Changing Length of Plan

[UpsideDownMI]

If I propose a 5-year plan due to feasibility when I qualify for a 3-year plan, could I amend my plan to a 3-year plan before confirmation if there are objections to my plan?

The reason I ask is because I may be cramming down a mortgage on a rental house, which would most likely require a 5-year plan to make it feasible. If I go that direction and encounter objections, I plan on amending my plan to surrender the rental house and also change the length from 5 years to 3 years.

[lrprn]

The length of a 13 plan (three years or five) has nothing to do with how much the filer owes. The only Ch 13 filers who get three year plans are those who are under their state's median income for family size but still show enough disposable income to support a 13 plan, and that's pretty rare. You don't get to choose the number of years your plan runs.

[justbroke]

I'll add on to what lrprn wrote. If you are a below-median-income filer, you could extend your plan beyond the 36 months, but no further than 60 months. This allows a under-the-median income filer to deal with arrearages, priority tax or other debt, and perhaps pay off cars. This is not normal, and requires a showing of cause and permission from the Court.

In any case, I would not extend the plan any longer than necessary.

And, maybe more directly to the question... you can't change your plan duration because things changed (unless you're going for a hardship dismissal). Remember, the plan is based on your income at the time you filed.

[UpsideDownMI]

Thanks for the replies. I will be an under the median filer. I am aware that I qualify for a 3 year plan, but i've been looking into a possible cram down on my rental house, which would require me to be in a 5 year plan to be able to pay off the entire claim within the length of my plan. This why I stated that my 5 year plan would have been due to plan feasibility.

Since I believe that it would be possible for the cram down to be objected to by either the trustee or the creditor. If this were to happen, I wanted to know that I have the option to amend my plan and surrender the property instead of cramming it. I would also change the length back to 3 years as the only reason that I was proposing a 5 year plan was to make it feasible to pay off the entire amount of crammed value.

[kornellred]

Once your plan is filed, you are stuck with it, unless the trustee will not allow it. All such matters are settled before confirmation.

[rrockinggramma]

trustees accept the plan as written by the attorney. They care about paying enough into the plan to cover the plan. That is all. If you want a 5 year plan, have your attorney write it up that way. However you might end up paying more to unsecured creditors that way but the choice is yours.

[caj0524]

We are below median income, but can support a chpt 13 plan.

We are including our cars in our plan to take advantage of the reduced interest rates, but want to pay them off in the plan. It doesn't hurt as much since the Trustee only takes 5.8% in fees.

(Too bad I didn't get the other Trustee in Chicago... she only takes 5.3%.)

Instead of 36 months, our plan is written for 40 months.

It's nice to think that outside the plan we'd have 66 more months to pay on our new van, but by including it we'll pay it off in 40.

I'm thinking about getting even greedier with this plan... I looked on Pacer at some of the recent confirmed chapter 13 plans of this trustee. On all 4 I reviewed, the interest rate included on secured payments was exactly the WSJ Prime Rate (3.25%). I've got it in my plan at 5.25%... revising my plan down to the 3.25% would cut another month off my term... hmmm...