Will I be done early?

[tfabian]

Here's the scoop....

I filed in December 2006 and was confirmed in April of this year. I just got my statement from the trustee, and despite having nearly $85,000 in debt, it only shows $32,000 being claimed by my creditors. Do they still have time to file a claim? I currently pay $780 per month scheduled for 60 months, so will my 13 end when I hit the $32K total, which will be just shy of 3 1/2 years. Also, I know you can't pay off a 13 early, unless it is a 100% payback, but since this one would be now (based on the claims), can I pay it off early now?

Thank You Very Much!

Todd

[lrprn]

I filed in December 2006 and was confirmed in April of this year. I just got my statement from the trustee, and despite having nearly $85,000 in debt, it only shows $32,000 being claimed by my creditors. Do they still have time to file a claim?

When you file Ch 13, your non-secured creditors have 90 days after the first date set for your 341 to file a claim (except for the government - typically IRS - which has 120 days). After 90 days (or 120 days for the govt), if no claim is filed, then that non-secured creditor is out of luck and whatever you owe them is wiped out. Apparently a fair number of your non-secured creditors didn't file claims, so if it's been more than 90 days since your 341 meeting, only $32K of the $85K if all your non-secured creditors had filed claims now has to be paid back. (That's a really good thing! )

I currently pay $780 per month scheduled for 60 months, so will my 13 end when I hit the $32K total, which will be just shy of 3 1/2 years.

Do you have other debts included in your Ch 13? Are you paying back taxes? Paying for a car? Catching up mortgage or car payment arrears? These secured debt amounts typically aren't included in the non-secured total owed.

If you haven't checked out 13network.com, chances are your trustee is keeping your account online there. With a username and password, you can see your entire Ch 13 case laid out. To see if your trustee participates, go to http://www.13network.com/ , then scroll down to see if your trustee's name is there under your state. If it is, click on the name - this takes you to your trustee's filers website and gives instructions about how to sign up - it's FREE . I find this a much easier way to keep track of the month to month accounting of our case compared to PACER. I use PACER to keep track of what's happening with our case objections.

Also, I know you can't pay off a 13 early, unless it is a 100% payback, but since this one would be now (based on the claims), can I pay it off early now?

This is a gray area under the new bk law. There's no early payback language included in the new law, so no one really knows for sure what's going to happen with early payoffs in Ch 13 filed after October 17, 2005.

The old law included language that Ch 13 could be paid off early at 100% after two years of on-time payments. The two-anniversary of the new law is coming up this October, so until then it's just a best guess. Ask your lawyer to see if there have been quiet discussions behind the scenes going on about Ch 13 early payoff requests and how they will be handled in your bk district.

[tfabian]

Thank you very much for the detailed reponse. I have a car in my 13, but that shows up on my statement. In addition, I have about $900 in taxes, which also shows up. Thank you again, I'll check out the link for 13network!