Posted: 7/7/2026 10:06:27 PM EDT
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Ex and her husband dug themselves into a hole. They tried to hide it but I caught wind because I was getting calls about the house being auctioned. I looked into it and found that they were in foreclosure. I started warning. Our adult kids that still live at home and got dismissed like I was talking crap. Anyway I've been following along. House was scheduled for auction but looks like they filed for bankruptcy at the last minute. Chapter 13 protection. Is there a likely outcome or is every circumstance too unique? Is it just a delay of the inevitable? There is still a lot of equity in the house even based on the new figures of what they owe and I believe her husband is making decent money at this point after a rough few years. Have no idea how much more debt they have accumulated. |
Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
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Chapter 13 provides for protection against foreclosure and other collections while the debtor meets with banks, creditors, etc. and makes a plan to get the debt settled. I don't know how long they are protected but it seems to me that they should be OK until they default on payments. Feel free to correct me. |
87% of the time, any question starting with "Why..." is answered with "Money."
I am so tempted to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity...
"...and if you can't wait for dawn you can always light a fire."
I am so tempted to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity...
"...and if you can't wait for dawn you can always light a fire."
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The whole situation has me p*ssed. When we split we owed $122k on the original $155k mortgage. Within a year or two she took out a home equity to remodel and she had to list the child support and alimony payments as income to qualify. When she remarried she wanted a pool so back to the bank to do a complete refi. New mortgage was north of $180k. Now after covid and bad economy they are up to $260k after the foreclosure. Well over what we originally bought the house for and the only thing I ever thought she would have to leave for our kids when she was gone. What is worse is they have been completely silent about it. Kids have no idea that they might be looking for a new place to live. I tried to warn them and everyone acted like I was just talking smack about their mom. Come to me for help and you better be coming with apologies. |
Veteran of the Third Battle of Tannhauser Gate.
Joined:
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Originally Posted By FrankSymptoms: Chapter 13 provides for protection against foreclosure and other collections while the debtor meets with banks, creditors, etc. and makes a plan to get the debt settled. I don't know how long they are protected but it seems to me that they should be OK until they default on payments. Feel free to correct me. Tell me she (they) have a competent lawyer. |
87% of the time, any question starting with "Why..." is answered with "Money."
I am so tempted to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity...
"...and if you can't wait for dawn you can always light a fire."
I am so tempted to lay down the melancholy burden of sanity...
"...and if you can't wait for dawn you can always light a fire."
|
Originally Posted By FrankSymptoms: Tell me she (they) have a competent lawyer. If you're in BK court and the bank files an adversary proceeding to end the automatic bankruptcy stay on the foreclosure (which is what I'd do if somebody filed for reorganization to halt my client's foreclosure process), the court should appoint one to represent you at least in that matter, if you filed the bankruptcy Pro Se. |
Exposure to views that distress and offend is a form of education unto itself. -U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Reges v Cauce
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Originally Posted By FrankSymptoms: Tell me she (they) have a competent lawyer. I think I saw a lawyer's name listed for them in the court docs so I'm assuming that they do have lawyer. I've seen a lot of references that bankruptcy had to be started prior to final judgement on the foreclosure. But they filed 7 days before scheduled auction. I checked some other similar cases on the court and saw the same tactic, bankruptcy filed after final judgement and right before auction. One referenced showed 6 months between first postponement and a second scheduled auction date. The second was also cancelled because it looks like they resolved the case.....sold the house or refinanced. This is Florida btw, I'm sure this varies from state to state. |
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What usually happens is all of their unsecured debt, credit cards and personal loans, are wiped clean. Secured debt, like the house, will remain but the BK Judge will approve a new debt repayment schedule that the debtors can pay based upon their current income. This allows them to keep typically at least their primary residence and personal vehicles. Payments are sent to the bankruptcy court system to distribute to the creditors. Maybe 25% actually follow the bankruptcy plan to completion, paying off the secured creditors. This results in a positive “discharged bankruptcy ” status. The other 75% will stop making payments to the bk court as planned and will eventually be kicked out of the bankruptcy protection. This is called “dismissed bankruptcy.” In theory, after the 75% is kicked out of bk protection, creditors can resume the foreclosure process. However, what usually happens is the debtor will go to another bk attorney and file again. They usually choose a new one because they likely burned the last one. As long as you’ve got enough cash on hand to pay the attorney for the initial bk filing, you can put off foreclosure pretty much indefinitely it seems. Of course the legal system surrounding the bk process is making money at every turn off of it. The attorneys charging for their services, the court fees, the payments you send to the bk court to go to creditors, some of it stays with the system. |