Dismissal of Chapter 13 for Non Payments

[mslr]

I stopped paying chapter 13 payments per my attorney's suggestion. We are changing over to Chapter 7. I want to know if I get all the money I paid into Chapter 13 back? If so, how long does it take for them to return to me?

[justbroke]

No. You will likely not get all the money that you paid into a Chapter 13 back, unless it wasn't disbursed. Any money that the Trustee still has on-hand, should be returned to you through your attorney. In some cases, the Chapter 13 Standing Trustee has been known to send a check to the Chapter 7 Trustee. From what I have learned and experienced, any money that the Chapter 13 hasn't yet paid out, is to be paid "immediately" to the debtor/attorney. This went to the Supreme Court in the decision Harris v. Viegelahn, 135 S. Ct. 1829, 191 L. Ed. 2d 783, 2015 U.S. LEXIS 3203.

It appears that the Chapter 13 Standing Trustee can not even pay the attorney of record, any longer. As SCOTUS writes in Harris, the Chapter 13 Trustee's services end upon conversion. In a case where you file by notice (which most Chapter 13s are converted by notice), the moment that notice hits the docket (or is received by the court), the case is converted.

You can see how much cash is on hand by visiting the National Data Center (ndc.org) or your Trustee specific site. At the time the "Notice of Conversion" is filed, the Chapter 13 Trustee is immediately dismissed from duty and a new Chapter 7 Trustee is assigned. You will get a new 341 Meeting date for your Chapter 7.

If you have the same attorney representing you, then you probably are already dealing with any conversion fees.

[mslr]

thank you for the information