Santa Monica Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Lawyer
A Chapter 13 case for a Santa Monica resident is built around one number: what you can reliably pay each month for three to five years. Rents on the Westside run high, home values run higher, and many filers earn too much for Chapter 7 or own more equity than they can safely expose to a trustee. Wadhwani & Shanfeld is a consumer bankruptcy and debt relief law firm that handles Chapter 13 filings for clients across Los Angeles County and the rest of Southern California, and a Santa Monica Chapter 13 bankruptcy lawyer from our firm can tell you quickly whether a repayment plan fits your income and your property.
Chapter 13 is a reorganization, not a wipeout. You propose a plan, the court confirms it, and your creditors are bound by its terms. Mortgage arrears get spread over the life of the plan while you keep making regular payments, car loans can be restructured, and unsecured creditors are paid only what your budget and the law require. The remainder is typically discharged when you finish.
The filing itself moves fast. The moment the petition is on file, the automatic stay halts foreclosure proceedings, garnishments, lawsuits, and repossessions. What follows is slower and more deliberate: a plan, a creditors’ meeting, a confirmation hearing, and then years of steady payments.
Why Choose Wadhwani & Shanfeld for Chapter 13 Representation
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. You speak with an attorney from your first call, and cases can be handled entirely by phone, email, video, and online chat, with 100% virtual consultations available.
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. 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.
That experience matters in Chapter 13 because the work is front-loaded with judgment calls. How the plan payment is set, which exemption system protects your equity, and how arrears are cured all decide whether a plan gets confirmed and whether you can complete it. 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, we move fast. Consultations are free.
Situations That Lead Santa Monica Residents to Chapter 13
- Mortgage Arrears and Pending Foreclosure: California’s nonjudicial foreclosure timeline gives you a window. A sale date can be no earlier than three months and 20 days after the notice of default is recorded, and a monetary default can be reinstated until five business days before the sale. Chapter 13 lets you stop the sale and repay the missed payments over the plan instead of in one lump sum.
- Income Above the Chapter 7 Means Test: Westside salaries often exceed the California median for a household of your size. If you fail the means test, Chapter 13 is the lawful route to relief, with a plan sized to your actual disposable income.
- Home Equity Beyond the Exemption: Los Angeles County home values can outrun the homestead exemption. A Chapter 7 trustee could sell a home with unprotected equity, while Chapter 13 lets you keep the property and pay creditors the value of that equity over time.
- Wage Garnishment: A judgment creditor can take a share of your paycheck, capped by statute at the lesser of 20% of weekly disposable earnings or 40% of the amount those earnings exceed 48 times the minimum hourly wage. Filing stops most garnishments when the case begins.
- Car Loans and Repossession: A lender must give at least 15 days’ written notice before disposing of a repossessed vehicle. Chapter 13 can stop a repossession in progress and, in many cases, restructure the loan so you keep the car.
- Tax Debt and Support Arrears: Priority debts such as certain income taxes and past-due support cannot be wiped out in Chapter 7. Chapter 13 folds them into the plan so they are paid in full 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 in Chapter 13 and treated as unsecured debt.
- Creditor Lawsuits and Judgments: A California money judgment is enforceable for 10 years and can be renewed. Chapter 13 stops enforcement while you work out repayment on the whole debt picture.
What to Do Right Now If You Are Considering Chapter 13
Start by sorting your paperwork by urgency. A foreclosure notice, a court summons, a garnishment order, or a repossession letter each carries its own clock, and those clocks decide how fast we need to act. Set those documents on top, then gather the rest: recent pay stubs, tax returns, bank statements, a list of every creditor, and your mortgage and car loan statements.
Do not ignore a lawsuit. A debt collection suit that goes unanswered can end in a default judgment, and the expiration of the filing deadline is a defense you must raise in a written answer. On a written contract the window to sue is four years; for oral agreements it is two. A payment on an old, expired debt does not revive it. If you have been served, call before your response deadline passes.
Do not pay one creditor heavily and ignore the rest, and do not move assets or transfer property to relatives. Those moves can cause real trouble with the trustee later. Also avoid using a non-attorney petition preparer for a Chapter 13 case. They cannot advise you, choose your exemptions, or appear for you when the trustee raises a problem.
A Santa Monica filer’s case is generally assigned to the Los Angeles Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, which sits in downtown Los Angeles, though your street address and zip code decide the division, so we confirm it before filing. Your creditors’ meeting is conducted by the Chapter 13 trustee, and a confirmation hearing follows. If a creditor has sued you in state court, the case may be pending at the Santa Monica courthouse of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, and the automatic stay will freeze that action once you file.
How a Chapter 13 Plan Is Built and Confirmed
The plan is a budget the court can approve. We start with your household income and allowed expenses, then add up what the law requires you to pay: mortgage arrears, priority debts such as recent taxes and support arrears, any secured debt you want to keep, and a minimum to unsecured creditors tied to what they would have received in a Chapter 7 liquidation of your non-exempt property. The monthly payment is the total divided across the plan term.
