repayment plan

[system4u]

How do I present a successful repayment plan? Like I've filed out the forms but which pro se resources can i use to get a confirmed plan?

[shipo]

Are you talking about filing a Chapter 13 pro-se? If so, the general advice is to use an attorney, they know the ins and outs of the more complicated Chapter 13 filing (compared to a Chapter 7), and in virtually all cases, the money you'll save will more than pay for the attorney fees. In my case, I think the payback was less than a year between what I thought I'd be paying monthly and what I actually ended up paying.

[justbroke]

How do I present a successful repayment plan? Like I've filed out the forms but which pro se resources can i use to get a confirmed plan?

If you are asking this question then you should visit your bankruptcy court's Pro Se clinic. Generally speaking, each Chapter 13. must file a Plan of Reorganization, known as the plan. The plan contains details such as how property is to be treated along with the payment plan. A confirmed plan is one that meets all the guidelines and satisfies the trustee and creditors unless a judge overrides their objections.

Whether your plan is successful is an art from. No plan will ever be successful for someone that can't or refuses to budget. Attorneys are good at crafting (local) plans because they know the trustees, creditors, the court, and the precedence in that area. As a Pro Se you have to figure that out and it's not easy; think, reading a lot of caselaw. Or you wait for objections and try to satisfy them or fight them in an evidentiary hearing.

Bottom line is that the best bet is always an attorney, then a pro bono attorney providing advice at a Pro Se clinic, then following your bankruptcy court's Pro Se guide, then a guidebook, then winging it.

I know that despritfreya posted the link, but here they are again:

https://www.mdb.uscourts.gov/dont-have-a-lawyer

https://www.mdb.uscourts.gov/pro-se/before-you-file

Specifically, look at the Debtor Assistance Project (DAP) at:

https://www.mdb.uscourts.gov/programs-services/debtor-assistance-project

There is no way anyone without having your file and authorized to practice law can help you other than point you in the correct direction. The DAP is your best bet.

[Chapterbklaw]

The hard part usually isn’t filling in the plan, it’s getting it lined up with your district’s local form, trustee expectations, and what the judge will actually confirm. A lot of pro se plans get bounced for little stuff that isn’t obvious from the national forms. I’d be looking at your bankruptcy court’s local rules, any model Chapter 13 plan on the court website, and a few recent confirmation hearings if they post calendars, because that’s where the real pattern usually shows up.

[justbroke]

I want to echo what Chapterbklaw has posted. In Florida, we have the Model Plan which was driven by so many diverse and sometimes very thick plans. I know that I contributed in part since my 2008 Plan of Reorganization was built on years of other plans that were confirmed in the years between 2005 and 2008 (after the 2005 BAPCPA). My plan was very wordy and contained every major issue that could and should drive the plan. The Model Plan in our district, at least, consolidated the language and removed superfluous language. An example of superfluous language, at least in my district, is "all plan payments made on-time to the Trustee are considered as on-time payments to a secured creditor despite when the Trustee issues payments to that creditor. As such, no post-petition late fees, late charges, or assessments by secured creditors shall be allowed for any reason." My district's chief judge, at the time, found that language to be superfluous. My 2008 Plan had 14 provisions. Today, adding any additional provisions outside the model plan is a BIG RED FLAG and must be indicated up-front on the plan.

I would check if there's a model plan for your district and use that. I did not see one for your district. Be aware that there's a special local form for service of the Chapter 13 Plan.