Why so long?

[Keithh1632]

It takes 21 to 30 days to get approved from the bankruptcy court to purchase another vehicle. This is what the lawyer said. We are 2 yrs into a chapter 13.

[justbroke]

It's a pretty simple reason. It requires a hearing. Hearings require at least a 21-day notice to all parties in interest. That simple. Yes, it is a technicality, but creditors are allowed to "challenge" and the Trustee as well.

[Keithh1632]

23 days and counting. Voice mail from person at dealership sounded upset. Called them back to smooth things over. What do they want from me??????? My hands are tied.

[steveok]

I hear you....I'm counting down my 24 days...(21 days plus 3 days mailing). Trustee has already said he would approve it. I'm at 100 payback, current on all payments, and only incurring $6,000 in debt....Kind of a no brainer, but they have to stick it out for the 24 days just in case someone wants to object to getting 100% payback...go figure! So far, I'm 9 day's into it and no objections. I would think if someone was going to object they would have done it so far..

Honestly.....sometimes..common sense needs to come into play in our judicial system....

[papie]

This is so foreign to me. When we needed to purchase a car I faxed the trustee our info (this is what all of the local car lots and our lawyer told us to do) and he sent us a personal letter from his office saying we had permission a few days later. It's amazing how different each state and trustee operate.

[steveok]

You would think with it being the UNITED STATES FEDERAL BANKRUPTCY LAWS..they would all be the same..but they are not....I'm very frustrated at this system. I am understand how some things might need some time like around the 341 hearing for creditors to consider the situation but once the case has been confirmed, I feel that it should all be transferred into the Trustee/Court hands. If the trustee approves, (which he represents the creditors of course), then forward it on to the judge to sign off on. If he objects, then allow the debtors to go straight to the judge if they choose and plead their case. As said, the Trustee in Bankruptcy Law represents the creditors so I don't need the need for him to approve and then the creditors have time to think about the "smaller" situations. Maybe they need to put a dollar amount down say $25,000 that the trustee can sign off on without having to consult or wait for 3 weeks for the creditors response. Just an idea and I'll get off my soap box....just a thorn in my behind at this stage in the game when I'm only talking about $6,000 and having to wait for so long.

Like I said earlier. I'm paying back 100%, never missed a payment, down to the last 18 months, borrowing a very low amount....what is there to object to??????

[justbroke]

A couple of things to remember. While the Chapter 13 Standing Trustee may "represent" the creditors... they do not do so in the "legal" sense! They only represent the creditors "interests" at large. In other words, they do what's right for the majority of the creditors, not for any single creditor! As such, it is and will always remain the creditor (or party in interests) right to actually object to things which affect their standing or payback.

Remember, the power of the Bankruptcy Court is that it's a court. However, Trustee's can't issue Orders of the Court and can't compel anyone to do anything. They can ask the Court to Compel people to do things, but that's the limit of their "power". Their power is only "inherent' in the Bankruptcy Code and they only have so much of this so called "power". Most things require an order of the court and simply authorizing the Trustee to do whatever they want on behalf of a creditor so long as it's below a certain amount... would really be chaos.

You must also remember that most Chapter 13s fail at some point. So a 100% Chapter 13 doesn't mean that the creditor is actually going to get 100%. You could convert to Chapter 7 or dismiss and they get nothing (or only that which they have accumulated to date).

Yes, bankruptcy is hyper-technical for a reason.

[steveok]

Justbroke...we'll have to agree to disagree on this issue....thanks for your input...

[justbroke]

You could always file Chapter 11 and use a Creditor Committee if you so choose. That is much worse. Besides, my statement is not a choice or subject to agreement. It is the law, as codified, and is how the court works. If you want more control, go through a Chapter 11 where there can be more control, but you may still be subject to the whims of your largest creditors (via Creditor Committee).

These things are in place for a reason, and that's not to cause chaos and disorganization. I think your response is out of frustration. Could you imagine a disorganized and chaotic system where the Trustee does something, then is sued by the creditors, which then keeps your Motion open for months instead of 21 days?