After You File Chapter 13

A Chapter 13 case, commonly known as a “Wage Earner” petition, requires that monthly payments be made to the Chapter 13 Trustee for repayment of debts. There are four instances where a Chapter 13 is a requirement: facing a foreclosure and you wish to save your home, the amount of equity in any property that you have exceeds what is allowed, the income is too high to file a Chapter 7, or you have filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the previous four years and need to file again. You can register at www.ndc.org to follow the progress of your case. This is suggested so that you can understand how far into your plan your case is and how your funds are being distributed.

Plan Payments

All plan payments must begin within 30 days of the filing of your petition. For Washington cases, there will be a wage directive issued by the court and the payments will come directly out of your paycheck. For Idaho cases, all payments must be made directly to the Trustee. All payments MUST be made in the form of cashier’s check or money order to: Washington Cases Daniel Brunner Chapter 13 Trustee P.O. Box 1003 Memphis, TN 38101 Idaho Cases C. Barry Zimmerman P.O. Box 1240 Coeur d’Alene, ID 83816-0070 Online Payment Option: https://tfsbillpay.com/about If you are a direct pay debtor, you have the option of making your plan payment through the TFS system. The charge for the service is based on the payment amount, but it less than or equal to the cost of a money order or cashier’s check. In Eastern Washington, the preferred method of payment is still a wage directive through your employer. You are responsible to make sure the payments are made. If you do not notice that your payments are coming out of your paycheck, you must send your payment in directly.

Questions About Your Case

If you have questions about your case, call our office directly. The Chapter 13 office and the bankruptcy court are NOT authorized to give you legal advice and will instruct you to call your attorney. For Washington cases, you can follow the progress of your bankruptcy online. Create an account at http://www.13network.com/trustees/spo/spohome.asp and be aware of the standing of your case. You may not sell any property (homes, cars, boats, etc) without the permission of the court. Additionally, you cannot purchase new property without the permission of the court. Make sure you contact our office so that all procedures are done quickly and correctly for you.