If you cannot qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy “Fresh start”, your next best option in handling your debts is Chapter 13. It’s referred to as a financial reorganization. In Chapter 13, you pay only a portion of what’s owing for 36 or 60 months and if you finish all payments on time, the court will discharge the unpaid portion of your debts.

For example: You owe $100K of credit card debt. You want Chapter 7 to wipe out $100K without any payment but you don’t qualify for Chapter 7 because your income is way over the median, thus giving rise to a presumption of abuse under Chapter 7. In other words, the US Trustee objects to giving you a discharge because you cannot overcome the presumption of abuse because you do not qualify for “special circumstances” to rebut the presumption of abuse. Yes, the presumption of abuse in Chapter 7 is rebuttal, it’s not conclusive but you need clear and convincing evidence to prove “special circumstances” to rebut the presumption of abuse. Let’s leave this matter for another discussion in the future. It’s a complicated legal matter.

In normal Chapter 13, debtor could pay say $300 a month for 60 months. If debtor completes the 60 payments timely, the court will discharge the unpaid $70K of credit card debt. So, in this example, debtor pays 18% of what he owes in his/her chapter 13 financial reorganization.

Many factors affect the amount of plan payment. If debtor owns a house, we must look at the amount of equity that he has in the house. We also look at the amount of disposable income that he has under IRS and bankruptcy standards. We also look at the amount of non-exempt assets that debtor has. There are many other factors that come into play.

Further, debtor may be eligible for Chapter 7, but what he owes may not be dischargeable. For example, debtor may have attempted to kill somebody and injured the victim with damages of $50K. Debtor cannot use Chapter 7 to discharge the $50K because damage caused intentionally is not dischargeable. But if the damage was caused accidentally as in a car accident not covered by insurance, that $50K would be dischargeable and Chapter 7 would be the right tool to get rid of the $50K. Otherwise, Chapter 13 would be the option to handle the $50K.

Be aware that each case is different because applicable circumstances are different. I just had Chapter 13 confirmed for a client who was doing well financially and owned a business that was selling $10M a year for a couple of decades. Then, business just became unprofitable. He personally owed $510K of unsecured debt and qualified for Chapter 7 but if he filed for Chapter 7 there would be major problems I can’t discuss here. But with Chapter 13, he’s only paying $800 a month for 60 months. So, about a 10 pct payment, even less, of the $510K he owes.

If you need debt relief, please contact my office and I will analyze your case personally.

Disclaimer: None of the foregoing is considered legal advice for anyone. There is absolutely no attorney client relationship established by reading this article.

PPRAYING 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 must 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 to Exhibit A, the incorruptible body of Carlo Acutis!

Exhibit A

CURRENT ONGOING PHYSICAL PROOF GOD IS ALMIGHTY

INCORRUPTIBLE BODY OF CARLO ACUTIS DIED 2007 AT AGE OF 15

Look at the incorruptible body of saint 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 is 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 thought, “What would the other religions believe if they saw the incorruptible body of the blessed Carlo Acutis? I think even Buddha, if he were alive today, would 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 will not need any kind of explanation on the efficacy of modern-day mummification. Come on, man, which is 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.

Exhibit B

MORE ONGOING PHYSCIAL PROOF GOD IS ALIMGIHTY

ADDITIONAL ONGOING PHYSICAL PROOF GOD IS ALIMIGHTY: INCORRUPTIBLE BODY OF ST. BERNADETTE IN NEVERS, FRANCE WHO DIED  146 YEARS AGO BUT HER BODY STILL REMAINS FRESH TO THIS DAY. I SAW HER INCORRUPTIBLE BODY 50 YEARS AGO. AND INCORRUPTIBLE BODY OF ST. CATHERINE LABOURE IN PARIS, FRANCE. WHO DIED 150 YEARS AGO AND HER BODY STILL REMAINS FRESH TO THIS DAY! I’VE BEEN TO PARIS 3X IN THE PAST 40 YEARS BUT HAVE NOT SEEN HER INCORRUPTIBLE BODY BECAUSE I ONLY FOUND OUT ABOUT HER INCORRUPTIBLE BODY LAST MONTH, JULY 2025. OUR BLESSED MOTHER MARY, MOTHER OF THE ONE TRUE GOD, TASKED HER WITH THE DESIGN AND DISCLOSURE OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL OF MARY TO THE WHOLE WORLD. MANY PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL HEALINGS SINCE THEN HAVE BEEN ATTRIBUTED TO THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL OF MARY WORN AROUND THE NECK.

“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 Bautista Yang is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and has been in Law practice for ​forty years. He specializes in Bankruptcy, Business and Civil Litigation and has handled more than five thousand successful Bankruptcy cases in California. He speaks Mandarin and Fujian and looks forward to discussing your case with you personally. Please call (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.