CLIENT FILES CHAPTER 13
FOR $400K UNSECURED DEBT
This is what I call a
borderline Chapter 7 case with asset. Therefore, it is the better part of
caution not to file Chapter 7 because the asset may be lost in Chapter 7, while
Chapter 13 is safe enough because the Chapter 13 trustee, unlike the Chapter 7
trustee does not have the power to liquidate assets. This is a critical
difference that can only be emphasized nowadays when house values are always
going up because of very low mortgage rates.
On it’s face, you might
wonder why not just file a Chapter 7 and wipe out the entire $400K of unsecured
debt in one stroke? Well, you have to look at the details of the case,
specially the asset structure.
Client, husband and
wife, are in their fifties. Still young. Both own and operate their own
businesses for at least 20 years. The pandemic killed both businesses.
Husband has a salary
from his job that survived the pandemic. Wife also has a job that survived the
pandemic.
They owe $400K of
business loans all unsecured. Unsecured meaning these are signature loans
without any collateral of any kind.
The Borderline Chapter 7
case
Under the means test,
they can actually qualify for Chapter 7. But filing a Chapter 7 would be a big
mistake. Why? They own a house that is currently worth $1.0M. The balance of
the first and only mortgage is $400K. This means that their entire equity of
$600K is completely exempt since they live in LA County. Sure that looks good
on paper but when the equity is entirely used up at $600K, and with Chapter 7
trustees so excited to liquidate houses, the trustees have real estate agents
who are hungry wolves waiting in the sidelines to devour your house. These
realtors can make $50K from their commissions. That’s a lot of money. When
there’s that kind of money to be made, they look at you as roasted pig ready to
be eaten.
Even if Zillow e
appraisal says that your house has a current fair market value of $1.0M, you
can be sure that these hard working realtors can have a ready buyer for at
least $100K over $1.0M. Don’t forget that there’s always a bidding war going on
for houses in LA because there’s a shortage of houses. There’s a lot of demand,
and short supply so those two factors will cause you to lose your house in a
Chapter 7.
Chapter 7 Trustee has
the power to sell your house
The Chapter 7 trustee
has the power to sell your house for say $1.1M, give you your exempt equity of
$600,000 in cash, and use the rest of the money to pay off a portion of the
$400K unsecured debt. What will happen in reality is that the realtors will get
$50K, and there will be $50K left to pay the trustee lawyers and trustee
administration fees. In all likelihood, ten cents will go the $400K unsecured
creditors. Ridiculous right? But true nevertheless.
Chapter 13 Trustee has
no power to sell your house
But in Chapter 13,
clients’ house is completely safe because the Chapter 13 trustee has no power
to sell any asset. There’s a liquidation analysis that compares how much
unsecured creditors can get in Chapter 7 compared to the plan being proposed in
Chapter 13. So, the issue that clients will deal with in Chapter 13 is how low
can they go on the plan payment? They might be able to with a very low plan
payment, say $300 a month, which pays $18K of the $400K. That makes it a 5%
plan, i.e., they plan pays 5% of the $400k. After the $18K is fully paid in 60
months, the difference between $400K and $18K, $382K will be discharged.
Of course, the Chapter
13 trustee will try to get a higher plan payment by arguing that the value of
the house is understated, but normally an appraisal report will resolve that
issue, with NO RISK of losing the house because the Chapter 13 trustee has no
power to sell the house. The worst possibility in a Chapter 13 is a higher plan
payment than proposed, let’s say a bump up when the car payment is done, or
that the case is dismissed because it’s not feasible. Unlike in a Chapter 7,
once the value of the house is in question, the next day there will be a for
sale sign on your front lawn and your house will be listed on the MLS on the same
day.
Almost impossible to
dismiss Chapter 7 case
You might think that
there’s no problem because you can always have your Chapter 7 case dismissed.
Think again because it’s almost impossible to get out of a Chapter 7 case once
the petition is completely filed.
Converting Chapter 7 to
Chapter 13
The only feasible way of
getting out of the Chapter 7 case once the Chapter 7 trustee has targeted your
house for sale is the convert your case to Chapter 13. To convert your case to
Chapter 13, you will have to prove that you have the wherewithal, the income,
to qualify for Chapter 13. This is like a square circle. In Chapter 7, you show
you have no disposable income while on a Chapter 13 you have to show you have
disposable income to fund a plan. In any event, you will have to pay the
Chapter 7 trustee administration fees in full in your Chapter 13. Good luck on
that. Just a motion to employ a realtor for the Chapter 7 trustee costs a
bundle. By bundle I mean between $5K to $10K. By the time your house is listed
on the MLS, the Chapter 7 trustee administration fees can reach $35K for two
weeks of work. Nothing unusual about that. That’s all in the playbook. Trust me
on this; you do not ever want your house to be in the crosshairs of the Chapter
7 trustee. You will be in the lion’s den like Daniel. But in Daniel’s case, our
Lord God Almighty closed all the mouths of the lions in the den and Daniel got
out of it without a scratch the next morning.
