Filing for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 13 allows Californians with regular income but with unmanageable debt to repay their debt over time under a court-approved repayment plan, which in many cases can allow them to stop foreclosure and keep their homes. Chapter 13 isn't limited to people in ordinary circumstances, of course, and in today's economy, many celebrities have found themselves in financial straits.

Grammy award winner T-Boz, of the R&B band TLC, whose real name is Tionne Watkins, recently filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 13 -- for the second time in two years. A previous bankruptcy filing was denied last year.

According to bankruptcy court documents, T-Boz owns a home in Duluth, Georgia, valued at $1.2 million. However, the majority of the home is mortgaged to creditors in the amount of more than $760,000. According to reports, she is $105,000 behind by on her $577,000 primary mortgage and by $3,400 on a $153,000 second mortgage.

TLC is known for ten Top-10 singles, as well as for four multi-platinum albums. However, even singing for a highly profitable band like TLC, the 41-year-old T-Boz only earns approximately $1,200 per month in royalties. The singer also suffers from sickle-cell disease and, in 2006, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Overall, she listed approximately $11,000 in total monthly income in her bankruptcy filing, against monthly expenses of nearly $9,000, the majority of that amount going towards her monthly mortgage payments. She also listed being owed $250,000 in child support by her ex-husband and more than $22,000 in personal debt from musician Mark Jefferson.

In 1995 all three members of TLC filed for bankruptcy after complications from T-Boz's sickle cell disease caused her to cancel a tour. TLC was generating a lot of income at that time.

This story is a reminder to all California residents that bankruptcy can help to resolve problems surrounding unmanageable debt. This is especially true in cases in which medical problems require substantial time and resources, or when you are owed substantial debt by others that you have been unable to collect.

Source: ajc.com, "TLC's T-Boz files for bankruptcy protection again," Rodney Ho, Nov. 28, 2011