Chapter 13 Discharge - Creditor Has Not Deposited a Payment

[Coredatum]

Hi -

Creating a new thread to build off my previous post, as I feel like this is it's own topic...

Background:

I completed my Chapter 13 payments as of 5/1/20, and since then I have been waiting for my discharge letter.

As of 7/14/20, I was told by my attorney that the reason I haven't received a letter is because there is a check that has not been deposited by a creditor.

What happens at this point in the process?

Is there a way for the court to move forward with the discharge even if the creditor hasn't deposited a check?

For example, are the checks from the Trustee void after a period of time, such as 90 days?

If the creditor fails to deposit the check, what happens to those funds?

I sent the same questions to both my attorney and the Trustee, but figured I would reach out to this board for any feedback as well.

[justbroke]

The Trustees usually have 30-60 day deposit dates for the checks. If the check doesn't deposit then the Trustee has to do something with the money. I can't tell what specific process and procedures your Chapter 13 Trustee uses to deal with closing out, but they must account for every single dime before they can file a Final Report and Accounting.

In some cases the Trustee may decide, after the money isn't deposited, to redistribute the remaining to the remaining creditors. That would then invite another 30-60 day waiting for the checks to be cashed.

[Coredatum]

Would the Trustee be able to tell me what their process is for handling this situation? I typically run all of my questions through my attorney, but I feel like this might be something where I would have to contact the Trustee directly.

[justbroke]

Of course they can tell you their process. However, some Trustee offices will not speak with a represented debtor.

[sophieanne]

Hi..I don’t know if the bk court in your state has a website that explains the bk process but they did in WA state when I was in my BK. They explained the process for the closing of cases which included the trustee waiting 90 days to see if checks were cashed. If not, the payment record would be sent to the bk court to handle (which included instructions for creditors on how to cash their payment if they waited too long). When the outstanding payment is turned over, the trustee can close the case. Hopefully you won’t be waiting much longer. Congratulations on being at the end of your case.