I heard it can take 6 months now to get your discharge after last payment is made

[Ron55]

I heard due to the overwhelmed bankrupcty court and trustees that now it can take up to six months to get your discharge papers after the last payment. They were saying since the courts are so backed up now it is taking longer than normal. To me this just should not be fair after you go threw a long process to take half a year to get a discahrge. Its like being in jail for another half year after paying the bankruptcy off.

[justbroke]

For a Chapter 13 this is about normal, so I don't know why everyone is impatient during a Chapter 13. That's known as the interim period and it includes an audit, final checks, a wait for all checks to clear, and the final report is submitted. It usually takes 3-4 months. That it's now taking up to 6 months... seems normal.

It's not being in jail since you will receive a discharge and life continues! You stop making your Trustee payments, during the interim, and you being paying things direct again! What's the downside?

[Ron55]

The down size is that you can not get any other credit till you get the discharge without permission from the trustee that is the down side. I want to trade our car in for a better auto since we had to keep the car during the chapter 13. I just think that is not fair to wait that long after years of paying on something and making the final payment they should actually hurry a little to let you go on with life.

[justbroke]

The down size is that you can not get any other credit till you get the discharge without permission from the trustee that is the down side. I want to trade our car in for a better auto since we had to keep the car during the chapter 13. I just think that is not fair to wait that long after years of paying on something and making the final payment they should actually hurry a little to let you go on with life.

I don't think you'd have ANY problem seeking Trustee permission before discharge if you paid everything on time. Point of fact is that during the interim period, you don't even pay the Trustee!

For example: In my order confirmation my plan it merely states that "The debtor is prohibited from incurring any post-confirmation debt during the term of this plan without prior approval of the Court or the Trustee." The key is "during the term of this plan". Nowhere i my order confirming does it read that I can't incur new debt until discharge. Once the 60 months has concluded, I could obtain credit without approval of the Court or Trustee.

That's what's so different about the "interim" period! You are actually back out on your own at that time. So much so, that you need to start making payments to secured creditors directly -- if you hadn't already been -- and can actually get in trouble "outside" the bankruptcy process during the interim period!

Best wishes!

[Ron55]

I understand what your saying but all the auto dealers we spoke to wont touch it till we have the actual discahrge papers as it is still considered a risk for them till we are actually discahrged. We make our last payment to the trusee the end of this month and it will be done. We also have to wait to get the clear title to our car that was in the plan and will be paid off also once the last payment is paid out by the trustee.
thanks
Ron

[justbroke]

I understand what your saying but all the auto dealers we spoke to wont touch it till we have the actual discahrge papers as it is still considered a risk for them till we are actually discahrged.

It's not a risk to them, they just perceive it that way. Most of them will take a letter from the Trustee giving you permission. If you can wait for the discharge, it's better anyhow as the rate should be slightly if not significantly better than being "in a pending" bankruptcy and seeking a loan.

We make our last payment to the trusee the end of this month and it will be done. We also have to wait to get the clear title to our car that was in the plan and will be paid off also once the last payment is paid out by the trustee.

Yes, so you need to wait anyhow so that you can get the title after the final payment is done. If your car was "valued" in the Chapter 13 and you bifurcated the auto creditor's claim into secured and unsecured, and you were in a plan less than 100%, then you must wait for the discharge to get rid of the unsecured portion (that was not paid through the plan).

[Ron55]

not sure what you mean on the car all I know is the car was valued at less than we owed and will be paid in full once the last payment is dispursed. It was all classified as secured none of it is classified as unsecured.

[justbroke]

not sure what you mean on the car all I know is the car was valued at less than we owed and will be paid in full once the last payment is dispursed. It was all classified as secured none of it is classified as unsecured.

If the car was "valued" for less than you owed, then it "bifurcates" the creditors claim (your balance what you owed), into a secured claim (what it is worth) and an unsecured claim (the difference between what you owed and what it was worth).

The secured claim you must pay in full during the plan and you are about to make that final payment. However, there was an unsecured claim that was created with the difference. If you are not in a 100% plan, this means that the entire amount of this "difference" will not be paid.

So, I stand corrected in a previous post that you made before about when you'll get the title. You won't get the title until after discharge since you are not paying the creditor (car loan creditor) back the entire amount of their claim (your balance). You are only paying the "valued" amount of the vehicle, so they will not release the title until the case is discharged, which will discharge the remaining (difference) amount.

I hope you understand that better.

[Ron55]

I am telling you no where on my print out is there any unsecured ammount listed to the lender of our auto no place like some have unsecured debt that are actually getting little to none the only debt listed and show is the auto loan strictly as secured no unsecured portion anywhere listed for them at all

[Ron55]

it shows percentage of claim to be paid on the auto loan as 100% i just looked at it

[justbroke]

I am telling you no where on my print out is there any unsecured ammount listed to the lender of our auto no place like some have unsecured debt that are actually getting little to none the only debt listed and show is the auto loan strictly as secured no unsecured portion anywhere listed for them at all

It wouldn't be shown as a "separate" unsecured claim. If you "valued" the car at less than you owed on it, and only paid that "secured" amount, then it did in fact create an unsecured portion that is not listed. This is the standard Chapter 13 valuation process.

If you had not told me that you are only paying what the car was worth at the time of filing, it would be a different story since the car would not have been "valued" under 11 USC 506.

You may want to ask your attorney if your car was "valued" and whether it was bifurcated into a secured and unsecured claim. If you have 13DataCenter you'd be able to see "two" claims for the same creditor, with one marked as secured and the other as unsecured, even though the creditor only filed a secured claim.

[Ron55]

I do have that site and as I just said I looked now only one claim from them and it states on there my care is 100% not value only as i thought so then should we not get the title once they get paid even before the discharge they will be paid in full once the last payment is dispursed. And as I said on data center it only shows 1 claim at 100%

[justbroke]

I do have that site and as I just said I looked now only one claim from them and it states on there my care is 100% not value only as i thought so then should we not get the title once they get paid even before the discharge they will be paid in full once the last payment is dispursed. And as I said on data center it only shows 1 claim at 100%

Okay, if it wasn't "valued" as I thought you said it was, then it's the full claim amount that is being paid. In that case, they would need to release the title after they have the final payment and do any of their end-of-loan processing.

[rexycar]

I live in PA and I'm still waiting for my discharge. I finished my payment plan in August of 2010 and I see on Pacer that the trustee has filed her final report and I also have listed there tat the judge enter an order to issue an immediate discharge, that was back in December of 2010, but still waiting. So, I guess their definition of immediate is different than mine. Hopefully, you won't have to wait for a long time for your discharge. Good luck.

[Ron55]

I sure hope ours doesnt drag on like your, sorry to hear that hopefully you get it in the mail any day now.