Chapter 13 bankruptcy lawyer in Brooklyn

Up to the day of the sale, but don't wait for it. A case filed before the Thursday 2:30 pm auction generally halts it. Tell us about any earlier bankruptcy, because a recent one can change that. Call as soon as you have a sale date.

Most of it is the plan itself, which runs 3 to 5 years:

1. Day one: your consultation, often the same day you call.
2. Filing: as soon as your papers are ready, or the same day if a sale is close.
3. After filing: the meeting of creditors on Zoom, then the hearing to confirm your plan.
4. For 3 to 5 years: one monthly payment to the trustee.
5. The end of the plan: your discharge.

Usually not. Meetings of creditors in Eastern District Chapter 13 cases are held on Zoom, with rare in-person exceptions. If anything does call you to Downtown Brooklyn, the court is at 271-C Cadman Plaza East and our office is at 26 Court Street.

Chapter 13 is built to let you keep it. New York's homestead exemption shields a set amount of equity in a co-op or condo you live in, as well as a house: $204,825 in Kings County (effective April 1, 2024). Equity above that generally means a larger plan payment rather than a sale.

Three numbers set it, and we work them out with you:

1. What you're behind on, spread over up to 60 months, on top of your regular payment.
2. Your disposable income: what's left after allowed living expenses.
3. Any equity above what the law protects.

Example only: $18,000 behind, spread over 60 months, is $300 a month toward the arrears, on top of your regular mortgage.

Mostly, you live on the budget your plan is built on. Three rules come with it:

1. New debt. Talk to the trustee before taking on a new loan, because more debt can put the plan at risk.
2. Tax refunds. Under the Eastern District's plan form (the court that hears Brooklyn cases), if your other creditors aren't paid in full, you send the trustee your tax returns each year and your refunds go to the trustee.
3. Co-signers. While your case is open, creditors generally can't collect a consumer debt from someone who co-signed it with you, like a relative on a car loan, unless the court allows it.

It depends on your judge. The Brooklyn bankruptcy court's Loss Mitigation Program, where you and your lender negotiate a modification under court supervision, is available in many Brooklyn cases, depending on the judge your case is assigned to. We check that at your consultation. Not in bankruptcy? See how we handle mortgage modifications on their own.

Four things put a case at risk, and each has a fix:

1. A plan the budget can't carry. We build it from your real budget, so it covers the regular payment and the arrears.
2. A plan that breaks the court's rules. Brooklyn plans that don't follow the local rules may not be confirmable, so we build to them.
3. Gaps in what you disclose. What you tell the trustee can decide whether the case moves forward, so we prepare you.
4. Payments that stop. Tell us early, because a confirmed plan can be changed. If payments simply stop, the court can dismiss the case or convert it to Chapter 7.

You can, but Chapter 13 is one of the hardest chapters to do alone: a plan of up to five years on the court's own form, a trustee checking every number, and often a foreclosure running alongside. Each one is a place a case can stall.

The consultation costs nothing. After that, Chapter 13 attorney fees are typically built into the court-approved repayment plan. The court's own filing fee is separate from our fee, and we walk you through it at the consultation.

It's built not to. Your payment comes from what's left after allowed living expenses, so the plan covers your bills first. The catch is time: the plan runs 3 to 5 years and the filing shows on your credit, though most of our clients see measurable credit improvement within 12 months of filing.