Chapter 13 marketing means reaching people who need to keep something (usually a house or a car) and can afford a three-to-five-year repayment plan, then explaining that option in words they actually search. Most of those people never type “Chapter 13.” They type “how to stop foreclosure” or “behind on car payments what can I do,” and your ads, pages and intake have to meet them there.
Chapter 13 clients are also different economically. Higher fees, paid mostly through the plan, collected over years, with real dismissal risk. That changes how much you can spend to get one and what you should say to get them in the door.
- Market the problem (foreclosure, repossession, tax debt, income too high for Chapter 7), not the chapter number.
- Chapter 13 fees are often paid through the plan, so “low upfront cost” is a real selling point, but say it accurately.
- 11 U.S.C. § 528 treats ads describing repayment-plan help as bankruptcy ads even when “Chapter 13” never appears.
- Your intake has to screen for plan feasibility, or you pay to acquire cases that dismiss in month four.
Who Actually Needs Chapter 13, and What They Type
The Chapter 13 prospect is usually someone with something to protect and steady income to fund a plan. The usual profiles:
| Situation | What they search | Your page angle |
|---|---|---|
| Behind on the mortgage, sale date set | “stop foreclosure sale,” “foreclosure lawyer near me” | Catch up arrears over the plan; timing matters |
| Behind on a car loan or already repossessed | “car repossessed can I get it back,” “stop repossession” | Keep the car, possibly restructure the loan |
| Income above the means-test line | “make too much for chapter 7,” “bankruptcy above median income” | Chapter 13 as the path that still works |
| Tax debt that won't discharge | “bankruptcy for IRS debt,” “payment plan for back taxes” | Pay priority taxes inside one plan |
| Non-exempt equity | “bankruptcy keep my house equity” | Keep the asset, pay its value over time |
Only one row includes anything close to the word “chapter.” People who already know they need Chapter 13 by name are a small slice.
Chapter 13 Marketing Starts With the Problem, Not the Chapter
The single most useful shift in Chapter 13 marketing is building campaigns around the asset at risk. In Google Ads that means separate ad groups for foreclosure, repossession and tax debt, each pointing to its own page, instead of one “Chapter 13 lawyer” ad group that soaks up everything.
A few headline examples that match intent without overpromising:
- “Behind on Your Mortgage? Talk to a Bankruptcy Lawyer Today”
- “Car Repossessed? Ask About Your Options Under Chapter 13”
- “Too Much Income for Chapter 7? Chapter 13 May Still Work”
Avoid “Stop Foreclosure Guaranteed” and its cousins. Filing generally triggers the automatic stay, but a prior dismissed case, an in rem order or bad timing can change that, and a guarantee in an ad is the kind of statement bar regulators and § 526(a) both care about. The longer version of the foreclosure angle lives in our guide to reaching homeowners facing foreclosure, and the keyword-level detail (including the negatives that stop you paying for “chapter 13 calculator” clicks) is in our bankruptcy Google Ads keyword list.
How the Fee Structure Changes the Pitch
Chapter 13 is often the easier sale on price, which surprises attorneys who think of it as the expensive chapter. Many districts set a presumptively reasonable (“no-look”) fee that the court approves without a detailed fee application, and much of it can typically be paid through the plan rather than up front. Amounts and procedures vary a lot by district, so check yours.
For a client who can't scrape together a full Chapter 7 fee, that matters. “Most of our fee can be paid through your plan” is a true and persuasive sentence for many firms. “File for $0” usually is not, because the filing fee and any required upfront amount still exist.
What this means for your marketing budget
Because the fee comes in over months or years, your cash from a Chapter 13 case lags your ad spend. And some plans dismiss before you're fully paid. When you calculate what a Chapter 13 lead is worth, use what you actually collect on an average case, not the approved fee. Our cost per lead and per filed case breakdown walks through that math. The short version: if your collected average is meaningfully lower than the approved fee, your allowable cost per signed case should be based on the lower number.
