Chapter 13 Bankruptcy in Virginia

No. In Chapter 13, you repay based on income and debt type. Many unsecured debts, like credit cards or medical bills, are only partially repaid, then discharged. 

In Chapter 13 you propose a 3-to-5-year plan that commits your disposable income to creditors. Priority debts (like recent taxes or domestic support obligations) are paid in full, secured debts (like mortgage arrears or a car) can be caught up or re-timed, and general unsecured debts (like credit cards and medical bills) are paid anywhere from 0% to 100% depending on your budget and the liquidation test. When clients across the Shenandoah Valley, the New River Valley, and Southwest Virginia complete the plan, with certain statutory exceptions, any remaining eligible unsecured balances are discharged.

No. Chapter 13 is often used specifically to stop foreclosure. The plan gives you time to catch up on missed mortgage payments while keeping your house. 

Filing triggers the automatic stay, which generally halts collection activity – including a scheduled foreclosure sale – so long as the sale has not already been completed under Virginia law. Your plan then spreads the arrears over time while you resume your regular monthly payment. For homeowners we serve from Roanoke and Lynchburg to Harrisonburg, Charlottesville, Danville, Abingdon, and Big Stone Gap, Chapter 13 is a powerful tool to save a home and stabilize the budget.

It’s different, not harder. Chapter 13 takes longer because of the repayment plan, but it gives you powerful tools to save property and manage debts Chapter 7 cannot. 

Chapter 7 typically finishes in a few months and wipes out eligible unsecured debts, but it can’t cure a long-term mortgage arrearage or restructure certain secured obligations. Chapter 13 runs 3-5 years with a monthly plan payment, yet it can: stop foreclosure and cure arrears, consolidate payments through the trustee, protect co-signers on consumer debts, and sometimes pay unsecured creditors only pennies on the dollar before a discharge. The “right” chapter for clients across Roanoke, Lynchburg, Harrisonburg, Charlottesville, Danville, Abingdon/Big Stone Gap, and nearby areas depends on what you need to keep and what you need to fix.