§1329 Modification of Plan After Confirmation

Summary

You can change a confirmed Chapter 13 repayment plan any time after it’s approved but before all payments are finished. The debtor, the trustee, or the holder of an allowed unsecured claim can ask for changes. Changes can raise or lower payments for a group of claims, shorten or lengthen the payment period, adjust what a creditor gets if that creditor was paid outside the plan, or cut plan payments by the actual cost the debtor pays for health insurance for the debtor and any dependents who lack coverage. To cut payments for insurance, the debtor must show the insurance cost, prove the expense is reasonable and necessary, show the cost is not materially larger than what the debtor paid before or what a similar person would pay, and show it is not already counted under section 1325(b). Proof of purchase must be filed if anyone asks. Any change must follow the rules in sections 1322(a), 1322(b), 1323(c), and 1325(a). The plan as changed becomes the plan unless the court rejects the change after notice and a hearing. A modified plan cannot run past the applicable commitment period in section 1325(b)(1)(B) measured from when the first original payment was due, unless the court finds cause to allow more time, and even then it cannot go beyond five years from that date.