"Texas Chapter 13 Laws"

All Texas bankruptcy cases under Chapter 13 are properly filed in federal court. The U.S. Code relies on state statutes in many circumstances for property exemptions, permissible collection and foreclosure procedures, and liability for breech of contracts, tort claim value, and criminal liability. All Chapter 13 cases must also provide creditors with notice and proposed payment amounts equal to or greater than if the case had been filed under Chapter 7.

Words and phrases used by the court are frequently terms of legal art. In practice, legal terms convey an assortment of requirements for compliance, according to case law, statutes and rules. Although the common usage of a word or phrase may be clear to an average person, legal terminology easily snares unaware pro se debtors because of the complexity of bankruptcy laws. Also be aware, attorneys representing creditors readily sense a pro se debtor's apprehension, and test their knowledge, confidence and compliance. For this this reason, pro se debtors must become their own best advocate, and be capable of defending their right to debt relief according to current laws.

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