Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Keep Your Property & Repay Debts Over Time

Chapter 13 Bankruptcy: Keep Your Property & Repay Debts Over Time I needed to file Chapter 13 to pay off approximately $7000 in delinquent taxes that could not be discharged in a Chapter 7. I contacted several local Chapter 13 attorneys in the San Diego area for free consultations. Each one wanted to charge at least $3500.00 to represent me and wanted between $1000.00 to $1500.00 to be paid prior to them filing the bankruptcy paperwork with the court. If I had that kind of money, I would have been trying to work out something with the IRS. I bought this book and read it cover to cover several times. When I knew I was ready, I completed the forms required to file in my district, California Southern District. My expense was $274.00 in cash for the filing fees. I filed on 4/17/09 and had my 341(a) hearing on 5/22/09. The court schedules a hearing at the same time for many people. During the hearing, I was getting nervous as several people that were represented by attorneys were called in front of the Chapter 13 Trustee ahead of me and were either having their hearings continued to a new date or having a Confirmation hearing scheduled due to discrepancies in their filed paperwork (this was paperwork prepared and filed by their attorneys!!!). In the California Southern District, a 341(a)hearing is rescheduled or a Confirmation hearing is scheduled if the Chapter 13 Trustee thinks there is a presumption of abuse of the bankruptcy laws, objects to the plan or a creditor has an objection to the plan. When I was called up, I only had to answer a few basic questions (name, address, what do you do you do for a living, how much are you paid, is that hourly, weekly, monthly and how many hours per day, week or month do you work) and provide copies of my IRS tax returns for 4 years (2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008)to verify that I have had stable income. The Chapter 13 Trustee stated he did not find a presumption of abuse, recommended that my plan be confirmed and is submitting the Request for Plan Confirmation to the Chapter 13 bankruptcy judge for sign-off. It took less than 10 minutes. I could not have done it without the invaluable assistance of this book.

As always, the Nolo bankruptcy books are the only way to go when it comes to self-help books for the non-lawyer. Plus, the latest edition appears to have updated the summary of the 50 states various exemptions, an improvement from before. Interestingly, the latest edition appears to be biased in favor of creditors' interests a little more than it was in the previous editions.

This book was very informative, I own a Bankruptcy Petition Preparer Service. To broaden my expertise in Chapter 13, I purchased this book. With the information in this book alone, I am now able to expand my business by offering Chapter 13 service to Attorneys. Five Stars for this book.

If you're behind on your bills and creditors are threatening, you can consider filing for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection - and the 8th updated edition of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy will save you a fortune in attorney fees and confusion. Learn how to determine qualifications, understanding the law's protections, fill out and file forms, pay off debts and represent yourself in court: it's been completely rewritten to reflect the latest changes to federal bankruptcy law and includes all the latest facts, making this a top reference both for filers and for public library reference sections.

The author did a good job organizing the information in this book. I would also recommend Surviving Financial Disasters by Tiffany R. Love which comes with a CD ROM and actual sample court documents from someone who has been there and done that. Also tells what to expect after you filed your papers.