|
Allowed Claims
Only those claims
filed within 90 days of a debtor's first scheduled ?341(a) Meeting of
Creditors, or within 180 days of a debtor's petition filing date for government
entities, shall be deemed allowed and payable through the debtor's plan. Only
by order of the Bankruptcy Court shall any claim not filed within these limits
be allowed, including those claims which are filed based on amendments to the
debtor's schedules.
In the absence of a
court order, claims filed beyond these bar dates will be deemed late and will
not be paid through the plan.
Debtor-Filed
Claims
The Bankruptcy Code
allows that a debtor may file a claim on behalf of any creditor. In the event
that a debtor provides specifically in the Chapter 13 Plan for payment to a
particular creditor, but said creditor does not file a Proof of Claim, the
provision in the Plan shall be construed as a debtor-filed claim on behalf of
that creditor, and shall be administered by the Trustee as an allowed claim.
Amounts claimed on a
Proof of Claim form filed by a creditor within the time limits above shall
supercede figures listed in the Chapter 13 Plan.
Amended
Claims
A creditor may file
amended claims at any point during the course of the debtor's plan, provided
that the creditor's initial claim was filed within the time frames outlined
above.
Claims not
explicitly marked "amended" shall be deemed such when an account number or
other unique identifier matches that on a previously allowed claim.
A creditor may not
file an amended claim beyond the bar date based on a debtor-filed claim. That
is, if a creditor fails to file a Proof of Claim within the time limits above,
but is receiving distributions through the plan based on figures in the
debtor's Chapter 13 Plan, the creditor may not then file a claim to amend the
amount being paid.
Post-Petition
Claims
The treatment of
post-petition debts, typically involving taxes that come due after the filing
of a petition, should be expressly addressed in a debtor's Chapter 13 Plan.
Claims representing post-petition debts will only be paid through the plan if
provided for in the Plan.
Interest
Claims on which interest is allowed should be filed
with any interest pre-calculated in the amount claimed. The Trustee's office
will not calculate interest on any claim. Where a claim is filed for a
particular amount "+ x% interest," the claim will be administered based only on
the principal amount listed.
Classification
and Prioritization
Every claim is
subject to a scheme of classification, with each classification corresponding
to a particular priority for payment through the Trustee's office.
A claim may be
subject to reclassification if the debtor objects to the claim as filed, and
the Court enters an order reclassifying the claim.
Administrative
claims
Claims which are
administrative typically do not involve a Proof of Claim form, and include any
fees of the debtor's attorney to be paid through the plan as well as any claim
or fee that is designated administrative by court order. These claims receive
the highest priority and will be paid first.
Creditor attorney
fees: Attorney fees that are awarded to creditors by the Court in association
with the filing of various motions and consent orders are also deemed
administrative, but receive a lower prioritization than debtor attorney fees.
Secured claims
Claims that are
secured by collateral or tax liens on real property are prioritized after
administrative claims. These claims typically involve mortgages, loans on motor
vehicles, and real estate taxes, and are most frequently set up to receive
through the plan the amount of arrearages due at the time that the debtor's
petition was filed. In this case, the debtor continues to make post-petition
payments outside of the plan as they become due.
Strip/Cramdown: In
some instances, when a creditor is owed more than its security interest, a
secured claim may be stripped or crammed down. A second or third mortgages, or
auto loans whose balance exceeds the value of the vehicle, for instance, may be
crammed down to the actual secured interest or value of the collateral. In some
cases this may be $0. When a secured claim is crammed down, the balance of the
amount claimed becomes general unsecured debt and is administered accordingly
(see below). Claims pertaining to consumer goods: Claims pertaining to certain
consumer goods, such as appliances, electronics, jewelry, household fixtures,
and clothing, are typically not classified as secured, as the actual value of
these goods is uncertain, and at best severely depreciated. However, if secured
claims of this nature are filed, the Trustee shall treat these claims secured,
requiring full payment, unless treatment of these claims is dealt with
specifically in the debtor's Chapter 13 Plan prior to its confirmation.
Unsecured
priority claims
Claims that fall
into certain categories outlined in 11 U.S.C. ?507(a), most frequently tax
claims, are classified as "Priority," even though they are not secured by any
collateral. These claims are paid after all administrative and secured claims
have been paid.
General
unsecured claims
Claims that are not
secured and that do not fall into those categories that receive Priority status
are classified as general unsecured claims. These often involve consumer debt,
including credit and charge cards.
The treatment of
general unsecured debt under the plan is dictated by the debtor's Chapter 13
Plan as confirmed. Claims in this category receive the lowest priority, and may
receive only a portion of the amount claimed. It is not uncommon that these
claims receive no distribution through the plan.
Special classes of
general unsecured claims: A debtor's Chapter 13 Plan may subdivide general
unsecured claims into special classes with unique treatment only insofar as
this treatment occurs after the plan has run for 36 months. A Plan that is
confirmed to pay 50% to general unsecured creditors can create special classes
of unsecured debt to pay student loans or municipal fines at 100%, provided
that these debts are paid the additional 50% after the 36th month of the plan.
[BACK TO TOP] |
