A Will County Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Attorney Helps You Catch Up and Keep Your Property
Chapter 13 is a repayment plan rather than a wipe out. You catch up on what you owe over three to five years while keeping your home, your car, and your other property, which makes it the right chapter for people who have fallen behind but still have steady income coming in. It is also the strongest tool an Illinois homeowner has against a foreclosure already in motion. Jeff McCarthy handles Chapter 13 filings personally for Will County clients, builds a plan the court will confirm and you can actually live with, and stays on the file from filing through the final discharge. Illinois exemption rules are set out in the Code of Civil Procedure.
How the Three to Five Year Plan Actually Works
Chapter 13 is built around one document. You propose a monthly payment based on your real budget, and for three to five years that payment goes to the Chapter 13 trustee, who distributes it to creditors under the plan’s terms. The length is not arbitrary: under the Bankruptcy Code a debtor below the state median income generally proposes three years, while one above it commits to five, and some below median debtors choose five anyway because stretching the same arrears across more months lowers the payment. The plan does not treat all debts alike. Priority debts such as certain taxes and domestic support arrears are paid in full. Secured debts like the mortgage and car loan get the treatment that lets you keep the collateral. General unsecured debts, credit cards and medical bills, are paid from what remains, often at a fraction of face value, with the qualifying balance discharged on completion.
Stopping Foreclosure, Protecting Cosigners, and Choosing 13 Over 7
Filing triggers the automatic stay, which immediately halts the foreclosure, the sale date, and the collection calls. Then the plan does what no lender hotline reliably will: it forces a catch up on your terms. The Code lets a homeowner cure mortgage arrears across the life of the plan while maintaining the regular monthly payment going forward, so ten thousand dollars behind becomes a manageable monthly cure spread over three to five years, and the lender must accept it if the plan meets the Code’s requirements.
The same cure and maintain mechanism works on a car loan and can stop a repossession. The discipline is that the plan protects you only while you perform, meaning both the regular mortgage payment and the plan payment have to be made every month. That is why the budget gets built honestly before filing rather than optimistically, because a Chapter 13 that collapses halfway through leaves you worse positioned than one you never filed.
Chapter 13 also carries a protection Chapter 7 does not. Under section 1301, filing bars creditors from pursuing anyone who cosigned your consumer debts, a parent on a car loan for instance. That co-debtor stay lasts while the case is pending and holds up best when the plan pays the debt in full, since a creditor can ask the court for relief to the extent the plan pays less.
Eligibility has limits. Chapter 13 is for individuals with regular income whose debts fall under statutory caps. For cases filed between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2028 those caps are 526,700 dollars in unsecured debt and 1,580,125 dollars in secured debt. Most Will County households sit far below them, but the check is part of every consultation rather than an afterthought.
So who picks 13 over 7? Homeowners behind on a mortgage who intend to keep the house. Debtors whose income is too high to pass the Chapter 7 means test. People holding property that Illinois exemptions would not fully protect in a Chapter 7, since Chapter 13 lets you keep it and pay creditors its value over time instead. And anyone with a cosigner worth protecting. Jeff walks through both chapters at the first meeting and recommends the one that fits your facts rather than a default.
Speak With Jeff McCarthy About Your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
The court has to confirm a Chapter 13 plan before it binds anyone, so the numbers have to work on paper from day one. That is where thirty years of experience earns its keep, in plans that get confirmed and that hold together for the full term instead of failing in year two. You work with Jeff personally through every step, from the first budget conversation to the discharge, with the paperwork and the deadlines handled and your options explained in language you can act on. Chapter 13 is about catching up, not giving up, and you may be able to keep your home. Call today for a confidential consultation. You can also reach us anytime through our contact page, or call (815) 838-5297 directly.
Chapter 13 bankruptcy questions, answered
Plain answers to what people ask about Chapter 13 in Will County.
Chapter 7 discharges qualifying debts in a few months but offers no way to catch up on a mortgage or car loan. Chapter 13 is a three to five year repayment plan that lets you cure arrears, keep property, and protect cosigners, and it is the route when income is above the Chapter 7 means test. Call Jeff at (815) 838-5297 to review both options at your consultation and find the fit for your situation.
If the goal is saving a home from foreclosure, Chapter 7 is often the wrong tool, since it can discharge unsecured debt but does not erase mortgage arrears. Chapter 13 creates a repayment plan, typically over three to five years, that lets you pay down past due mortgage payments over time while keeping the home, as long as you keep current payments moving forward. For homeowners behind on a mortgage, Chapter 13 is frequently the more realistic path. Call Jeff at (815) 838-5297 to see which fits your numbers.
Yes, if you act before the sale. Filing stops the foreclosure through the automatic stay, and a Chapter 13 plan then lets you cure the missed payments over three to five years while keeping up the regular payment. The earlier you call, the more room there is to build a workable plan, so do not wait for a sale date. Call (815) 838-5297.
Plans generally run three to five years, based on your income and circumstances.
Plan length is tied to income. Above the Illinois median income for your household size, the Code requires a five year commitment; below it, three years is the norm, though you may choose up to five to lower the monthly payment. Jeff runs the numbers both ways at your consultation so you see the actual payment before deciding.
Individuals with regular income and debts within the statutory limits generally qualify. We review your situation and advise on the right chapter.
Generally yes, while your case is pending. The co-debtor stay in Section 1301 stops creditors from pursuing individuals who cosigned your consumer debts, and it is strongest when your plan pays that debt in full, while Chapter 7 has no equivalent protection. If a parent or spouse cosigned for you, tell Jeff at the first meeting. Call (815) 838-5297.
The plan can usually be modified. The Code allows payment changes after confirmation when circumstances change, such as a job loss or reduced hours, and in some situations a hardship discharge or conversion to Chapter 7 is available. The key is to call Jeff before missing payments, while the most options are still open.
More help with Chapter 13
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