Most of our clients have the Chapter 13 plan payments deducted directly from their paycheck. In the Eastern District of Texas, if for some reason you need to mail your payment directly to the Trustee, Janna Countryman, her address is: The payment must be either a cashiers check or money order made payable to "Standing Chapter 13 Trustee". Make sure you print your name, case number and SSN on the check.

Your Chapter 13 payments should be made payable to Chapter 13 Trustee and you should include your name and case number on your payment and mail it to:

The amount of your Chapter 13 payments are based upon your income, your monthly living expenses, and the amount of your total debts. This is known as the means test which is a pre-determined standard of living based on Internal Revenue Service standards. The Court will allow you to keep and spend so much of your income as determined by the means test.

A Chapter 13 plan cannot exceed 60 months. The Debtor has to pay for at least 36 months, unless all creditors are paid in full in less time.

Usually when you come for your first appointment, if you bring all of your documents with you we can complete all of the required filings before you leave our office. Your bankruptcy can be filed within 48 hours, almost immediately if necessary. For an emergency filing, we can file just the Voluntary Petition, but we also need a list of all of your creditors, collection agencies, sheriffs, attorneys and others who are seeking to collect debts from you.

Chapter 13 is entitled "Adjustment of Debts of an Individual With Regular Income." The desired result of a plan in Chapter 13 is an adjustment, or a restructuring, of the debts of an individual or couple. Typically, the plan is used to restructure debts that a Debtor could not afford, so that the Chapter 13 plan actually can have the effect of reducing a car payment that is high and/or making up house payments that are behind.

Any debts whatsoever, whether they are secured or unsecured. Even debts that are nondischargeable, such as debts for student loans, alimony or child support may be paid under a chapter 13 plan. No. While priority debts, such as debts for alimony, maintenance and support and debts for taxes, and fully secured debts must be paid in full under a chapter 13 plan, only an amount that the debtor can reasonably afford Fast be paid on most debts.

NO. To become effective, a chapter 13 plan must be approved by the court, not by the creditors. The court cannot approve a plan unless secured creditors are dealt with in the manner described in the answer to Question 16. Also, unsecured creditors are permitted to file objections to the debtor's plan, and these objections must be ruled on by the court before it can approve the debtor's chapter 13 plan.

The IRS is just another creditor in the Chapter 13. Its objections are limited to the same grounds as any other creditor: lack of good faith; lack of feasibility; best interests of creditors . Our experience is that the IRS welcomes a Chapter 13 filing since the priority taxes get paid in full with little expenditure of time and energy by the IRS. No.

each unsecured creditor will receive under the plan at least as much as it would have received had the debtor filed under chapter 7, each secured creditor has been dealt with in the manner described in the answer to Question 16 above.

Usually all of the disposable income of the debtor and the debtor's spouse for a three-year period must be paid to the chapter 13 trustee. Disposable income is income received by the debtor and his or her spouse that is not reasonably necessary for the support of the debtor and the debtor's dependents.

Plan payments are only accepted at: P.O. Box 92997, Los Angeles, CA 90009. Only certified checks or money orders are accepted. The money order must be made payable to "Chapter 13 Trustee," and must have your case number and last name written on the instrument.

If the debtor is temporarily out of work, injured, or otherwise unable to make the payments required under a chapter 13 plan, the plan can usually be modified so as to enable the debtor to resume the payments when he or she is able to do so. If it appears that the debtor's inability to make the required payments continue indefinitely or for an extended period, the case may be dismissed or converted to chapter 7.

if the debtor is unable to complete the payments due to circumstances for which he or she should not be held accountable, close the case and obtain a partial chapter 13 discharge as described in the answer to Question 6 above.

The debtor must begin making payments to the chapter 13 trustee within 30 days after the debtor's plan is filed in the court, and the plan must be filed with the court within 15 days after the case is filed. The payments must be made regularly, usually on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis. If the debtor is employed, some courts require the payments to be made by the debtor's employer, otherwise, the payments cm be made by either the debtor or the debtor's employer.

If you truly cannot make payments on your home or other assets you're probably better off filing Chapter 7 and using the money you would have spent on Chapter 13 to survive on.