Plan Complete!

[eap82]

I am so happy to share my 13 is COMPLETE!! Filed 12/2020, confirmed 2/22, payments Complete 11/25, Closed 1/25. Getting confirmed took forever because of negotiations on the payment amount and my income changing when my disability pay changed. The trustee was absolutely ridiculous about it but justbroke gave me excellent guidance and having the explanations that my lawyer wasn’t giving me was such a relief. I also had one plan modification after I consolidated my student loans and the original loan servicer reported as paid off to trustee. I had 2 job changes with increased income and a raise every year but not more than the 10% my lawyer says the trustee goes after. They told me to wait until my taxes were filed and see if the trustee asked for more and they never did. I did accumulate debt during my 13 due to medical reasons and because of my diagnosis my student loan payments were on hold so it was doable, After my loans were consolidated the trustee considered their part done and I had to pay my loans outside the plan. My lawyer knew about it as well as the post petition debt. She said do what I had to do, make every single trustee payment on time and keep my head down. Don’t make waves. That’s what I did and having post petition debt wasn’t an issue for me but if I had to explain it I feel that it would have not jeopardized my case, at least I hope not. It started off excruciatingly slow but from year 3 on it flew by and before I knew it I got an email from my paralegal telling me I would be discharged that month, one month early due to my last payment being slightly early (thank you shipo for that suggestion!!!)


This community was a lifesaver when I felt like I was getting no info from my Lawyer and the trustee kept fighting but no one was listening to me. There are only 3 people in my life that know I filed 13 and each was supportive but aside from telling them I did it we never talked about it again. I had no emotional support this whole time except this forum. Having a significant medical setback in the middle of all this was stressful and I mostly didn’t post here but did read everyone else’s posts. Having a place to hear and speak about this experience is what saved me so thank you to the moderators as well as everyone that posted their journeys. Some of the people on this board were more knowledgeable than my paralegal and gave me info that helped me advocate for myself. My first paralegal was absolutely awful and I almost fired my Lawyer until I went directly to her with my issues and bypassed the paralegal all together. They both left, I was assigned a new lawyer and paralegal and it was a breeze from that point on.


I wish the best to all of those in the trenches and will be happily joining the after the discharge threads now too! I eagerly await the rebuild of my credit and thanks again to shipo there is a thread on how to do it Happy new year!

[justbroke]

I love a Chapter 13 discharge! CONGRATULATIONS!

Well done. You have shown that you can get through the adversity of the Chapter 13 Trustee and make it to discharge. Everyone should take note. I hope you stay around to help other debtors look to or filing bankruptcy.

[Carmella]

Congratulations!!!!!

[eap82]

Thanks guys! You both were a huge help

[shipo]

Checking in late. Congratulations eap82! Such a huge accomplishment to complete a Chapter 13. A few years from now when you look back at the last five years, it will only seem like a bad memory.

Sort of an unrelated comment. During my second year I needed a cathartic outlet and started writing a story; over the next few years I picked it up, added to it, and put it back down. Last spring a friend asked me to share it with her, holes, typos, and all. A week later she implored me to finish it, and last month, I did just that. Now comes the ironic part; prior to my Chapter 13 filing, I had written another story, which was utterly and completely unfit for human consumption, so when my attorney asked me to list all "works" I owned which might have financial value, I was truthfully able to say, "No."

With the above said, now that I am trying to get representation for the 2016 novel, I have learned having a second completed novel will enhance the odds of the first one getting signed by a literary agent. I dusted the digital dust off the 2009 novel, last touched in 2013, cut 55,000 words out of it, added another 17,000 words back in, including a new ending, and suddenly that "work" which was worthless when I filed, may well be worth something, possible more than the entire amount I had discharged in my bankruptcy.

[eap82]

Thanks shipo, funny how life plays out like that sometimes! Best of luck with the novel.