Falling behind on a mortgage, a car payment, or back taxes can feel like there's no way to catch up once creditors start calling. What helps is a clear plan to repay what you owe on terms you can manage, not a quick fix that falls apart within a year.
Lindsay D. Steele, founding attorney of Steele Law Firm, has been a licensed Texas attorney since 2009 and works as a Decatur Chapter 13 bankruptcy lawyer for families across Wise County who want to keep their home and car while paying down debt through the court.
She's admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the same federal court that handles every bankruptcy case filed out of Wise County.
Reach out to talk through your options and see what a plan could look like for you.
A Chapter 13 case lets you combine most of what you owe into one plan supervised by the bankruptcy court, then pay it off over several years instead of all at once. We build plans around debts like:
Filing a Chapter 13 case can also stop most wage garnishments while your case is open, so a steady paycheck has a chance to go further. We look at your full financial picture before drafting anything, because the numbers you start with are what keep a plan on track for years to come.
Creditors rarely slow down on their own, and every month without a plan is another month a mortgage lender, a repossession crew, or the IRS can keep moving against you. Once you file, the automatic stay, a court order under 11 U.S.C. § 362, stops most collection calls, wage garnishments, and pending foreclosure or repossession actions while your case stays open.
What if you're carrying more debt than you think a court will allow? Chapter 13 is only open to people whose unsecured debt stays under $526,700 and whose secured debt stays under $1,580,125, limits set by 11 U.S.C. § 109(e). Debt above those numbers usually means looking at Chapter 11 instead.
None of these protections start until you file, which is why your filing date matters almost as much as the amount you owe.
Cases filed out of Wise County, including Decatur, go through the Fort Worth Division of the Northern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court, based at the Eldon B. Mahon U.S. Courthouse on West Tenth Street in Fort Worth.
Lindsay Steele is admitted to practice in that same federal court system and has worked as a bankruptcy attorney in the Dallas-Fort Worth area since 2009. She started her career as an associate at two established consumer bankruptcy firms before opening her own practice.
She also intentionally limits how many clients she takes on at one time, so the person building your plan and the person you talk to about it are one and the same throughout your case, not a rotating case manager.
Fort Worth Magazine named her a Top Attorney in 2018 and 2019, and client reviews aggregated through Google and Birdeye put her at 4.9 stars across 115 reviews.
Attorney fees for Chapter 13 are usually built into your repayment plan rather than paid all at once, so most of the cost spreads out over the life of the plan alongside your other debts. The court also charges a filing fee, which can sometimes be paid in installments. We go over expected costs for your situation before you decide whether to move forward.
Chapter 7 can wipe out qualifying debts in a matter of months but may require giving up certain property that isn't protected. Chapter 13 instead spreads payments over several years, which lets you keep property like your home and car as long as you keep up with the plan.
Chapter 13 is built around keeping property you want to keep, including a home or vehicle you're behind on. As long as you can afford the plan payment the court approves, you keep paying your mortgage or car loan while catching up on what's past due.
Wise County cases, including those from Decatur, are handled through the Fort Worth Division of the federal bankruptcy court for the Northern District of Texas. Hearings and creditor meetings for your case get scheduled through that same court.
Yes. Chapter 13 is built for people with regular income, since your plan payment comes out of what you earn. Steady income is actually part of what qualifies you for Chapter 13 of Chapter 7.
Missing an occasional payment does not automatically end your case, but a pattern of missed payments can lead a trustee to ask the court to dismiss it. If your income changes partway through, we can look at whether the plan needs to be adjusted instead of abandoned. Reach out early if your situation changes so there's time to act.
Every month a mortgage or car loan stays past due is a month closer to foreclosure or repossession, and a repayment plan only works once it's actually filed with the court. Steele Law Firm works with homeowners and families across Decatur and Wise County who want one attorney handling their Chapter 13 case from the first filing through the final payment.
Contact us today to go over your debts and income, and see whether a Chapter 13 plan may fit your situation.
