Timeframe Of Discharge Of A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in California

Interviewer: How long could the whole process of a Chapter 13 last? How long is it supposed to last and could it be extended?

Brad Weil: By law, the minimum bankruptcy plan in a Chapter 13 that you can propose is a 3-year plan, 36 months. The maximum bankruptcy plan that you can propose is a 5-year plan, 60 months. If you are paying all of your creditors through the plan, what we call a 100 per cent plan, you can propose less than a 3 year plan. We’ve done 2-years plan for people just to pay back their debts. And the reason for doing that is when you pay your debts back through Chapter 13, you don’t pay any interest on unsecured debts. It’s whatever you owe as it has been filed. And some people, all they can afford is the minimum payment on their credit card, which is like 20 or 30 per cent interest that has been maxed out a year ago. And they’re not getting anywhere; they’re just constantly paying like a dollar or two of those interest.