why do plans take so long to get confirmed?

[andysmom]

Just a quick question,
I'm just curious why chapter 13 plans seem to take so long to get confirmed?
We're filing chapter 13 the 3rd week in april, and i've been spending alot of time on this forum- which is a great resource- I've noticed on alot of chapter 13 contributor's signature lines that their plan was confirmed sometimes many months after their 341. Is their any reason why it takes so long or is it just how slow the system works? Just want to know what to be prepared for.
Thanks in advance.

[Faust]

Probably because everyone is swamped.

[Nanzee]

My attorney used to be a trustee. He basically told us the norm for confirmation was about 5 months. It was exactly that for me, I filed in November and just found out we were confirmed yesterday. But I think from reading here that it is almost impossible to know what will happen from one person's experience to the next.

[tigergem]

I don't know about the reason for all delays, but my confirmation hearing got delayed by the Trustee because I had made a couple of modifications to my schedules and my plan. I had to make those modifications because the Trustee requested them at my 341. Because of the modification of the plan, the Trustee felt that there was not sufficient prior notice to the creditors of confirmation, and so he pushed my confirmation back a month. It all worked out just fine, so I didn't mind the delay so much.

[andysmom]

thanks everyone- from what i gather then it's normal for it to take a few months and not to be worried that there's a problem if it takes that long?
And, you start making your payments as soon as you have (or at) your 341 right?

Thanks again, everyone

[tigergem]

I had to make my first payment well before my 341. I filed the 4th of December, and then received conflicting information about when the first payment was due. The BK clerk told me that the first payment was due "by the end of December", and the Trustee's office first told me it was due the 23rd, then they said the 27th. I received instructions in writing about where to send the payment, but not when. I called to ask. I am sure there was some confusion in there because of the holidays, but I paid it early - it was received on the 21st - just to be safe. If you aren't sure about that, you might want to call the Trustee's office and ask when yours is due. I think you get brownie points if you pay early and often. How far will that take you? Who knows?

[andysmom]

thanks tigergem. we didn't file yet- we're filing in 2 weeks- had to wait to get the $ for atty. Just wondering when it'll be due- i'm sure (at least i hope) our atty will fill us in on all this when we actually have our meeting to file.
I truly appreciate all the info on this site. I want to be fully prepared for what we're in for for the next 5 long years.....

[Nanzee]

My first payment was due 30 days after we filed.

[mkstlowe]

I filed March 29th and my first payment is Due April 28th and my 341 meeting not even scheduled yet.

[Lissy]

The first payment is due 30 days after the date of filing, which is usually before the 341. I filed 2/26 and my first payment was due 3/27. My 341 is scheduled for this Friday, 4/9. My confirmation hearing is scheduled for 5/10, but I'm guessing it will be pushed back due to my unexpected car situation. I will need to amend my schedules to reflect whatever my new car payment is going to be.

[andysmom]

thanks everyone for your responses. I guess they'll just send something telling us where to send the payment or the lawyer will let us know. I'm pretty sure we'll have the $ to file the 3rd week of this month. Our atty did the means test & has all our paperwork. We don't qualify for 7, and told us our pymt which is really low and I really don't believe it'll stay that low/be confirmed that low- but he seems to think so- so we shall see.
At this point though; we have no choice- almost anything would be better than what we're at with the credit cards.

[Universal]

At our consultation meeting the 'guesstimate' payment turned out to be about half of what the actual payment is. 1st payment was due w/i 30 days, and sent in our trustee's name, but to an out of state address. Since my employer didn't get an order of withholding for a couple of weeks I had to go ahead and mail in half the payment myself, and then employer by order kicked in the second half making a full payment within 30 days. Hoping all goes well at the 341 and confirmation follows soon thereafter.

[rfassett]

We filed April 8th, 2009 and had some serious issues. I told my wife at the time to not expect confirmation much before a year's time had passed. I was pretty close. We got confirmed yesterday, April 6th, 2010 with all except one minor issue resolved in our favor and in our benefit. (Truth be known, I think we got confirmed because the trustee and judge got tired of seeing us and/or our attorney on our behalf. Chapter 13, especially with issues, is not for the faint of heart. The good news - we only have 48 more payments.

[justbroke]

In Florida, they take a minimum of 5 months. This is by design. They want the claims bar date to expire before confirming the plan. This is because modifying a confirmed plan is not fun, so why confirm a plan prematurely?

[indebt00]

Its been 8 months for us and we figure its going to be closer to a year for us. Our Trustee is soooooooo swamped...

I noticed that my fellow Arizona peeps have not posted about any confirmations in a while either...