Friday, October 25, 2013

Converting Your Chapter 7 Bankruptcy to a Chapter 13 Case

There can be many reasons for converting Chapter7 Bankruptcy to Chapter 13 case. Sometimes, after filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the debtor realizes that Chapter 13 is much better option.  Sometimes, the court ask the debtor to convert to Chapter 13. The author explains the need of converting Chapter 7 Bankruptcy to a Chapter 13 of bankruptcy.


Bankruptcy attorney John M. Crane states “Bankruptcy is a means for good people in bad situations to legally get a fresh start. There are certain requirements, but generally, anyone meeting those requirements has a legal right to file bankruptcy. As soon as a bankruptcy petition is filed, all creditors are prohibited from attempting to collect on all debts listed in the petition until the Court either discharges you from these debts or determines that you are not entitled to such relief.” (Ref: John M. Crane, P.C, http://www.johncranebankruptcy.com/bankruptcy)


There can be many reasons for converting Chapter 7 Bankruptcy to Chapter 13 case. Sometimes, after filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the debtor realizes that Chapter 13 is much better option.  Sometimes, the court ask the debtor to convert to Chapter 13. Some of the reasons for converting Chapter 7 Bankruptcy to a Chapter 13 of bankruptcy are:

When the Court Might Require You to Convert to Chapter 13


Court may ask you to covert to Chapter13 if it finds that you are not eligible to file for chapter 7. This may also happen when you make mistake in filing Chapter 7 means test, which determine who is eligible to file Chapter 7 case. If you don’t want to pay within three to five years repayment plan required by Chapter 13 then you can ask the court to dismiss the case. However, the court cannot force you to stay in Chapter13.

When You Want to Convert to Chapter 13

 

  • Financial Conditions: Your financial condition changed since you file for Chapter 7 and realize that you made a mistake by filing for Chapter 7 and will lose your valuable property.
  • To take benefit of Chapter 13: If you’re financial circumstances have changed and you got some money, then you may want to use benefits that Chapter 13 provides. Chapter 13 bankruptcy is more flexible than Chapter 7 in many ways like with Chapter 13 you can reduce the principal on car loans.
  • Property Value Underestimated: due to underestimation of the actual value of your property you realize that you cannot exempt the full value of your property in Chapter 7. At that time you want to convert to Chapter 13 because it lets you keep most of your property.
  • Insurance Proceeds: Bankruptcy exemption does not let you to keep the insurance proceeds in Chapter7 and you might be able to keep them in Chapter 13.
  • Possibilities with Chapter 13: Some debts can be discharged only in Chapter 13.
  • Non-exempt Property: In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the trustee is authorized to sell your non-exempt assets to pay your creditors. But, if you don’t want to lose your non-exempt property, you may be able to convert your case to Chapter 13. 

Disclaimer: The contents of this page are general in nature. Please use your discretion while following them. The author does not guarantee legal validity of the tips contained herein.

John M. Crane, P.C.: John M. Crane, P.C. has been licensed since 1997 and is a member of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys. John M. Crane, P.C. is a full-service law office with a practice focused on Foreclosure Defense and Consumer Bankruptcy. The offices of John M. Crane, P.C. are located at PortChester, Queens, White Plains and New York. For further information, contact John M. Crane, P.C. directly at (914) 481-3450. You can visit the website http://www.johncranebankruptcy.com/.

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