How do I go about modifying under chapter 13?

[fespinoza089]

Hello, so my father has been making payments and its become harder for him to pay off his debt recently due to loss of hours and he's would like to modify his payments. He has gotten the lender to agree but we were told that we need an attorney to actually get all the paperwork filed to the court. Is there any way we can go about trying to get this done without having to pay for a lawyer we can't afford.

tyvm in advance for your time reading and responding

[justbroke]

Are you talking about a modification on a home loan or on a motor vehicle loan? In my personal experience, the lender would send you some sort of release which allows the lender to communicate with you about the modification. I haven't seen anything other than this type of "release" signed by the attorney and debtor (or just the debtor in pro se cases). I actually had this experience with a modification to my home loan. I had to sign an authorization allowing the lender to "speak" with me.

There is no need to file anything with the court until you actually have the modification and then need to Modify the Confirmed Plan. You need the Plan Modification if you are paying through the Trustee.

If your father has reduced income or other issues, he should (have) immediately speak with his attorney and see what can be done. If there is a reduction in income the attorney may be able to do one of several things. One of those things could be an actual reduction in the plan payment, so long as the plan stays feasible. If the income issue is temporary, a forbearance could also be proposed.

These are issues that you really should be at least speaking with your attorney. This reads like it's a loss of income and that's precisely why you should always immediately contact your attorney when you have a reduction in income.