Los Angeles County Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Lawyer
If you live in Los Angeles County and the mortgage is behind, the car payment is slipping, or a tax bill keeps growing, Chapter 13 may be the one chapter built to let you keep what you have while you catch up. Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that handles Chapter 7, Chapter 13, debt settlement, foreclosure defense, wage garnishment, and creditor lawsuits for individuals and families across Los Angeles County and greater Southern California.
Finding the right Los Angeles County Chapter 13 bankruptcy lawyer matters because a Chapter 13 case is not a quick filing. It is a three-to-five-year commitment in which your income, your equity, and your payment plan all have to hold together. A plan that looks fine on day one but fails in month fourteen can cost you the very house or car you filed to save.
Chapter 13 reorganizes your debts into a single monthly payment through a court-approved plan. Once the court confirms it, creditors are bound by its terms. For many Los Angeles homeowners, that means a way to stop a trustee’s sale, spread out missed mortgage payments, and keep property that a Chapter 7 filing might put at risk.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Chapter 13 in Los Angeles County
Wadhwani & Shanfeld has helped more than 30,000 individuals and families get out from under debt. The firm is led by two Board-Certified Specialists in Consumer Bankruptcy through the American Board of Certification, with more than 90 years of combined legal experience. It serves clients throughout Los Angeles County, Orange County, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County, and files in every division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. Clients get direct access to an attorney from the first call, a free consultation, and the option to handle the whole case by phone, email, video, or online chat, including fully virtual consultations.
That experience matters in Chapter 13 because the work is in the details: how the plan treats your arrears, which exemption system protects your equity, and whether your budget can sustain sixty months of payments. Raj Wadhwani, a founding shareholder and partner and a Board-Certified Specialist in Consumer Bankruptcy, 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 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.
When a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is days away, the firm acts fast. A Los Angeles bankruptcy attorney who knows how the Central District’s divisions work can get a petition on file in time to trigger the automatic stay before the deadline passes.
Situations That Lead Los Angeles County Residents to Chapter 13
- Mortgage Arrears and Foreclosure: Chapter 13 lets you cure missed mortgage payments over the life of the plan while staying current going forward. Filing freezes a scheduled trustee’s sale, which matters because California’s reinstatement right under Civil Code 2924c ends five business days before the sale date.
- High Home Equity: Los Angeles County home values often push equity past what a Chapter 7 filer can safely protect. Chapter 13 lets you keep the property without a trustee liquidating it, while you pay unsecured creditors at least what they would have received in a liquidation.
- Income Above the Chapter 7 Means Test: If your household earns more than the California median for your family size, Chapter 7 may be closed to you. Chapter 13 has no median-income cutoff for eligibility, though the median affects plan length.
- Car Loans and Repossession: Behind on a vehicle loan and facing repossession? A Chapter 13 plan can fold the arrears into your payments and stop the lender from taking the car while you catch up.
- Back Taxes and Priority Debt: Recent income taxes, support arrears, and other priority claims survive Chapter 7, but a Chapter 13 plan lets you pay them in installments, often without added collection pressure.
- Wage Garnishment: A judgment creditor can take up to 20% of disposable earnings in a garnishment. Filing Chapter 13 stops most garnishments the day the case is filed and lets you repay the judgment through the plan.
- Wholly Unsecured Second Mortgages: If your home is worth less than the balance on your first mortgage, a second mortgage that is entirely underwater can in some cases be stripped off and treated as unsecured debt in the plan.
- Prior Bankruptcy Filings: A recent earlier case can bar a Chapter 7 discharge. Chapter 13 is often available sooner, since you can file four years after a Chapter 7 discharge filing and two years after a prior Chapter 13.
What to Do Right Now If You Are Considering Chapter 13
Start with the deadline closest to you. If you have a notice of default, count forward: a sale date 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 at least 20 days before the sale. If a sale date already exists, call immediately. Filing before the sale stops it, and a postponed sale must be followed by written notice of the new date.
If a creditor has sued you, do not ignore the summons. A default judgment turns into a garnishment or bank levy, and a California money judgment stays enforceable for 10 years and can be renewed. Los Angeles County cases are heard in the Los Angeles Superior Court, whose districts include Central, West, Southwest, South, Southeast, East, Northeast, North Central, North Valley, Northwest, and others. Check the court named on your summons and the response deadline printed on it, then call before that date passes. A bankruptcy filing halts the lawsuit entirely.
Gather your paperwork before the consultation: recent pay stubs, your last two years of tax returns, mortgage statements and any default or sale notices, car loan documents, a list of every creditor with balances, and a monthly budget. Chapter 13 hinges on proving steady income, so the more precise your numbers, the better your attorney can design a plan the trustee will approve.
Know where your case will be filed. Your home street address, not a P.O. box, determines the division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. Most of Los Angeles County falls under the Los Angeles Division, which sits in downtown Los Angeles. San Fernando Valley communities such as Encino, Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Northridge, Reseda, and Woodland Hills are served by the San Fernando Valley Division in Woodland Hills. Some communities, including Lancaster, Palmdale, and Santa Clarita, have special notes in the court’s division list, so the zip code should be confirmed with the court’s locator before assuming where you file. Cities like Malibu are assigned to the Northern Division even though they sit in Los Angeles County.
Avoid the common mistakes: stopping mortgage payments before you talk to a lawyer, paying a favored relative back before filing, moving money between accounts, or letting a petition preparer type up your forms. A preparer cannot choose exemptions or defend you when the trustee raises a problem, and errors can cost you property or your discharge.
