you stay current on new payments, priority debts are paid in full, and remaining unsecured debts receive whatever your budget and the exemption rules require. Any balance left on qualifying unsecured debts at the end is discharged.
The key variable is feasibility. The court will not confirm a plan that your income cannot support, so the budget has to be honest and sustainable. If your income changes mid-plan, the plan can sometimes be modified. If you fall too far behind, the case may be dismissed, which ends the stay and exposes you to creditors again, so building the plan carefully at the start matters.
Calabasas Chapter 13 Questions Answered
How much will Chapter 13 cost me each month?
Your payment depends on your income, allowable expenses, arrears owed, priority debts, and the value of non-exempt property. We run the numbers in your free consultation so you can see a realistic payment before deciding.
Will Chapter 13 stop a foreclosure in Calabasas?
Yes. The automatic stay takes effect when the petition is filed and halts the foreclosure process, including a scheduled sale. The plan then lets you catch up on missed payments over time while staying current going forward.
Can I keep my house if I file Chapter 13?
Most filers who choose Chapter 13 do so specifically to keep their homes. As long as you can fund the plan and keep up with ongoing mortgage payments, the home remains yours.
Do I qualify for Chapter 13 if my income is above the Chapter 7 limit?
Yes. The Chapter 7 means test compares your income to the California median for your household size, but Chapter 13 has no such cutoff. What matters is that you have regular income sufficient to fund a plan.
How long does Chapter 13 last?
Plans run three to five years, depending on your income and what the plan must pay. At the end, remaining qualifying debt is discharged.
Can Chapter 13 stop wage garnishment?
Yes. Filing a case stops most garnishments through the automatic stay. California’s ordinary garnishment cap is based on a percentage of disposable earnings tied to the minimum wage, but bankruptcy removes the garnishment altogether while the case proceeds. Your employer also cannot fire you for a single judgment garnishment under California Labor Code protections.
Can I file Chapter 13 after a recent Chapter 7?
Yes, but there is a waiting period: generally four years between a Chapter 7 filing and a later Chapter 13 filing, and two years between Chapter 13 cases. We check your prior filing dates before recommending a strategy.
What happens to my credit card debt in Chapter 13?
Credit card balances are generally treated as unsecured debt. They are paid whatever your plan provides, and any remaining balance is discharged when you finish.
What if my Calabasas home is worth less than my first mortgage?
If there is no equity supporting a second mortgage or HELOC, it may be possible to strip it off, treating it as unsecured debt in the plan. This depends on appraised value and the exact loan structure, so it requires a careful review of your documents.
Is a judgment against me enforceable forever?
No. A California money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from entry, and renewal is possible, though recent changes limit renewals to a single five-year extension for most medical and smaller personal debt judgments. Chapter 13 can deal with existing judgment liens and collection efforts through the plan.
Do I have to come to an office to file?
No. We handle cases remotely by phone, email, video, and online chat, and 100% virtual consultations are available, which suits Calabasas clients with busy schedules.
Will my employer be told about my Chapter 13?
Not automatically. They may learn of it if they are a creditor or if plan payments are deducted from your paycheck. California and federal law bar an employer from firing you solely because you filed.
Chapter 13 Representation Across Calabasas and the Surrounding Communities
Wadhwani & Shanfeld represents Chapter 13 clients in Calabasas and throughout Los Angeles County, including the San Fernando Valley communities of Woodland Hills, Encino, Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Reseda, Northridge, Granada Hills, North Hollywood, North Hills, Mission Hills, San Fernando, and Sylmar. We also serve clients in Hollywood, Santa Monica, and the Westside, as well as Santa Clarita and the Antelope Valley, including Lancaster, Palmdale, and Acton.
Further out, the firm works with families in Long Beach, Lakewood, Torrance, Compton, Inglewood, Gardena, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Cerritos, Cypress, Signal Hill, and Huntington Park, as well as in the Inland Empire and eastern San Gabriel Valley communities of Pomona, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Claremont, Glendora, West Covina, Fontana, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, San Bernardino, and Riverside, and into the Coachella Valley. In Orange County, we represent 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. Whatever your zip code, the first step is the same: a conversation about whether a repayment plan fits your income and your property.
Speak With a Calabasas Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Attorney Today
If you are behind on a mortgage, facing a lawsuit or garnishment, or trying to keep property that Chapter 7 might not protect, a Calabasas Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney at Wadhwani & Shanfeld can review your income, equity, and debts and tell you plainly whether a repayment plan is the right path. The consultation is free, you speak directly with an attorney, and you can handle the entire case remotely. Call today and get an honest answer about your options before the next deadline arrives.