Section 528 Applies Even When You Don't Say “Chapter 13”
Ads for repayment-plan help are bankruptcy ads under federal law whether or not they mention Chapter 13. Under 11 U.S.C. § 528(b), advertisements describing bankruptcy assistance in connection with a Chapter 13 plan count even if Chapter 13 isn't named, and the statute specifically mentions phrases like “federally supervised repayment plan” and “Federal debt restructuring help.”
If your ad talks about catching up on a mortgage, stopping repossession or a court-supervised repayment plan, treat it as a bankruptcy ad. That means a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the services involve bankruptcy relief, plus the statement “We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code” or a substantially similar one. Our guide to debt relief agency advertising rules covers the details, and state bar rules apply on top.
What a Chapter 13 Landing Page Needs
A Chapter 13 page has to do more explaining than a Chapter 7 page, because the visitor often doesn't know the tool exists. Sections that earn their place:
- The problem in the headline. “Behind on your mortgage and want to keep your home?”
- How a plan works, in four sentences. Three to five years, one monthly payment to the trustee, arrears spread out, regular payments resume.
- What it costs. Explain that much of the attorney fee may be paid through the plan, if that's true in your district.
- What to bring. Pay stubs, the foreclosure or sale notice, loan statements, tax returns.
- An urgency line that's honest. “If a sale date is set, call before that date.”
If you're building these pages from scratch, our landing page service builds them to match each ad group, and the sample bankruptcy website designs show how a Chapter 13 section can sit inside a full site.
Screen for a Plan That Can Confirm
Chapter 13 leads that can't fund a plan are expensive in a way Chapter 7 leads aren't. Intake should ask, early:
- Is there steady income (wages, business, benefits), and roughly how much?
- How far behind, and is there a sale or auction date?
- Any prior bankruptcy in the last few years, and how did it end?
- Any tax debt, support arrears or other priority debt?
The prior-case question matters twice: it affects whether the automatic stay applies in full, and it tells you whether this person has already been through a dismissal. Our page on prescreening bankruptcy leads before the consultation has a fuller script.
Paying for Chapter 13 clicks that never become confirmed plans?
We'll review your ad groups, landing pages and intake questions for Chapter 13 intent and show you where the budget leaks. No charge, no contract.
When Chapter 13 Marketing Isn't Worth It
Not every firm should push Chapter 13. If you don't have staff to manage plan payments, trustee objections and motions for relief over five years, the caseload becomes a liability. If your district's no-look fee is low relative to the work, the economics may not support paid acquisition at all.
And if your market's foreclosure volume is low, a dedicated campaign may just burn budget on informational searches. Run a small test, read the search terms report for two to four weeks, and decide from real queries. If you want help setting that up, our Google Ads management service runs month-to-month with ad spend billed by Google directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Build campaigns around the problem the client has: foreclosure, repossession, tax debt or income too high for Chapter 7. Separate those into their own ad groups and landing pages, explain how a repayment plan works in plain language, and include the federal debt relief agency disclosure required by 11 U.S.C. § 528. Then screen leads for steady income so you aren't filing plans that dismiss.
Generally yes. Section 528 requires bankruptcy ads directed to the public to disclose that the services involve bankruptcy relief and to include “We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code” or a substantially similar statement. Section 528(b) also covers ads describing repayment-plan help even when Chapter 13 isn't named. Check your state bar rules too.
Often the fee is higher, but the value depends on what you actually collect. Chapter 13 fees are commonly paid through the plan over time, and some cases dismiss before the fee is fully paid. Base your target cost per case on your average collected fee, not the approved fee, and track it separately from Chapter 7.
Mostly problem phrases rather than the chapter name: “stop foreclosure sale,” “car repossessed can I get it back,” “make too much for chapter 7,” “bankruptcy for IRS debt.” A smaller group searches “chapter 13 lawyer” directly.
You can explain that filing generally triggers the automatic stay, which halts a foreclosure sale while the case is pending. Avoid guarantees. Prior dismissed cases, in rem orders and timing can limit the stay, and a guarantee risks being misleading under bar rules and 11 U.S.C. § 526.