Florida residents do not have to be destitute in order to be in financial distress. Chapter 13 bankruptcy has helped numerous people get their financial lives in order. As part of the proceedings, the filer is required to submit a debt repayment plan with the petition, but not later than 15 days after its filing without leave of the court. Before carrying out the provisions of that plan, it must be approved by the court at what is called a confirmation hearing.
As is the case in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a meeting of creditors will be held. No later than 45 days after the conclusion of that hearing, another hearing will need to be held in order to approve the repayment plan. The filer’s creditors will be given no less than 25 days’ notice of the confirmation hearing. Creditors are entitled to file objections to the plan.
There are two commonly used objections, but creditors may object for any number of reasons. Most creditors object because they do not believe they will receive as much money under the plan as they would if the filer’s assets were liquidated. The second most common objection is that not all of the disposable income available is being used to pay creditors.
If the Chapter 13 bankruptcy judge believes that the plan conforms with the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, the second consideration is whether a Florida resident can feasibly fulfill the terms of the debt repayment plan. When approval by the court is received, payments will then be made to the trustee. The trustee then makes payments to creditors in accordance with the plan.
Source: bankruptcy.findlaw.com, “Chapter 13: Repayment Plan and Confirmation Hearing“, July 9, 2016