Plan length depends on your income relative to the California median. Below it, the commitment is generally three years, though it can run up to five if needed. Above it, five years is the norm. You pay the Chapter 13 trustee, who distributes the money to creditors, and payments can be deducted from your paycheck. You keep making ordinary mortgage payments directly while the arrears are cured through the plan.
Exemptions drive the creditor payout. California has opted out of the federal exemptions, so you choose between two state systems for the entire case. One carries a homestead exemption that scales with local home prices, which can be substantial for a Los Angeles County homeowner. The other offers smaller fixed amounts and a flexible wildcard that often suits renters. You need to have lived in California for at least 730 days to use the state’s exemptions. Choosing the wrong system can raise your plan payment, so this is where careful analysis pays for itself.
After confirmation, the work is steady compliance: making every payment, staying current on post-filing obligations, and reporting income changes. If your circumstances shift, a plan can sometimes be modified. When you finish, the remaining eligible debt is discharged.
Chapter 13 Questions Santa Monica Filers Ask
How long does a Chapter 13 case last?
Three to five years, depending on your income and what you owe. If your income is below the California median for your household size, the plan can be shorter. If it is above, the plan generally runs five years.
Will I lose my house in Chapter 13?
The purpose of Chapter 13 is to let you keep it. As long as you make your plan payments and stay current on ongoing mortgage payments, arrears are cured over time and the foreclosure is stopped.
Does filing stop a foreclosure sale?
Yes. The automatic stay takes effect the moment the petition is filed. We can often prepare and file quickly when a sale date is close, though you should call as early as you can.
Can Chapter 13 stop a wage garnishment?
It stops most garnishments upon filing. Your employer cannot lawfully fire you because wages are garnished for a single judgment, and Chapter 13 plan payments may themselves be deducted from your paycheck.
What happens to my credit cards and medical bills?
They are treated as unsecured debt. You pay what the plan requires, based on your disposable income and non-exempt property, and the balance is generally discharged when you complete the plan.
Can I keep my car?
Often, yes. Chapter 13 can halt a repossession and let you restructure the loan inside the plan. If the car is already repossessed, timing matters, since the lender must send a notice of intent to dispose of the vehicle and you may have redemption rights.
Can I file Chapter 13 if I recently had a Chapter 7?
Yes, but you generally must wait four years after a Chapter 7 filing. After a prior Chapter 13, you must wait two years before another Chapter 13.
What if my bank account was frozen by a creditor?
California automatically protects a set amount in a deposit account from a judgment levy without you filing a claim, and the bank must apply it before turning money over. That protection does not apply to levies for wages owed to others, support, or state debts. Filing bankruptcy halts the levy.
Can I include a debt that is too old to be sued on?
Time-barred debts can usually be listed, but a debt past its limitations period generally cannot be enforced by lawsuit if you raise the defense. We review each account to decide whether it belongs in the plan.
What if I miss a plan payment?
Call us right away. A missed payment can lead the trustee to seek dismissal, which would lift the protection of the automatic stay. Often the problem can be solved with a plan modification or a catch-up arrangement.
Do I have to come into an office for my case?
No. We handle cases fully by phone, email, video, and online chat, and 100% virtual consultations are available.
Can a collector harass me during Chapter 13?
Once you file, collection activity must stop. California’s Rosenthal Act also covers original creditors as well as collectors, and a consumer can recover actual damages and, for willful and knowing violations, an additional $100 to $1,000, plus attorney fees. Tell us about any harassment.
Serving Santa Monica and the Surrounding Westside and Los Angeles County Communities
We represent Chapter 13 clients starting right in Santa Monica and across the Westside, and from there into Hollywood and Los Angeles itself. In the San Fernando Valley we serve Sherman Oaks, Encino, Woodland Hills, Reseda, Northridge, Granada Hills, North Hollywood, North Hills, Mission Hills, San Fernando, Sylmar, and Van Nuys. Further out in Los Angeles County, we help families in Long Beach, Lakewood, Torrance, Compton, Inglewood, Gardena, Norwalk, Bellflower, Paramount, Cerritos, Signal Hill, Huntington Park, Santa Clarita, Lancaster, Palmdale, and Acton.
Our reach extends into Orange County, including 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 Riverside and San Bernardino Counties and the Inland Empire, we serve Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, San Bernardino, Riverside, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Claremont, Pomona, Glendora, West Covina, and the Coachella Valley.
Speak With a Santa Monica Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Attorney
If a mortgage default, a garnishment, or a stack of creditor letters is pushing you toward a decision, call Wadhwani & Shanfeld for a free consultation. A Santa Monica Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorney from our team will review your income, property, and debts, tell you honestly whether a repayment plan or another route fits better, and explain what the next months would look like. Call today and speak directly with an attorney, in person or by video, whichever is easier for you.