How a Chapter 13 Plan Works and Why It Fails
The plan runs three to five years. Your payment goes to a standing trustee, who distributes it to creditors. Three numbers drive the amount: your arrears on secured debts you want to keep, your priority debts such as certain taxes and support arrears, and the amount unsecured creditors must receive, which is tied to the value of your nonexempt property and your disposable income.
That last piece is where the exemption choice matters. California does not use the federal exemption list. You must pick one of two state systems for the whole case: the system under CCP 704, with its larger homestead protection that adjusts with home prices and inflation, or the system under CCP 703.140(b), with a smaller residence exemption but a flexible wildcard that can help renters or people with little home equity. To use California’s exemptions, you generally must have lived in the state for 730 days. The wrong pick can force you to pay creditors more through the plan, so this choice deserves real analysis, not a default.
Plans most often fail because the budget was optimistic. A job change, a medical event, or a new expense can derail payments. A well-built plan leaves room for ordinary life, and when circumstances do change, options exist, including modifying the plan or converting to a different chapter. Missing payments without telling your attorney is the fastest route to dismissal, which ends the stay and exposes you to creditors again.
Finishing the plan brings a discharge of the remaining qualifying unsecured debt. Throughout the case, you keep your property, continue making your regular mortgage and car payments, and start rebuilding credit as you go.
Chapter 13 Questions Los Angeles County Residents Ask
How fast does Chapter 13 stop a foreclosure or garnishment?
The automatic stay takes effect the moment your petition is filed. Foreclosure proceedings, wage garnishments, bank levies, lawsuits, and repossessions must stop. When a sale date or levy is imminent, an emergency filing can be prepared quickly.
Will I lose my house in Chapter 13?
Chapter 13 is designed to let you keep it. You must stay current on payments that come due after filing, and your plan must cure the arrears. Failing to keep up can lead to dismissal and a renewed foreclosure.
How long is a Chapter 13 plan?
Three to five years. Your income relative to the California median and the size of your arrears and priority debts influence the length.
Can I file Chapter 13 if I recently filed bankruptcy before?
Often yes, subject to waiting periods. You can file Chapter 13 four years after a Chapter 7 filing and two years after a prior Chapter 13 filing. Your attorney confirms the exact dates from your prior case.
What debts does Chapter 13 handle that Chapter 7 cannot?
It lets you pay priority taxes and support arrears over time and cure mortgage and car loan defaults while keeping the collateral. Some debts, such as child support and most student loans, are not discharged in either chapter, but Chapter 13 can organize their repayment.
Will my employer find out I filed?
Not automatically. They may learn if they are a creditor or if plan payments are taken from your paycheck. California and federal law prohibit an employer from firing you solely because you filed for bankruptcy.
Can I use my tax refund or bonus during the plan?
The trustee may require you to disclose and sometimes contribute extra income such as refunds or bonuses, depending on your plan terms. Ask your attorney before spending a windfall.
Which exemption system should I use in my Chapter 13?
It depends on your equity and assets. Homeowners with meaningful equity often benefit from the CCP 704 system, while renters or those with little equity may do better with the 703.140(b) wildcard. You select one system for the entire case.
What happens to a judgment lien from a creditor lawsuit?
A judgment that has attached to your home can sometimes be removed or reduced in bankruptcy, depending on your equity and exemptions. Judgments are enforceable in California for 10 years and may be renewed, so addressing them early can matter for years afterward.
Do I need to appear in person for a Chapter 13 case?
You will attend a meeting of creditors, and the court may require other appearances. Our firm handles consultations and case work by phone, email, video, and online chat, so much of the process can be completed remotely.
What if I cannot afford the plan payment partway through?
Tell your attorney right away. Depending on the cause, the plan may be modified, a hardship discharge may be possible in limited cases, or the case can be converted to Chapter 7 if you qualify. Silence is the one response that reliably leads to dismissal.
Serving Chapter 13 Clients Across Los Angeles County and Beyond
Our Los Angeles County Chapter 13 work reaches from the city of Los Angeles and Hollywood across the San Fernando Valley, including Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Encino, Woodland Hills, Reseda, Northridge, Granada Hills, North Hollywood, North Hills, Mission Hills, San Fernando, and Sylmar. We also serve the Westside and Santa Monica, the South Bay and Gateway communities of Torrance, Inglewood, Compton, Gardena, Long Beach, Lakewood, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Cerritos, Signal Hill, and Huntington Park, and the San Gabriel Valley communities of Pomona, Claremont, Glendora, West Covina, and Montclair. In northern Los Angeles County, we represent residents of Santa Clarita, Lancaster, Palmdale, Acton, and the Antelope Valley.
Neighboring Orange County clients in Anaheim, Santa Ana, Garden Grove, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, and Mission Viejo can also count on the same representation, as can Inland Empire residents in Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, San Bernardino, and Riverside County communities including the Coachella Valley.
Speak With a Los Angeles County Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Attorney Today
If a sale date, a garnishment, or a repossession is closing in, the best time to talk to a Los Angeles County Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney is before the deadline, not after it. Call Wadhwani & Shanfeld for a free consultation and speak directly with an attorney about whether Chapter 13, Chapter 7, or a solution outside bankruptcy fits your situation. We will review your income, equity, and debts and tell you plainly which path gives you the strongest footing.
You can meet with us in person or handle everything remotely by phone, email, video, or online chat. Reach out today and get a plan built around your income and your goals.
