Mississippi Consumer Help Blog
Possibly, but first you need to understand that a Chapter 13 plan is not based on your income. It does not fluctuate depending upon how much you make. The Chapter 13 plan amount depends upon what you plan on keeping and/or what creditors you plan on paying through the bankruptcy. For example, if you are paying for only your home through your plan, the amount of the payments will be based upon the mortgage amount then that amount spread out over the life of the plan to catch up your back notes. This amount won’t change unless your mortgage note happens to change.
However, if you are paying for several things – such as a student loan, a vehicle, a home, and a furniture note – through your Chapter 13 plan, the payments could become lower if you decide to stop paying toward the student loan or decide to surrender a vehicle, or the home, etc.
Since a Chapter 13 plan is dependent upon who you plan to pay and what you plan to keep – you can decide to change (with some exceptions) who you are paying and/or what you are keeping in order to lower the note.
If you are in a Chapter 13 and have experienced a change in income that makes keeping up with your payments more difficult, you need to contact your attorney immediately to discuss your options. If it’s a short term difficulty and you’ve gotten behind on your Chapter 13 plan payments but your income is back up, it may be possible for you to simply modify your plan and spread that past due amount out over the remaining life of your plan. Or if it’s a long term income change, you will need to look at what you are paying in your Chapter 13 plan, consult with your attorney, and go from there.