One of the main reasons to file chapter 13 bankruptcy is to save your house from foreclosure. If you are doing a “save your house” chapter 13 bankruptcy, then you are probably behind on your mortgage payments. To save your house in a Colorado chapter 13 bankruptcy, you must do two things:
- Restart paying your contractually due mortgage payment, and
- Propose to cure your mortgage arrears (back payments) in your chapter 13 plan.
In a Colorado bankruptcy the debtor is responsible for paying the mortgage directly, unlike some states that have the debtor pay the bankruptcy trustee both the mortgage payment and the chapter 13 plan payment.
So, in a Colorado chapter 13 bankruptcy, the debtor must start paying the mortgage payment on the next due date after the case is filed. Most mortgage payments are due the 1st day of the month; so, if your attorney files your chapter 13 bankruptcy on March 5th, the debtor must pay the next mortgage on or before April 1. If the debtor fails to make that mortgage payment, the debtor will again be in default of the mortgage and risks foreclosure.
In chapter 13 bankruptcy, if the debtor desires to keep their home and is behind on payments, the debtor must pay the regular mortgage payment the next due date after the chapter 13 bankruptcy case is filed.
By Matt Berkus
