Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Timeline
In the typical Chapter 13 bankruptcy case, you will be required to establish and follow a debt repayment plan, which can last from 3-5 years. However, the actual court proceedings you’ll have to attend are relatively simple and straightforward. There are a number of dates that you should know about that may impact your right to file a case, or affect the relief available to you. We have put together the following timeline to illustrate the relevant dates in a typical Chapter 13 bankruptcy case
Four Years Before Your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is filed.
You are not eligible for a discharge under Chapter 13 if you received a previous discharge under Chapter 7, 11 or 12 within the prior four-year period. If the prior case was a Chapter 13, you must wait two years before you are eligible for another Chapter 13 discharge.
**180 Days Before Your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is filed. **
If within 180 days before your bankruptcy you had a prior bankruptcy case that was dismissed because you failed to obey court orders or you voluntarily requested a dismissal, then, in some circumstances, you may not file your bankruptcy case until this 180-day period expires.
Also, within the 180-day period before your bankruptcy, you must receive a briefing from a certified credit counseling agency to explain financial management to you, alternatives to bankruptcy, and how to do a budget analysis. We will assist you in this process.
90 Days Before Your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is filed.
You must be a resident of Arizona for at least 90 days before the filing of your bankruptcy. If you have not lived in Arizona for at least 90 days, you may only file your case in the state where you have resided, or which has been the location of your principal assets, for a majority of the prior 180 days before filing a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.
We file your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.
Your case is formally commenced when you file your bankruptcy petition with the appropriate bankruptcy court. As soon as you file your petition, the court will enter an Automatic Stay order prohibiting most of your creditors from taking or continuing any collection or legal action against you. Bankruptcylasvegas.net will work with you to assure that many of the harassing letters and phone calls stop while your case is in progress.
Next, the court will send a notice of your case to all of the creditors listed in your bankruptcy petition.
Additionally, the bankruptcy court will assign a bankruptcy trustee to oversee your bankruptcy case. The trustee is a federal employee appointed by the bankruptcy court to monitor your case and make sure you are eligible for the Chapter 13 Bankruptcy that you are filing. The trustee will review your bankruptcy petition, make sure that it is complete, and then schedule a meeting of your creditors.
15 Days After Your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Case is Filed
You have a deadline of 15 days after you file your bankruptcy petition to file certain financial “schedules” with the bankruptcy court-documents stating your assets, liabilities, expenses, income, and a statement of your affairs. Your Tempe and Phoenix, Arizona bankruptcy attorneys will file these schedules with your petition.
This 15-day deadline also applies to the filing of your repayment plan within your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy filing.
Approximately 15 Days After Your Chapter 13 Case is Filed
Within approximately 15 days after you file your Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the Arizona Bankruptcy Court will mail the Notice of Commencement of Case to you and to all of the creditors listed in your petition. This notice will inform you of the date set by the Arizona Bankruptcy Court for the meeting of your creditors, and the deadlines for your creditors to object to your case and file their claims against you.
Approximately 30 Days After Your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Repayment Plan is Filed
You must make your first payment under your Chapter 13 bankruptcy repayment plan within 30 days after the date that your plan was filed, otherwise your case can be dismissed by the Arizona Bankruptcy Court.
Approximately 6 Weeks (45 days) After Your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Case is Filed
The court will hold the Meeting of Your Creditors about six weeks after your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy case is filed.
The Arizona Bankruptcy Court-appointed trustee will preside over this meeting. At the meeting, which you are required to attend, you will be asked to testify under oath as to the accuracy of the statements in your petition. Your Phoenix or Mesa Bankruptcy Attorney will attend the hearing with you. However, most of your creditors will not appear at the meeting, and you will not be before a judge. The meeting is very informal, and in most cases will last no more than 10 minutes. If you do not attend the meeting, your case will be dismissed.
30 Days After the Meeting of Your Creditors The Arizona Bankruptcy Court Trustee and your creditors have to object to all of your exemption claims within 30 days after the conclusion of the meeting of your creditors.
45 Days After the Meeting of Your Creditors The Arizona Bankruptcy Court will have a confirmation hearing during which the Arizona Bankruptcy Court Trustee will recommend to the judge whether or not your repayment plan should be approved by the court. Your creditors do have the right to object to confirmation of your case, but your Phoenix Bankruptcy Attorney will likely have resolved any objections to confirmation before this date.
90 Days After the Meeting of Your Creditors All of your creditors (except for government entities) must file their proofs of claim (these are documents your creditors submit to the Arizona Bankruptcy Court specifying how much you owe them) within 90 days after the first date set for your creditor meeting if they wish to share in the payments from your case.
180 Days After Your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Case is Filed
Government entities that have claims against you (such as the IRS) have 180 days after the filing of your case to submit their proofs of claim.
3 Years From the Date of Your First Repayment
Government entities that have claims against you (such as the IRS) have 180 days after the filing of your case to submit their proofs of claim.
3-5 Years From the Date of Your First Repayment Upon your final payment under your Chapter 13 repayment plan, you will receive your formal discharge notice from the Arizona Bankruptcy Court.
Before you receive your discharge, however, you must complete an approved financial management course which we will assist you.
5 Years From the Date of Your First Repayment
Unless you have already completed your payments under your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy repayment plan, your payments under your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy plan must be complete within 5 years of the date of your first payment.
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