California Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Lawyer
The foreclosure notice is on the kitchen table, the mortgage is months behind, and you earn a steady paycheck that simply was not enough during a rough stretch. That is exactly the situation a repayment plan was designed for. Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that represents clients across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties and throughout Southern California, and a California Chapter 13 bankruptcy lawyer from our team can tell you quickly whether a plan will save your home, your car, or both.
Chapter 13 works differently from Chapter 7. Instead of wiping out debt and moving on, you propose a plan that runs three to five years, you make one monthly payment, and the court’s confirmation binds your creditors to the terms. In exchange, you keep your property while catching up on what you missed. For California homeowners, where equity can easily exceed what a Chapter 7 filer is allowed to protect, that trade is often the whole point.
Which exemption system you choose, whether your home sits inside or outside the protected amount, and how much your plan must pay creditors all depend on facts only a close look at your finances can reveal. We walk through those numbers with you directly, starting on the first call.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Chapter 13 in California
Chapter 13 is the chapter where mistakes cost the most, because a plan that is too tight collapses in month fourteen and one that is too loose overpays creditors for years. Wadhwani & Shanfeld has helped more than 30,000 individuals and families, and the firm is led by two Board-Certified Specialists in Consumer Bankruptcy through the American Board of Certification. Together the team carries more than 90 years of combined legal experience, and the firm 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 familiarity with how cases are actually prepared and filed shows up in the precision of a plan. 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, which matters when a trustee or lender objects to a plan and you need someone who has seen that objection before.
Clients also get direct access to an attorney from the first call, a free consultation, and fast action when a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is days away. If you would rather not travel, we handle cases fully by phone, email, video, and online chat, and 100% virtual consultations are available.
Situations Where a Chapter 13 Plan Fits
- Mortgage Arrears and Pending Foreclosure: Missed payments can be spread across the plan while you stay current going forward. Filing stops a scheduled sale immediately through the automatic stay, which is why timing around a sale date matters so much.
- Income Above the Chapter 7 Means Test: If your household income exceeds the California median for your household size and your allowed expenses do not close the gap, Chapter 13 is usually the route that remains open.
- Home Equity Beyond the Homestead Exemption: California homeowners in higher-priced areas can have more equity than the exemption covers. A Chapter 13 plan lets you keep the house while paying unsecured creditors at least what they would have received in a liquidation.
- Car Loans Behind on Payments: A repossession risk can be addressed by folding the arrears into the plan, and in some cases the loan itself can be restructured.
- Priority Tax Debt and Support Arrears: Debts that Chapter 7 cannot eliminate, such as certain recent income taxes and past-due child support or alimony, can be paid through the plan over time without collection pressure.
- Wholly Unsecured Second Mortgages: When your home is worth less than the first mortgage balance, a second mortgage may be stripped off and treated as unsecured debt in the plan.
- Wage Garnishment and Bank Levies: A judgment creditor taking part of each paycheck can be stopped at filing, with the debt then handled inside the plan.
- Prior Chapter 7 Filings: Waiting periods apply between cases, and Chapter 13 sometimes becomes available sooner than a new Chapter 7 would.
What to Do When Foreclosure, Garnishment, or Repossession Is Closing In
Start by gathering the paper that sets the clock. For a foreclosure, that means the notice of default and, if it has arrived, the notice of sale. In California, a sale cannot be set earlier than three months and 20 days after the notice of default is recorded, and the notice of sale must be mailed and posted on the property at least 20 days before the auction. You can also reinstate a monetary default until five business days before the sale, which is a separate option worth discussing with an attorney. If a sale gets postponed by at least 10 business days, the lender must send written notice of the new date within five business days of the postponement. Bring every one of those documents to your consultation.
For garnishment, bring your most recent pay stubs and any paperwork from the court or the creditor. A standard judgment garnishment is capped at the lesser of 20% of weekly disposable earnings or 40% of the amount by which those earnings exceed 48 times the minimum hourly wage, with different multiples for biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly pay. You can claim a portion of earnings as exempt if you can show it is necessary to support yourself or your family. Filing bankruptcy stops most garnishments on the day the case is filed. Your employer may not fire you because of a garnishment on a single judgment.
For a car at risk, know that the lender must give at least 15 days’ written notice before selling a repossessed vehicle (20 days if the notice is mailed from or to an address outside California), and you can ask in writing for a 10-day extension of the redemption period. A deficiency claim is only valid if that notice arrives within 60 days of the repossession and contains the required information.
Your case will be filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, and the street address of your residence, not a P.O. box, determines the division. Los Angeles County filers may land in the Los Angeles Division or the San Fernando Valley Division, which serves communities including Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Encino, Woodland Hills, and Northridge. Orange County filers go to the Santa Ana Division, and Riverside and San Bernardino County filers go to the Riverside Division. A few communities, including Lancaster, Palmdale, and Santa Clarita, require checking the court’s locator by zip code first, and we do that before filing.
Avoid the common mistakes: ignoring a lawsuit until a default judgment is entered, paying one creditor heavily right before filing, taking cash from retirement accounts to catch up on a mortgage, and missing a mortgage payment after you file. Call before any of those happen.
