The Bankruptcy Code mandates that every Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing include a plan. In essence, a Plan is a summary sent to your creditors that lets them know how much you intend to repay and how long you are going to take to do it.
If you have filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and you don’t have a copy of your current plan, contact your attorney immediately and get a copy so that you can familiarize yourself with its terms.
Once your case has been filed, the court mails your plan to your creditors well in advance of your first meeting of creditors in order to allow them the chance to review and, if need be, object to your proposed treatment of their claims.
Once the plan has been sent on to your creditors, you will meet with the Trustee for what is called the 341 hearing in order to review the plan and discuss potential revisions. Though creditors rarely appear, if they do appear, they are given them a chance to ask any questions as well.
About 6 weeks after the 341 hearing, you will have what is called a confirmation hearing. You will not have to attend this hearing and your attorney will appear on your behalf. At that hearing, the judge will hear from the Trustee and any creditors that want to object to their treatment in the plan. Once the judge is satisfied that all creditor and trustee objections have been resolved, the judge “confirms”your plan and signs an Order of the court that approves your plan.
The bankruptcy judge, who must approve your plan, regards the Chapter 13 plan as a contract between you and your creditors. All bankruptcy judges take this duty very seriously. The entry of the confirmation order binds both you and your creditors to the contract, or in this case, the plan.
If you are later unable to heed the terms of your current plan, contact your attorney immediately to come up with a new plan that you can fulfill.The Chapter 13 Trustee is obligated to pay your creditors exactly as described in your plan. The Trustee does not have any discretion to change those payments. If they need to be changed, you must file an amended plan which must be then in turn be approved by your bankruptcy judge.
If you have any questions at all about how to come up with a Chapter 13 Plan in either Oregon or Washington, please feel free to give me a call or go to the appointment section of the Northwest Debt Relief Law Firm website(you are on it) to set a phone or in person appointment at either the Seattle or Vancouver, Washington or at the Portland or Salem, Oregon bankruptcy law offices
