Bankruptcy Chapter 13

Bankruptcy chapter 13 is designed for individuals with regular income who desire to pay their debts but are currently unable to do so. The purpose of chapter 13 bankruptcy is to enable financially distressed individual debtors, under court supervision and protection, to propose and carry out a repayment plan under which creditors are paid over an extended period of time. Under this chapter, debtors are permitted to repay creditors, in full or in part, in installments over a three year period, during which time creditors are prohibited from starting or continuing collection efforts.

A plan providing for payments over more than three years must be "for cause" and be approved by the court. In no case may a plan provide for payments over a period longer than five years. 11 U.S.C. § 1322(d).

In the Chapter 13 context, the "Means Test" will determine the length of the Chapter 13 Plan as well as the amount of disposable income, if any, that you must apply toward paying your unsecured, nonpriority debt. Your disposable income under the Means Test may differ significantly from your actual disposable income. 
Pursuant to 11 USc 109(e), chapter 13 relief is not available to debtors with unsecured debt higher than $336,900 or secured debt higher than $1,010,650.00. However, More people will be able to get help for their debt problems on April 1, 2010, when the chapter 13 debt limits increase about seven percent. Thus, the limits are c $360,475 of unsecured debt and $1,081,400 of secured debt. These numbers are the caps on the amount of debt an individual may have and be eligible for chapter 13 bankruptcy.  The ceilings apply to liquidated and noncontingent debts.  Unliquidated and contigent debts are not counted in these these limits. .If your debts exceed these figures, you are ineligible to be a chapter 13 debtor. 11 U.C.S  § 109(e).
In order to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy you must have a regular source of income and your income must be sufficient so that you can afford to pay all of your regular monthly expenses and all of the payments proposed by your Chapter 13 Plan. An experienced attorney/cpa can tell you whether you have sufficient regular income to successfully file Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.