Wage Assignment continuing beyond 60 months?

[brokeSeattle]

So I'm a little distraught at this moment. I completed my 60 months of payments a month ago. My Oct 15th paycheck completed 60 full months of payments based on every calculation I can do. That payment technically put me at about $28 more than 60 months based on the payment amounts laid out in the Ch13 Plan. (there were no bonuses, no tax refunds, no extras paid into the plan along the way - just 60 months straight of wage assignments from the same job the whole time)

So then my next paycheck showed up and the wage assignment was still taken out. I asked my attorney's office why, because I should have been done on the previous paycheck - they initially didn't respond, but after i bugged them a week later I got a response saying we're reviewing your case for closeout, we just need some time and we'll get back to you.

Fast forward to today where I find out my wage assignment happened again on the next paycheck. So now I've been assessed a full month's additional beyond the 60 months. I asked for another update today and told them my wages were pulled again. I was told the trustee is preparing for closeout on this case and they will be sending a final cure notice to the mortgage holders and they have 21 days to respond, then once the case is ready to close the trustee will terminate the wage deduction. I asked if that was already started, she said they expect the trustee will send the notice at the beginning of December and should be ready to close by end of December.

So she's saying they plan to continue deducting my wages for 2.5 months after i finished my 60 months. I asked what happens with that money and she said they'll make sure your mortgage is up to date.

Is this normal? This doesn't sound normal to me. I figured when the last payment went through i'd be done with the trustee, the wage deduction would stop and shortly after i'd get info from the trustee that i need to start paying my mortgage myself again starting on xyz date.

Can they really just continue to assign my wages for however long it takes them to finish their paperwork?

thanks for reading ;-)

[justbroke]

This is entirely normal when a.) the district requires that the attorney files a motion to vacate wage deduction order (WDO), and b.) the attorney forgot. It's that simple.

I was on a voluntary deduction from my checking account. I personally ended it after my 60th month's payment. Since you are on a WDO, it can only be stopped by an order Vacating that WDO.

(Note: in some district, it's up to the Trustee to make this order... but sometimes the debtors attorney may file the motion to vacate the WDO because the Trustee is asleep --- in districts where the Trustee files the motion. In either case... someone needs to file the motion to vacate.)

[brokeSeattle]

I told my lawyer i'd like to get the wage assignment revoked. He didn't specifically answer if we can do that or not, but basically said the trustees process is to do all the paperwork, continue paying my mortgage for me, and continue the wage assignments until the trustee closes the case.

So it basically sounds like i don't have a choice that it's up the trustee here. I don't know about the next paychecks - but the trustee took his fee again out of my first overage paycheck - if we continue this pattern up to 5 months that'll be almost $1200 extra dollars i pay him to pay my mortgage for 2 months?

Can they still charge their fee beyond the 60 month plan? LOL

Also from reading things elsewhere, it kinda sounded like after your final plan payment your mortgage goes in limbo while the trustee finishes the closeout paperwork and then they reinstate the mortgage and tell you when your next due date is. If that's the case why would the trustee need to pay the mortgage? Am i wrong on my understanding of that?

Thanks!

[justbroke]

Unless you're in some weird district, the Trustee can't keep collecting their fee after 60 months. (I said "weird" because there's at least one district in which a Chapter 13 last 60-months from the date of the order confirming the plan, and not the filing date.)

I would nudge my attorney to nudge the Trustee. The Trustee shouldn't be making your mortgage payments after 60 months have elapsed. The Trustee shouldn't be earning a commission after the 60 months elapsed. It may be a Washington-State thing, but it seems very odd.

What is supposed to happen after your 60-th payment is that you then need to make the mortgage payments. I would be very suspicious of whether or not the Trustee is actually making those payments. I would look at the National Data Center (NDC) to see what disbursements are actually being made. The NDC is at http://ndc.org