I am almost paid out of a chapter 13. There are 4 more payments. Due to extremely high medical bills, I can no longer make the payments, pay my utilities and eat. Will I still own the credit card debt portion of my debts and still owe the trustee if I have it discharged?
-- Barbara
A.
There are perhaps three alternatives when it becomes difficult to make the payments in a confirmed Chapter 13 case:
modify the payment to a payment you can make
seek a hardship discharge or
convert the case to Chapter 7
Which option suits your situation depends on how plan payments were fixed in the first instance and what the nature of your assets and debts are. Some debts are only dischargeable in Chapter 13; you may not want to convert to 7 if you had non exempt assets at the beginning of the case.
Sit down with a bankruptcy attorney to figure out which alternative works best for you.
