Discharge of Chapter 13 bankruptcy in one year??

[smkrishna]

Sure IHateChase. I couldn't believe that I am going through this. I wish and pray that every one who goes through financial trouble during this recession comes out successfully and realign their life.. I will keep you posted on the development from my side. I will most likely get tax refund and apply for buy-out option through my attorney in Feb. 2012 (5 months from now). If I get discharged from Ch.13, then it will be greatest achievement in my life and best lesson learnt also...

[spidge]

BofA did not file a claim on my 13 either, so I do hope you update this thread with your results so that I might be able to follow along. Although I always thought that in order for the lien strip to work the plan had to be completed. The heloc would not be considered unsecured until after the lien strip is completed following the completion of the 13.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

[spidge]

Any word?

[smkrishna]

3rd creditor (Secured)

I found a late-filed 3rd creditor in my pacer.gov Claims summary. But, they withdrew their petition to allow late-field claims. I am totally confused on this part. They filed late (19th October) when the claims bar date was on 26th September. Then, they withdrew their motion to allow late-filed claims. But, the secured claim appears on Claim summary.

This new secured claim (from Chase) is the payment that I am already making as mortgage on my primary home. They included pre-petition payment for around $6300 for the mortgage around $224,000 (my primary loan on my primary home).

Does it mean that I cannot think about getting discharge of my Ch.13 in 1 year (as I explained in this thread above?) Do I need to talk to my attorney to fix anything here?

Please advise.

[justbroke]

I don't know. You need to talk to your attorney. Since you already included it in your plan -- which is what I think you're writing -- then it is already allowed. Perhaps they noticed that they are already being paid in plan. If this isn't a lien strip -- for this Chase account -- then it's not an unsecured claim. In that case, everything else I wrote still stands.

I would certainly have a sit down/chat with my attorney to find out the status.

[markinva]

Similar situation here - Just trying to understand, in simple terms, what happens with mortgages (secured debt) and timelines in a Chap 13. For example, underwater house #1 would sell as a foreclosure for 450K. Cannot do a lien strip on this one. The potential combined deficiency would be 125K. If I understand correctly, the lender could move to add that deficiency to my plan as an unsecured claim.

Underwater house #2 is eligible for a lien strip (24K) Can the lender also move to add the amount of the stripped lien as unsecured also? Foreclosures can take a long time, can secured lenders move to claim deficiencies at any time during a Chap 13 payback? Thanks all.

[BKAttyMI]

You must continue paying your payments for the plan term or until the plan is paid 100% of all filed claims. I don't know how you could get out before that if you haven't paid your unsecured claims in full, but perhaps I'm reading this wrong?

What I tell my clients: Chapter 13 rewards responsibility, it says that if you can pay this much money, every single month in this exact amount for 36/60 months, they will forgive the rest of the debt. There are exceptions for this, like 100% plans, etc.

[Mayo]

It's up to the Trustee if they'll let you get out without paying 100% of the allowed unsecured claims. It's not 100% of the plan base since the plan base is just what's expected to be paid, based on a debtor's disposable monthly income (DMI) projection.

If you actually get out of your plan, having paid 0% to unsecured creditors, before the 60 months is over... please let us know! It will be one of, if not the, first post-BAPCPA (2005) confirmed plans that we would have on record as having happened. In the "old" days, pre BAPCPA, they'd let you buy out early if you had been in for at least 36 months of the 60 month plan. Now, there are people who refinance or otherwise come into a windfall that are able to payoff their Plan early, but I haven't read of a single case where this was allowed for less than 100% of the allowed unsecured claims. I think there was one person on here last year that was trying to do something similar, but I don't recall what happened with that.

I would also think that the unsecured creditors would object. However, this is all my opinion on this topic.

I totaled a car out in October I had a hearing on Nov 15 to determine if I could have the balance of the insurance settlement less the $500 owed to the creditor. The trustee offered that I could use the insurance settlement to pay my 13 out but I chose to receive the payment. As I was needing a car. My plan is close to closing in Jan or Feb., so I guess it is a possibiblity.

[justbroke]

Possible? Yes. The question is... has anyone actually got out early? The real meat of the question is, can a person who is bound to be in a plan for 5 years (60 months) -- because they were over the median on the Means Test -- get out of a plan by "buying" out in years 1 through 4 without paying 100%? A month or two doesn't really matter.

We just want to have a case reference!

[spidge]

I would think that even though there is no claim amount listed on NDC for the second mortgage the fact that the scheduled amount is still included indicates that the plan must be completed for the scheduled amount to be discharged.
I don't know about you guys and gals but accounting principles can be confusing and easily misread.

[justbroke]

spidge, the same can be said for NDC (13DataNetwork) as well. However, the check distribution (and summary) seems to be very accurate!

[smkrishna]

I talked to my attorney about this. He is 100% confident that i need to pay remaining $4600 (only claims made by Discover and BofA) to get early discharge. He also told me that - as the claim made by Chase is just pre-petition arrears and I am current with my mortgage with Chase, that pre-petition arrears amount ($6000) can be paid out of my plan. I normally get around $3600 as tax refund. If I can arrange for $1000 more from external sources, then I hope the trustee will accept my case and discharge it.

[justbroke]

It is no question that you can buyout early if you pay 100% of the allowed unsecured claims. Since you only had 2 unsecured claims filed (and allowed), it's easier to get out. For me, my allowed unsecured claims totaled close to $300K. That was something that I wasn't even dreaming of paying off early!

As for paying arrears outside the plan -- and outside the protection of bankruptcy -- that's a risk no matter what. You will not have the protection of the court. The lender could start foreclosure proceedings -- or continue them -- immediately upon discharge/close of your case.

I'm wondering what the rush is?

[smkrishna]

Thanks Justbroke. The rush is because of the chance that I can be out of Chapter 13 within a year and I can think about switching my job for better benefits and I don't have to feel the burden of carrying Bankruptcy on my head for 5 years which is quite a long time to carry. I agree with you on the foreclosure proceeding possibility from Chase. Again, I need to handle it separately.

[smkrishna]

OK Guys. At last, I paid off the balance with my tax refund and I saw the Case Status is changed to "Z-ABOUT TO CLOSE" in 13datacenter.com.
I have already taken the 2nd (final) finance management course online last week as per my attorney's suggestion. I am excited to the core as I am waiting for my final papers of discharge (hopefully within another 1 or 2 months after final audit). It's going to be really exciting and thrilling. Thanks everyone in bkforum (special thanks to justbroke who gives timely and technically detailed answer for questions/help asked).