God’s plans are to
prosper you not to harm you
Despite all your
problems, you can rest assured that our God’s plans are to prosper you and not
to harm you. “For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans
to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future,” Jeremiah
29:11. What can be clearer than this that God loved as so that He sent His only
beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who also loved us so, to die for us, to give us a
chance to spend eternity with them in heaven. What an awesome and glorious plan
for us underserving humans!”
Our God can and does
wonders beyond our imagination. When you think all is lost, divine intervention
springs out of nowhere to resolve your problems. “Do not call to mind the
former things, or consider things of the past. Behold, I am going to do
something new, now it will spring up; will you not be aware of it? I will even
make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert,” Isaiah 43:18-19.
Believe it or not, Walt
Disney, filed for Chapter 7 not once, but twice before his Disney global empire
became successful. He went on to become a billionaire after getting rid of all
his debt twice. Milton Hershey, of Hershey chocolates, the biggest chocolate
business in the world, also filed for Chapter 7 once before he became
successful and a billionaire.
If you have too much
debt and need relief, please set an appointment to see me. I will analyze your
case personally.
DISCLAIMER: NONE OF THE FOREGOING IS CONSIDERED LEGAL
ADVICE FOR ANYONE. EACH CASE IS DIFFERENT.
THERE IS NO ABSOLUTELY NO ATTORNEY CLIENT RELATIONSHIP ESTABLISHED BY
READING THIS ARTICLE.
PRAYING ALWAYS HELPS
It also helps to pray to
our God, His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, and the Blessed Mother Mary for divine
protection against financial problems, because we have a God who loves us and
His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, showers us with infinite mercy. All we have to
do is humble ourselves and pray to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for a drop from
his ocean of infinite mercy. Jesus revealed in 1930’s to Saint Maria Faustina
Kowalska of Poland that all sinners which we all are and those who do not
believe in God and those who do not yet know Jesus, should all be brought to
His sacred heart and be submerged in the ocean of His infinite mercy, for the
sake of His Sorrowful Passion. Anything you ask for when you pray the chaplet
for His divine mercy will be granted, if compatible with His will. Moreover,
you are guaranteed a peaceful death.
What is the current
proof that God and Jesus are divine and all powerful? I refer you to exhibit A,
the incorruptible body of Carlo Acutis!
CURRENT ONGOING PHYSICAL
PROOF GOD IS ALMIGHTY
INCORRUPTIBLE BODY OF
CARLO ACUTIS DIED 2007 AT AGE OF 15
Look at the
incorruptible body of the blessed Carlo Acutis who died at 15 in 2007. You can
look at his body in Rome, Italy, now 14 years after his death. He looks like
he’s just asleep in his jogging suit and rubber shoes! That is a perfect example of an ongoing sign
on earth that the God of Moses, our God, my God, is almighty and all-powerful
that He even suspends the natural laws of biology and physics without any
effort. He resurrected His one and only beloved son from death on the cross.
Indeed, He has power over death.
I have actually thought,
“What would the other religions believe if they actually saw the incorruptible
body of the blessed Carlo Acutis? I think even Buddha, if he were alive today,
would truly believe that Yahweh is the one True God.” No need to think about
reincarnation and nirvana because his incorruptible body is available for all
to see in Rome, Italy. We won’t need any kind of explanation on the efficacy of
modern day mummification. Come on, man, that’s all bull. The truth is in plain
sight. Believe your own eyes that the one true God is all-powerful and His name
is Yahweh, “I am who am.” He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the
end.
“ETERNAL FATHER, WE
OFFER YOU THE BODY, BLOOD, SOUL AND DIVINITY OF YOUR DEARLY BELOVED SON, JESUS
CHRIST, OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, IN ATONEMENT FOR OUR SINS AND THOSE OF THE WHOLE
WORLD, FOR THE SAKE OF HIS MOST SORROWFUL PASSION, PLEASE HAVE MERCY ON AMERICA
AND THE WHOLE WORLD.”
Lawrence B. Yang is a
graduate of Georgetown University with a Master’s Degree in Law and specializes
in Bankruptcy, Business,
Real Estate and Civil Litigation. He
speaks English, Mandarin and Fujian
and has successfully
represented thousands of clients in California, including companies
overseas.
Please call Angie,
Barbara or Jess at (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 20274 Carrey Road,
Walnut, CA 91789 or 1000 S. Fremont Ave., Mailstop 58 Building A-10 South Suite
10042 Alhambra, CA 91803.