Once a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case is filed and a plan is proposed, it’s going to run for a certain number of months, typically between 36 and 60 month. Now, there are some cases that end much earlier than 36 months and there are no cases that can exceed the 60 months. So somewhere between a couple months and 60 months, your Chapter 13 bankruptcy case will come to a completion.
Every six months or so, the trustee sends a periodic report to the debtor and the debtors attorney basically laying out what has been paid, what still needs to be paid and approximately how much the payoff is on the Chapter 13. Many times debtors will receive this and they won’t be able to read it or understand it or don’t care to read it or understand it at the time. What they will do at some point later is call a law office and ask the attorney how much is left under my Chapter 13? What is my payoff?
Well, to get an actual payoff, we need to request that item in writing from the Chapter 13 trustee. We can also direct our client to contact the trustee and inquire about approximately how much is left under the plan. The trustees are pretty good about giving information to debtors over the phone as long as it’s not asking for the specific payoff which again, must be in writing. I recommend that debtors keep track of their payments in a Chapter 13 Proof of Payments book. That way, clients will know approximately how much they paid in and how much is left to be paid under their plan. The trustee is the ultimate source for how much has been paid and how much is left to be paid. Many trustees today have a website where clients can access it and see exactly who filed claims, who got paid, who still needs to be paid and approximately how long the case has to terminate.
