I am adding this information for others who are looking for information about what the discharge process is. Certainly, I would have loved to have known much of this information before hand - but I could not find it anywhere. So for others behind me, I will share my information. Of course, your Trustee or experience may be different, but this is a guideline of what to expect when you are getting close to your discharge in a 13:
So, you noticed that you are almost paid in full on your BK13 plan . . what should you expect next? Well, the fist big step is that the status of your plan will change to: CLOSED
1. Closed means that you have paid the full amount into your plan. It does not mean your Trustee has made all the payments. It also does not mean that you are officially done.
2. When closed, your trustee may still need to make final payments to your creditors. If your Trustee only pays out once per month, it is pretty sure that she will not make the final payments until next month to the creditors.
3. IF you pay your trustee through a wage garnishment, here is when the court will order a stop payment. This can, however take several weeks to take effect, and can cause you to overpay into your plan (not to worry, you will get this refunded by the Trustee). However, this can also delay things several weeks for you. My work said they never received the stop order, and therefore paid into the plan for more than a month (bi-weekly).
Advice: when your stop pay order is issued, print a copy of of Pacer and take it directly to your payroll office. This will expedite the stop.
3. Once all creditors are paid in full, you will receive a "Congrats you are done but not discharged" letter. The letter will explain that you are done paying, but you are not officially discharged by the courts. The Trustee must first file a final report to the court, and he/she will not do that until ALL checks are cashed and have cleared the trustee's bank. This includes any refund checks to you from overpaying into your plan.
4. After last checks are issued, you must wait until all checks clear . . . or 90 days. Creditors have 90 days to cash any payment checks.
5. All checks must clear the trustee's bank before a Final report can be made to the court. This includes any refund payments to you.
6. When all checks have finally cleared . . you may need to wait a few more weeks. My trustee only gets a report from her bank once per month. So, when my last check cleared, I had to wait almost a full month before it would register in their system as cleared. This was my refund check from the trustee . . go figure.
7. Finally, the Trustee will issue a final report to electronically file with the BK court. However, this also can take a few weeks depending on the speed of the Trustee's office. When the Final Report is filed, you will see an update on PACER.
8. Once the final report is filed, your attorney must send you an affidavit to sign about child support . . blah blah . . great, right? Ask your attorney to email it to you, to speed things up. My attorney told me he will email it, but he can not do so until the final report has been filed by the Trustee.
9. You must sign the form and send it back to your attorney . . . and he will file it with the court.
Advice: I am going to print two copies and send one to my attorney and have the second one notarized and send it directly to the court. I am hoping this may speed up the process . . but not sure.
10. You must have also filed your certificate that you have taken an approved BK pre-discharge course. I did this about 4 months before my plan was ending, so as to be all set.
11. When all documents are finally filed, the court will post a hearing date . . you don't go to this. It is just an official signing of your discharge. When the discharge is signed, you will see an update on Pacer.
12. You will get a copy of the discharge in the mail, or you can download one from Pacer.
13. Depending on the speed of your BK court, it could take a few days or a few weeks for the credit bureaus to be notified of your discharge.
14. Go have a cupcake! You did it!
So, you noticed that you are almost paid in full on your BK13 plan . . what should you expect next? Well, the fist big step is that the status of your plan will change to: CLOSED
1. Closed means that you have paid the full amount into your plan. It does not mean your Trustee has made all the payments. It also does not mean that you are officially done.
2. When closed, your trustee may still need to make final payments to your creditors. If your Trustee only pays out once per month, it is pretty sure that she will not make the final payments until next month to the creditors.
3. IF you pay your trustee through a wage garnishment, here is when the court will order a stop payment. This can, however take several weeks to take effect, and can cause you to overpay into your plan (not to worry, you will get this refunded by the Trustee). However, this can also delay things several weeks for you. My work said they never received the stop order, and therefore paid into the plan for more than a month (bi-weekly).
Advice: when your stop pay order is issued, print a copy of of Pacer and take it directly to your payroll office. This will expedite the stop.
3. Once all creditors are paid in full, you will receive a "Congrats you are done but not discharged" letter. The letter will explain that you are done paying, but you are not officially discharged by the courts. The Trustee must first file a final report to the court, and he/she will not do that until ALL checks are cashed and have cleared the trustee's bank. This includes any refund checks to you from overpaying into your plan.
4. After last checks are issued, you must wait until all checks clear . . . or 90 days. Creditors have 90 days to cash any payment checks.
5. All checks must clear the trustee's bank before a Final report can be made to the court. This includes any refund payments to you.
6. When all checks have finally cleared . . you may need to wait a few more weeks. My trustee only gets a report from her bank once per month. So, when my last check cleared, I had to wait almost a full month before it would register in their system as cleared. This was my refund check from the trustee . . go figure.
7. Finally, the Trustee will issue a final report to electronically file with the BK court. However, this also can take a few weeks depending on the speed of the Trustee's office. When the Final Report is filed, you will see an update on PACER.
8. Once the final report is filed, your attorney must send you an affidavit to sign about child support . . blah blah . . great, right? Ask your attorney to email it to you, to speed things up. My attorney told me he will email it, but he can not do so until the final report has been filed by the Trustee.
9. You must sign the form and send it back to your attorney . . . and he will file it with the court.
Advice: I am going to print two copies and send one to my attorney and have the second one notarized and send it directly to the court. I am hoping this may speed up the process . . but not sure.
10. You must have also filed your certificate that you have taken an approved BK pre-discharge course. I did this about 4 months before my plan was ending, so as to be all set.
11. When all documents are finally filed, the court will post a hearing date . . you don't go to this. It is just an official signing of your discharge. When the discharge is signed, you will see an update on Pacer.
12. You will get a copy of the discharge in the mail, or you can download one from Pacer.
13. Depending on the speed of your BK court, it could take a few days or a few weeks for the credit bureaus to be notified of your discharge.
14. Go have a cupcake! You did it!