In a bankruptcy case, your deadlines will be critical. It is important to understand that there are certain critical deadlines you should expect in your Chapter 13 case.
- Prior Cases.
Have you filed bankruptcy before and received a discharge? If so, there is a critical deadline that must pass if you would like this bankruptcy case to receive a discharge.
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- If you received a Chapter 7 discharge previously, you cannot receive a discharge in this Chapter 13 case if the Chapter 7 case was filed within 4 years of the date of filing this Chapter 13 case.
- If you received a chapter 13 discharge previously, you cannot receive a discharge in this Chapter 13 case if the previous Chapter 13 case was filed within 2 years of the date of filing this Chapter 13 case.
- Prior Dismissals.
Have you had a previous bankruptcy case that was dismissed? If so, there is a critical deadline that must pass if you would like this bankruptcy case to move forward. In some dismissals of prior bankruptcy cases, the Order dismissing your prior bankruptcy case may prohibit you from filing a new bankruptcy case within six months.
- New Address.
Have you moved recently? If so, there is a critical deadline that must pass if you would like this bankruptcy case to move forward. In order to qualify for filing bankruptcy in your current location, you must have resided in this jurisdiction for the last six months.
- Complete Bankruptcy Filing.
Have you filed all of your required documents with the bankruptcy court at the time of filing your case? If not, you have a critical deadline of 14 days in order to file all of your remaining schedules, statements, and your Chapter 13 Plan.
- Chapter 13 Plan Payments.
Have you filed your Chapter 13 Plan? Once you have, there is a critical deadline of your repayment plan payments to start within 30 days of the filing of the Plan. The Chapter 13 Trustee in your case usually sends correspondence to you (or your attorney) regarding the start date and payment amount for your Chapter 13 Plan. As a reminder, the Chapter 13 Trustee is not a lender and there are no grace periods. The payment due date is THE due date. For a best practice, see if you can set up automatic debits for these plan payments so you do not miss a deadline.
- Updated Financial Documents.
Have you provided all updated financial documents to the Trustee? If you have an attorney, your attorney may contact you in order to obtain updated bank statements, income information, and information about your vehicles. This information needs to go through and include the date of filing of your bankruptcy case. You will need to provide these updated and all required financial supporting documents to the Trustee no later than 14 days prior to your 341 Meeting of Creditors.