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Don’t be scared off by a chapter 13 bankruptcy payment plan.

It does not mean you have to pay everyone back in full with interest. After all, if you could afford to pay everyone back, you would not be thinking about filing bankruptcy. It may mean you pay NOTHING to your general creditors, the ones without priority status or collateral. So, just how much do you have to pay back in chapter 13?

The formula is simple, You must pay the higher of these four tests to your unsecured claims:

Administrative claims:

Administrative claims include the filing fee, trustees fee, and attorney fees for your lawyer. Pay 100

Priority claims:

Priority claims include back child support and alimony and most federal and state taxes. Pay 100%

Best efforts tests:

The best interest of creditors test. Your creditors must receive as much as they would receive if you filed a chapter 7 bankruptcy. This includes your equity in the non-exempt property and the money the trustee can recover for payments you made preferring certain creditors and improper transfers of a property minus the cost of liquidation and the trustee fees and expenses. Often, the result of this test is zero.

The best interest of creditors test:

The best interest of creditors test. Your creditors must receive as much as they would receive if you filed a chapter 7 bankruptcy. This includes your equity in the non-exempt property and the money the trustee can recover for payments you made preferring certain creditors and improper transfers of a property minus the cost of liquidation and the trustee fees and expenses. Often, the result of this test is zero.

Optional plan provisions:

You also may pay a home mortgage arrearage, a car lender, or other secured claims in your chapter 13 plan to keep your property. You may also pay co-signed debts or special classes of creditors.

Your plan payment must be feasible. The math must work. Plan funding must be practical and affordable. That means you have to pay in enough money to pay what you must pay to unsecured creditors and you have to pay in enough money to pay the creditors you may pay.

Chapter 13 may be less than 100% repayment:

Your bankruptcy attorney knows the rules for getting a chapter 13 plan approved in your locale. Do not let the myth that chapter 13 means paying back all your debts stop you from considering chapter 13. It is not true.

Chapter 13 can be a powerful tool to manage and resolve your financial problems. You may be surprised to find out that your chapter 13 payment may be affordable and dramatically less than your payments were before bankruptcy. Your attorney can analyze your situation and tell you exactly how much you have to pay in chapter 13.

Carolyn Secor is a Clearwater bankruptcy attorney and Clearwater foreclosure attorney serving Palm Harbor, New Port Richey, Oldsmar, Tarpon Springs, Seminole, St. Petersburg, and the Tampa Bay area.

If you would like more information on our practice, please consult our website at www.bankruptcyfortampa.com or call 727-254-1704.