How the Plan Is Built, and What Protects Your Property
A Chapter 13 plan is calculated from your income, your reasonable monthly expenses, and the value of what you own. The plan must cover mortgage and car arrears, priority debts like recent taxes and support arrears, and a dividend to unsecured creditors that is at least what they would receive if your nonexempt property were sold in a Chapter 7. When your income is above the California median, the plan generally runs five years; when it is below, three years can be enough, though some people choose longer to make payments lower. Payments often go to the trustee through a wage deduction, so your employer may see a payroll deduction even though it is not told why unless it is also a creditor.
California has opted out of the federal exemptions, so you must pick one of two state systems for the whole case. The first, found in the regular exemption statutes, includes a homestead tied to the county median home price within a statutory floor and ceiling that adjust yearly for inflation. The second offers a smaller residence exemption plus a wildcard that can be applied to any property, which often suits renters or people with little home equity. You must have lived in California for at least 730 days to use these exemptions. Choosing the wrong system can leave equity exposed, and it determines how much your unsecured creditors must receive through the plan, so we model both before filing.
Chapter 13 also reaches debts that have been lingering. A judgment is enforceable for 10 years from entry and can be renewed, though recent changes limit renewal to one time, for five years, on certain medical and personal debt judgments under set dollar amounts. Old debts may also be time-barred for a lawsuit, four years on written contracts and two on oral ones, but that defense must be raised in a written answer, or a court can still enter judgment. A payment on a time-barred debt does not revive it. These facts shape whether a creditor’s claim belongs in your plan at all.
California Chapter 13 FAQs
How long does a Chapter 13 plan last?
Three to five years. The length depends largely on whether your income is above or below the California median and how much you owe in arrears and priority debts. When you complete the plan, remaining qualifying unsecured balances are discharged.
Will filing Chapter 13 stop a foreclosure sale?
Yes. The automatic stay takes effect the moment the petition is filed and halts the sale. The plan then lets you pay the missed mortgage amounts over time while you keep making your regular payments. If the sale is only days away, we can often prepare an emergency filing quickly.
Can I keep my house and car in Chapter 13?
Most clients do. Unlike a liquidation, Chapter 13 does not require selling property to pay creditors. You keep your assets as long as you complete the plan and stay current on ongoing payments.
How much will I have to pay each month?
It depends on your disposable income, the arrears you need to cure, priority debts, and what your nonexempt property would have been worth to creditors in a Chapter 7. We calculate it with you at the consultation so the payment is sustainable rather than aspirational.
How does Chapter 13 compare with Chapter 7?
Chapter 7 wipes out qualifying unsecured debt in roughly four months but requires passing a means test and protecting your property under exemptions. Chapter 13 reorganizes debt into one payment over three to five years and is built for people with steady income who need to catch up on a mortgage or car loan, or who have income or equity too high for Chapter 7.
What happens if I miss plan payments or lose my job mid-plan?
Contact us before you fall behind. Options can include modifying the plan, temporarily adjusting payments, or in some cases a hardship discharge. Letting several months pass without telling anyone is the surest way to have the case dismissed.
Can Chapter 13 get rid of a second mortgage?
Sometimes. If your home is worth less than the balance on the first mortgage, a second mortgage that is completely unsecured can be stripped off and treated like credit card debt in the plan. If there is any equity behind the second mortgage, it generally cannot be stripped.
Will my wages be garnished during the plan?
Creditor garnishments stop at filing. Your plan payment may be deducted from your paycheck and sent to the trustee, but that is a payment arrangement, not a garnishment by a creditor.
I was just sued by a debt collector. Do I need to file bankruptcy?
Not necessarily. Depending on the debt, the age of the account, and your finances, options include answering the suit, raising the statute of limitations, negotiating a settlement, or filing. Do not let your response deadline pass, because a default judgment makes everything harder.
Does California protect me from harassing collection calls?
Yes. The Rosenthal Act covers original creditors as well as collection agencies, and a consumer can recover actual damages, up to an additional $1,000 for willful violations, and attorney fees if successful. The suit must be brought within one year of the violation. Tell us about the calls, and we will weigh whether a claim exists alongside your bankruptcy options.
How will Chapter 13 affect my credit?
A Chapter 13 can remain on your credit report for seven years, shorter than the up to ten years for a Chapter 7. Many people already have damaged credit from missed payments, and scores often begin recovering within the first year with a secured card and on-time payments.
Serving Chapter 13 Clients Across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties
From Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley communities of Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Encino, Woodland Hills, Reseda, Northridge, Granada Hills, North Hollywood, Sylmar, and San Fernando, to the Westside and Hollywood and Santa Monica, our Chapter 13 attorneys represent homeowners and wage earners across Los Angeles County. We also serve Santa Clarita, Long Beach, Lakewood, Torrance, Compton, Inglewood, Gardena, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Cerritos, Cypress, Signal Hill, and Huntington Park, along with the Antelope Valley communities of Lancaster, Palmdale, and Acton.
In Orange County, we work with 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 represent families in Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, San Bernardino, Pomona, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Claremont, Glendora, West Covina, Riverside, and the Coachella Valley. Wherever you live, we can handle your case entirely by phone, email, video, or online chat.
Talk With a California Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Attorney Before the Sale Date Arrives
If you are behind on a mortgage or car loan, being garnished, or sued, a California Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney at Wadhwani & Shanfeld can review your income, property, and deadlines and tell you plainly whether a plan will work or whether another path fits better. Call us for a free consultation and speak directly with an attorney, or schedule a virtual consultation from home. The sooner we see the notices and the dates, the more options you will have.
