Pasadena Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Lawyer
A Chapter 13 case for a Pasadena homeowner is usually decided by one fact: whether the mortgage arrears can be cured inside a five-year plan while the household keeps paying the ordinary monthly bills. Pasadena sits in Los Angeles County, and the filing division depends on the zip code of the street address, so even the first procedural step takes local knowledge. Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that represents Pasadena and Southern California clients in Chapter 13 reorganizations, Chapter 7 filings, debt settlement, foreclosure defense, wage garnishment, and creditor lawsuits.
If you are searching for a Pasadena Chapter 13 bankruptcy lawyer, you probably have income worth protecting and something you refuse to lose: a house, a car, a paycheck. Chapter 13 exists for that situation. It lets you fold missed payments into a court-approved plan lasting three to five years, bind your creditors to its terms, and keep your property while you catch up.
The sections below cover who benefits from Chapter 13, how California’s exemption choices shape the plan, what to do when a sale date or garnishment is already in motion, and the questions Pasadena filers ask most.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Your Chapter 13 Case
The firm is led by two Board-Certified Specialists in Consumer Bankruptcy through the American Board of Certification, a credential held by a small fraction of attorneys nationwide. Together the firm’s attorneys bring more than 90 years of combined legal experience to cases across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties, including Pasadena and the surrounding communities.
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. The firm files in every division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, which matters because a Chapter 13 plan lives or dies on how well the attorney knows the court where it will be confirmed.
Chapter 13 is a multi-year commitment, so the working relationship matters. Clients get direct access to an attorney from the first call, free consultations, and full remote handling by phone, email, video, and online chat, with 100% virtual consultations available. When a garnishment, foreclosure sale, or repossession is days away, the firm acts fast. The plan is built around your income, your property, and your goals rather than a standard filing, and the firm will tell you plainly if Chapter 7 or a settlement outside court fits better.
Debt Situations That Point Toward Chapter 13
- Mortgage Arrears and Foreclosure Notices: Missed payments can be spread across the plan while you resume regular payments. The automatic stay halts a pending sale the moment the petition is filed.
- Car Loans With Repossession Looming: A plan can let you keep the vehicle and cure the delinquency over time, which a Chapter 7 filing generally cannot do for a loan you are behind on.
- Income Above the Chapter 7 Means Test: If your household income compared with the California median for your household size disqualifies you from Chapter 7, Chapter 13 is often the route that remains.
- Priority Tax Debt and Support Arrears: Debts that Chapter 7 cannot eliminate can be paid in full through the plan, without interest-driven collection pressure from the creditor.
- Home Equity Beyond the Exemption: Pasadena property values can push equity past what the homestead exemption covers. Chapter 13 lets you keep the home and pay unsecured creditors an amount tied to the nonexempt value.
- Wholly Unsecured Second Mortgages: In some cases, a second mortgage with no value behind it can be stripped off, removing that payment entirely.
- Wage Garnishment From a Judgment: Filing stops most garnishments at once and gives you a structured way to resolve the underlying debt.
- Prior Bankruptcy Filings: Waiting periods between cases are shorter for Chapter 13 after a Chapter 7 than for another Chapter 7, which can open a path you thought was closed.
What to Do When a Sale Date, Garnishment, or Lawsuit Is Already Moving
Start by gathering the paper: the notice of default or notice of sale, any summons and complaint, your last two months of pay stubs, a list of every debt, and your most recent tax return. Then call before a deadline passes. In a California foreclosure, the sale cannot take place 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 sale. You can reinstate a monetary default until five business days before the sale, but a bankruptcy petition can be filed right up to the moment of sale, so waiting is not always fatal.
If your car has been repossessed, the lender must give at least 15 days’ written notice before disposing of it, and you can ask in writing for a 10-day extension of the redemption period. If you were sued by a creditor, the response deadline on the summons is real, and filing bankruptcy before a judgment is entered often ends the case against you. If a judgment already exists, an ordinary wage garnishment is capped at the lesser of 20 percent of your weekly disposable earnings or a set portion of earnings above 48 times the minimum hourly wage, and the automatic stay stops it when your case is filed. An employer cannot fire you because wages are garnished for a single judgment.
Pasadena filers are assigned a division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California by the zip code of their street address, not a P.O. box. The Los Angeles Division covers most of Los Angeles County, and the court’s online locator confirms the right one. Your attorney handles that, along with the credit counseling course, the petition, the schedules, and the proposed plan. The common mistakes are waiting until the sale date is days away, paying one creditor heavily right before filing, and hiring a petition preparer who cannot choose exemptions or defend you if the trustee objects.
