Almost at the end of the journey.

[teddybeardj]

Hey everyone. Not a big question, but more of sharing excitement.

We are 8 months away from our three year plan. We filed on September 8, 2010. Does that mean that on September 7, 2013 we will be completely done? I have been keeping an excel spreadsheet with our payments and according to that, we have 16 (bi-weekly) payments to go. We have them deducted from my paycheck as a garnishment, so we never forget. I'm sure Capital One and Bank of America are preying heavily that we fail, but we seem to be on a very easy track with the auto payments. We still need to do our second course, but wanted to wait until closer to the end to remind us what got us in this mess to begin with. We could have taken the course the day after we filed, but we want to be reminded of what never to do again.

16 payments of $116 and we are done. The hardest part is behind us and I can finally see light at the end of the tunnel..

[dmc-2008]

Congrats looks like it was pretty easy for you! Good job

[pamkev]

Some more great news on this board. It will be over very soon

[angel7821]

Congrats! I am 3 away from being done. Can't wait for April to get here.

[momofthree]

Congrats!

[TheBajan]

I can't wait to be a part of your discharge party.... I'm always thrilled when someone is discharged but because I'm in a 13, I think I feel it more deeply when someone makes it through a 13. Good job!

To answer your question, no. That's not exactly how I understand it to work (I wish). From other posts that I have read, the trustee will perform a final audit and then the discharge is granted and the case is closed. It seems (again, based on the posts I've read) between 2 and 4 months with some cases taking a little bit longer. After that, I THINK there is a six month period of looking forward that they can do. What I mean by that is that if your case is finished in April and then in August you receive some windfall of money, they can still take it. I might be wrong on that point so take it with a grain of salt.

We will be finished with our plan in April of '15 but I'm not really pshc'ng myself for discharge until August. We also make our payments automatically but through ACH instead of payroll. I have read different experiences here where some people still make payments even after plan completion and some don't. If you do overpay, you will get it back after the case closes.

Please, anyone with more knowledge, please correct me if I'm wrong on this.

Best to you. I can't wait to hear the end of the story!

The Bajan

[kornellred]

A Chapter 13 case is "complete" when all of the scheduled payments have been made. The trustee will mail you a notice indicating that your payment obligation if fulfilled. You will have completed the Motion In Support Of Discharge form and submitted it to the trustee, as well as provide evidence that you have taken the mandatory financial management course.
Then, the trustee audits your case - it is purely an internal audit to determine if all disbursements have been accounted for. You will be reimbursed for any payments that have been received in excess of the plan base amount. After the financial details of your case are certain, the trustee submits the Final Report to the bankruptcy court, and the bankruptcy court issues the discharge. This can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, depending upon your state and the bk court/trustee case loads.

Unless it is stipulated in the Chapter 13 Confirmation Order at the beginning of your case, there is no look-forward issue in Chapter 13. If you get your discharge and you hit the Lottery for millions the next day, you keep it all. Maybe you would be so happy that you would pay back your discharged debts just for the heck of it!

[LadyInTheRed]

A little more on the 6 month "lookforward". It's 6 months from the date of filing and only applies to an inheritance, an award from a marital settlement agreement and life insurance proceeds. It does not apply to lottery winnings. The point is to keep somebody from filing BK because they know they are about to get an inheritace or marital settlement and they don't want to have to use the money to pay off their debts.
See 11 USC §541(a)(5): http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/11/541

[TheBajan]

Thanks LITR and Kornellred for the clarification.

[Sammie]

Congratulations! I know it has been a learning experience for you--I too, am looking forward to the party!

I am wondering if all States are different, our Attorney in NC told us that if we won the lottery we would have to pay our debt back, but we also had our Financial Meeting 2 hrs. before our 341 Meeting. The Trustee feels it is less paperwork for them in the end & the Debtor gets it over with right away.

Ms. Bajan I am with you in Ch. 13, I don't want to see anyone fail, & quite frankly I don't understand why 13's fail so much. Just the thought of having it dismissed and having to pay back all that debt with compounded interest, then Judgements, ect. makes me more determined to make every payment on time. We will have your party April 2015 and ours Sept. 2015, and by then I might even have my Samoyed puppy--heck by then it will be a dog.sammie

[dmc-2008]

I will be done in 2018! It sounds so far away!

[LadyInTheRed]

I am wondering if all States are different, our Attorney in NC told us that if we won the lottery we would have to pay our debt back, but we also had our Financial Meeting 2 hrs. before our 341 Meeting. The Trustee feels it is less paperwork for them in the end & the Debtor gets it over with right away.

My response relates only to the 6 month period in the code section I linked to and TheBajan's concern that there is a possibility that the trustee could take a windfall received by the debtor within 6 months AFTER the plan is complete. There are other reasons lottery winnings or other windfalls recived by a debtor DURING a Chap 13 may have to be turned over to the trustee. The trustee will probably say lottery winnings are additional disposible income that must go to the plan. Based on some very quick Google research, it appears courts have been consistent in ruling that windfalls received ruing a Chap 13 do become assets of the BK estate and must be distributed to creditors.

[LadyInTheRed]

I will be done in 2018! It sounds so far away!

It goes quicker than you expect. My 60th and final payment will be in May 2015. I just realized that is only a little more than 2 years away. With as fast as 2012 went, I'm sure it'll speed by!

[Megatron]

Congratulations! I am so looking forward to our ending (December 2014). It has been a struggle so far, but we have survived.

[angel7821]

I will be done in 2018! It sounds so far away!

I think you will be surprised by how fast the years go by while in the plan.