Discharge question

[planewhisper]

Payments are all paid after a long 5 years. How long does it take to receive discharge papers from court? We are wanting to buy a home, we have been renting for over 5 years after selling our home in Florida. Need all the information anyone can give us. Thanks

[MSbklawyer]

After you make all your payments, your attorney has to file a motion for discharge. There is a 21 day notice period following that motion and then your discharge is entered.

[indy4wins]

What is the difference in our attorney filing for discharge and our trustee's office sending out a form for filling out for an affidavit for discharge; Is is the same thing; Thanks

[kornellred]

If you have completed your plan payments, the trustee will send you a letter telling you to stop making payments. The trustee will also inform you that you will not receive a discharge until all requirements are fulfilled, which include certification of having taken the financial management course and signing the Motion in Support of Discharge, which concerns domestic support obligations (or lack of them). When the trustee notes that all your ducks are in a row (so to speak), he/she will make proper notification to the bankruptcy court, after which time the actual discharge document will be issued.
It can take up to 4 months from plan payment completion, but rarely does. My own plan was completed on 9/06/12 and I am waiting on the discharge document myself.

[MSbklawyer]

What is the difference in our attorney filing for discharge and our trustee's office sending out a form for filling out for an affidavit for discharge; Is is the same thing; Thanks

The affidavit has to be filed as an exhibit to the motion for discharge. They're not the same thing, but they go hand-in-hand.

[justbroke]

The affidavit is generally one that affirms that you, the debtor(s), have no outstanding DSO arrears. You cannot receive a discharge unless you affirm that your domestic support obligations (DSOs) -- such as child support -- are up to date! The Motion for Entry of Discharge Order is the request to discharge, but that request always requires the affidavit as an attachment, just as MSbklawyer writes.

[AngelinaCat]

I am going to make this thread a 'sticky' in the Chapter 13 board, since this and similar questions arise whenever someone's Chapter 13 is winding up. Thanks go to everyone for the information.

[flowerchild]

Well I want to chime in for the Michiganders since it seems to be the only state that starts the clock at confirmation and then extends the closing by 20 weeks!!

For those that don't understand, I filed in March 2007 and wasn't confirmed until August 2007. I was in a 60 month plan so I had to pay until August 2012, not 60 months from March 2012 when I filed. This totaled 65 months of payments. I made my last payment at the end of August and I just received a letter from the TT today that tells me that the closing phase will take an additional 20 weeks. This means that this case has the potential to run 70 plus months from the date of filing. What a crock of $%$# this is!!! I am just livid that it would take that long to close out a case. I'm so mad that I can chew up a box nails.

The is the letter that was sent was titled "Notice of Preparation for Discharge"

You have successfully arrived at the final phase of completing your chapter 13 plan. We are preparing your case for discharge. Over the next 20 weeks your case will go through several phases as you move toward receiving your discharge from chapter 13 bankruptcy.

Please be patient during these final phases. These final phases will seem long because you have made many sacrifices and are finally near your goal. The phases of your plan will go through over the next 20 weeks are required. It is our goal that your plan proceeds to discharge without interruption. If it is determined that an oversight has occurred, we could be required to reinstate your wage assignment. In the event issues should arise, you should contract your attorney immediately.

Attached to this letter is an informative "Discharge Checklist" that summarizes the steps your case will proceed through over the next 20 weeks. Review the list carefully and take appropriate action where necessary. If you have questions, please contact your attorney:

Termination of Wage assignment: Letter sent to employer to stop wage deductions.

Final disbursement and possible refunds: Your case has been set to pay your creditors in full on the next scheduled monthly disbursement and any remaining funds will be sent to you.

Attorney fee orders received prior to final disbursement:Your attorney may review your file to determine if there are any other attorney fees outstanding and due. In the event that we receive an order allowing attorney fees prior to the final disbursements, we are obligated to pay the attorney fees. This could interfere with the final disbursement or any refund that we amy anticipate. If your wage assignment has already been terminated by your employer, you will have to remit the additional payments to this office by money order so your case can proceed to discharge.

Attorney fee orders received after final disbursement: If we receive an order for attorney fees after the final disbursement, your attorney will probably forward the order to you to pay the fees directly.

Mortgage payments: You are now responsible for making your own mortgage payments again. It is imperative that you contact your mortgage company immediately to determine your due date, monthly payment about.

Issued Checks: Once we have completed all disbursements on your case, your case is monitored monthly to determine if all issued checks on your case are cashed. Creditors have 90 days to cash checks. Your case will be monitored monthly closely to determine when all issued checks have been cashed. If checks are not cashed within 90 days or are returned or reissued for any reason, this could extend the time allowed to cash checks.

Creditors that cannot be located (unclaimed funds): If there is a creditor who filed a valid claim and we issued a check that is returned because the creditor cannot be located, these funds are required to be turned over to the Bankruptcy court as unclaimed funds.

Final Report: Once we determine that all issued checks have been cashed, we submit a final report to the court. You will receive a copy of this report. Please be advised that your creditors will also receive a copy of this report and have the right to object to your discharge within 30 days of receipt of this Final Report.

Certifications for Dsicharge-Domestic Support obligation and personal financial management course: You may be required to file certifications witht he court regarding domestic support obligations (child support/alimony) and an additional personal financial management course to be eligible for discharge. Contact your attorney to discuss.

Discharge: You will receive a copy of the Discharge of Debtor directly from the Bankruptcy Court.

Hopefully this can help the next unfortunate Michigan victim who has questions about the final phase of their case. Unreal

[Pjmax]

Flowerchild, first, congratulations on making it through. At least they spell everything out for you, and in plain English. Just looking for the good stuff here. Can't imagine what it's like to make it 60 months and guess what comes next, and then wait and wait.

[flowerchild]

Flowerchild, first, congratulations on making it through. At least they spell everything out for you, and in plain English. Just looking for the good stuff here. Can't imagine what it's like to make it 60 months and guess what comes next, and then wait and wait.

Yea LOL....I guess that is the ONLY thing good coming out of this.

And it won't be 60 months for me, but according to them it will be at least 70 months if it goes exactly as they have stated without any hiccups.

[Jimmy]

Is the motion for discharge from the attorney required before discharge?
I checked on Pacer for my case and saw that all documents had been filed including the trustee final report and my affidavid for discharge, so every thing were there for 4 weeks already except for the motion for discharge and I stiil has not been discharge. By the way, I reside in California. Thanks

[lorine]

We filed Chapter 13 in 3/2008 Plan Confirmed on 6/2008 Discharged on 2/2012 How long will this be on how credit report? Is it from the time of filing, confirming or discharge?

[justbroke]

We filed Chapter 13 in 3/2008 Plan Confirmed on 6/2008 Discharged on 2/2012 How long will this be on how credit report? Is it from the time of filing, confirming or discharge?

Credit reporting is from time of filing. For a Chapter 13, the entry should be removed after 7 years. (It is removed for Chapter 7 cases after 10 years.)

Also, in the future, try to not open older threads; especially those that are on a different topic. Feel free to open a new thread if there are no more recent "similar" threads that you could find by searching BKforum.

[markdel16]

Made my last payment in November of last year. Checked PACER this morning and I finally see something new: "Chapter 13 Standing Trustee's Final Report And Account". How close am I now?????

[justbroke]

You should be ready to close! The discharge should already have been entered!