California Exemptions and the Chapter 13 Plan
Chapter 13 plans are measured against what your creditors would have received if you had filed Chapter 7, so exemptions set the floor for what your plan must pay. California has opted out of the federal exemption scheme. You choose between two state systems, the standard system with a homestead exemption tied to county median home prices and a floor and ceiling adjusted for inflation, or the alternative system with a smaller residence exemption plus a flexible wildcard that often suits renters. You must pick one system for the entire case, and you generally must have lived in California for 730 days to use these exemptions.
For a Pasadena homeowner, the choice can change the plan payment significantly. Substantial equity under the homestead exemption may mean a modest payment to unsecured creditors, while the alternative system could expose equity and raise it. The attorney runs both calculations before filing. The same analysis covers vehicles, tools of the trade, retirement accounts, and bank deposits, including the automatic deposit account exemption that applies on a bank levy without any claim being filed.
Chapter 13 Questions From Pasadena Filers
How long does a Chapter 13 plan last?
Plans run three to five years. Your income relative to the California median, and the debts the plan must cure, determine the length. Some filers finish early if they pay creditors what the plan requires.
Can Chapter 13 stop a foreclosure sale in Pasadena?
Yes. The automatic stay takes effect the moment the petition is filed and halts the sale. The plan then lets you cure the missed payments over time while you stay current going forward.
Will I keep my house and car?
Chapter 13 is designed for keeping property. You must stay current on new payments and make plan payments, but the arrears are spread out instead of demanded all at once.
What is the difference between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13?
Chapter 7 wipes out qualifying unsecured debt, usually in about four months, but requires passing the means test. Chapter 13 reorganizes debt into one payment over three to five years and suits people with steady income, arrears to cure, or assets they want to protect.
Do I need steady income to file Chapter 13?
Yes. The plan has to be feasible, so you need regular income sufficient to cover your living expenses and the plan payment. Self-employed filers can qualify with documented income.
Will my employer find out?
Not automatically. An employer may learn of it if they are a creditor, if a garnishment has to stop, or if plan payments are deducted from your paycheck. California and federal law prohibit firing you solely because you filed.
Can a judgment from years ago still hurt me?
A California money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from entry and can be renewed. For personal debt judgments under a certain principal amount, recent law limits renewal to one time for five years. A judgment lien on your home can often be addressed in the bankruptcy, depending on the equity.
What if the creditor suing me is past the statute of limitations?
A written-contract debt generally carries a four-year limit and an oral-contract debt two years. Expiration is a defense you must raise in a written answer, or a court can still enter judgment. A payment does not revive a time-barred debt, and only a signed written acknowledgment restarts the clock.
Can I file Chapter 13 if I recently received a Chapter 7 discharge?
Yes, subject to waiting periods. You must wait four years to file Chapter 13 after a Chapter 7, two years between Chapter 13 filings, and generally six years to file Chapter 7 after a Chapter 13, though that period can shorten if your plan paid enough to unsecured creditors.
What happens if I cannot finish my plan?
Options include modifying the plan after a job loss or medical event, requesting a hardship discharge in limited circumstances, converting to Chapter 7 if you qualify, or dismissal. Talking to your attorney early in a problem gives you more choices than waiting until payments are missed.
Does a collector’s illegal behavior change anything?
It can. California’s Rosenthal Act covers original creditors as well as collectors, and a consumer can recover actual damages, additional statutory damages if the violation was willful and knowing, and attorney fees. The suit must be brought within one year, so tell your attorney about harassing calls or false statements.
Serving Pasadena Chapter 13 Clients and the Surrounding Region
Wadhwani & Shanfeld represents Pasadena residents and homeowners throughout Los Angeles County, and cases are handled in person or fully remote by phone, email, video, and online chat. From Pasadena, the firm’s reach extends across the Los Angeles basin and the San Fernando Valley, including Sherman Oaks, Encino, Woodland Hills, Reseda, Northridge, Granada Hills, North Hollywood, North Hills, Mission Hills, San Fernando, Sylmar, Van Nuys, and Hollywood, as well as Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and the Westside.
The firm also serves Santa Clarita, the Antelope Valley communities of Lancaster, Palmdale, and Acton, and the south and southeast county, including Long Beach, Lakewood, Torrance, Compton, Inglewood, Gardena, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Cerritos, Cypress, Signal Hill, and Huntington Park. To the east, clients come from the eastern San Gabriel Valley and Inland Empire, including Pomona, Claremont, Glendora, West Covina, Montclair, Chino, Chino Hills, Fontana, Ontario, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino, and Riverside, along with the Coachella Valley. In Orange County, the firm represents filers 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.
Talk With a Pasadena Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Attorney Today
If a sale date, a garnishment, or a court deadline is closing in, the best time to talk with a Pasadena Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney is now. Call Wadhwani & Shanfeld for a free consultation and speak directly with an attorney about whether Chapter 13, Chapter 7, or a settlement outside court gives you the best result. You can meet in person or handle your entire case remotely, whichever is easier for you.
