Base Plan

[ccgirl]

So if someone has to be in ch 13 for 5 years and cannot end early unless they are 100% payoff then why is there a base? My plan is a 5 year plan (Actually 62 month plan because I am in MI and so the 60 month mark starts at confirmation). When I check 13network it says Plan Base with the amount total to be paid into the bk and theh Base Balance which has the amount left to pay. I will have the plan base paid off a few months before my bk ends but I know I can't be done early so back to my original question why would the base amount even matter?

Thanks for any insights!

[ccgirl]

This was one of those things that make you go hmmm moments for me today!

[justbroke]

There is a base because there are more things that go on in a Chapter 13 than most people realize. Not only do you need to pay your projected DMI x 60, which becomes the base "base", you may also have some liquidation test minimums. The liquidation test, you ask, is the amount that you would have had liquidated if you filed a Chapter 7. You see, in a Chapter 13, you can keep property so long as you pay "at least" the value of the non-exempt property throughout the life of the Chapter 13.

Additionally, the base may change if you are required to surrender tax refunds. The base is just the initial cursory DMI x 60 in most cases. There are debtors who have step-up plans. There are sometimes small calculation errors as well. The plan base is a way to measure that.

Think of the plan base as the "minimum" amount you must pay over the life of the plan.

[ccgirl]

Thank you! That makes sense! Bummer the plan didn't end once the base was met!

[justbroke]

Thank you! That makes sense! Bummer the plan didn't end once the base was met!

Back in the good old days, back before October 2005, a plan could end once the base was met! It could even be prepaid!

[dmc-2008]

Gah! Story of my life! Sorry to hyjack thread!!