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Simultaneous Chapter 13 Bankruptcies?
I received an email from someone currently involved in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy somewhere in Florida. The debtor stated that he filed bankruptcy two years ago, and he states that at the time he filed his Plan his home mortgage was current. Now his home mortgage is in arrears; he says the mortgage company got a relief from stay; and he wants to know if a debtor can file a new Chapter 13 case just to take care of the mortgage during the time when the debtor is paying on a Plan from an existing Chapter 13 case. The short answer is "no." The bankruptcy law does not provide for simultaneous bankruptcies, nor does the law contemplate bankruptcies filed with respect to selected assets.
The question does not make sense. The initial Chapter 13 bankruptcy should have included all debts and required current mortgage payments. I don’t see how this debtor fell behind on the home mortgage without defaulting in Plan payments under the initial Chapter 13, assuming the existing 13 including the current mortgage payments. It may be that the debtor failed to list his mortgage in his initial bankruptcy so that the Plan payments did not include current mortgage payments. If that’s the case, his mortgage problems are self-created and he will lose his house to foreclosure.
posted by Jonathan Alper, bankruptcy and asset protection attorney, Orlando, Florida
June 7, 2007 in Chapter 13 | Permalink
Comments
This happens all the time in the Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta). We have dedicated staff to handle the Motions for Relief in our firm! Am I reading this right, in Fla. the Chapter 13 Plan includes the post-petition mortgage payments as well? There is a Judge here that has experimented with that, but everyone involved has balked a that idea. How well does it work in Fla?
Posted by: Stacey | Mar 8, 2008 11:35:50 PM
I see this a lot in the Southern District of Florida. Hopefully the debtor immediately notified his attorney when he became late. If the mortgage company already asked for stay relief it appears that was either not done or the court granted the relief from stay. Perhaps the debtor can modify his plan or in the alternative move to dismiss the case without predjudice so as to file a new chapter 13. He may however run afoul of the new bias against mutiple filings under the revised BAPCA. Even better -if he is married and the spouse hasn't filed, she now has a good reason.
Posted by: Jordan Rappaport | Jun 10, 2007 8:54:18 PM
In Kansas at least, current mortgage payments are made directly to the lender outside the plan. The situation you describe is fairly common around these parts; what is usually done is to ask the court to pay the arrearage through the plan, while adjusting the plan to maintain feasibility.
Posted by: John Harper | Jun 8, 2007 4:33:46 PM
