A Chapter 13 bankruptcy is like a reorganization of your debts. In a Chapter 13 you put together a repayment plan, and the Court approves the terms. Once the Court approves the terms of your plan, you will be required to abide by those terms and make the payments you proposed. This is done by making a payment each month to the Chapter 13 Trustee assigned to your case, and the Trustee then pays your lenders whatever portion of the payment they are entitled to receive pursuant to the terms of your Plan. It sounds simple enough, but there are some things to watch out for so you are able to successfully complete all of the payments required under the Plan.
Here is what you can expect to happen after your Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan gets confirmed:
• The Trustee will expect your payment by a certain date each month. This is so your lenders can get paid as they expect. If you do not make the payment, the Trustee or creditors (or both) might ask the Court to dismiss your case.
• Things that are not included in your plan, such as daily living expenses like car insurance and your cell phone bill, will still have to be paid by you directly to the creditor.
• If all of your payments are made on time, your case will end as scheduled.
Once your plan payments are complete, you will get a discharge of debt. The discharge is the official entry in your case that the debts you included in your plan are no longer due. This applies to credit cards, medical bills, your car payment and any other bill you provided for repayment of over the life of your plan. If you had some debts that were not able to be paid off over the course of your bankruptcy case (most typically a house payment), you will be required to continue making the payments on that debt directly to the lender. Bankruptcy is a beneficial tool for helping you get your debts in line, but there are a lot of rules to follow if you want to have a successful case. Let us help you decide what is right for you, so you are certain to get out of debt without adding to your stress load.
For more information about bankruptcy, contact us at www.DsouzaLegalGroup.com. We will help by coming up with solutions that work for you.
ARTICLE: 4 of 10 DATE: September 15, 2017
