The Surprising Benefits: Resolving the “Preference” Problem through Chapter 13

Avoid the risks or persuading or negotiating with the Chapter 7 trustee by solving your preference problem through Chapter 13.

Our last several blog posts have been about the problem of preference payments:

• 3 weeks ago we introduced the problem resulting from paying a favored creditor before you file bankruptcy

• 2 weeks ago we discussed avoiding the problem by delaying filing your case or persuading the trustee to do nothing

• Last week was about negotiating with the trustee to pay off the preference money yourself

Today we get into how to solve this problem by filing a Chapter 13 “adjustment of debts” case instead of a Chapter 7 “straight bankruptcy” one.

When Filing a Chapter 13 Case May Be Worthwhile

A Chapter 13 case is very, very different from a Chapter 7 one. For starters, instead of taking about 4 months a Chapter 13 case almost always takes 3 to 5 YEARS. Using it to resolve a preference is almost never a good enough reason to file a Chapter 13 case.

But Chapter 13 CAN be better than Chapter 7 in many situations. It can accomplish a lot that Chapter 7 can’t. So if you already have a good reason or two to consider a Chapter 13 case, using it to solve a preference problem as well may push you in that direction.

Let’s say you have an expensive vehicle loan that you’re a month behind on. Chapter 13 would allow you to cramdown that loan. That would reduce your monthly payments and the total you would pay. Plus you wouldn’t have to catch up on the missed payment. Yet you’re on the fence as you wonder if the disadvantages of Chapter 13 outweigh these savings. So if you have a preference problem that Chapter 13 would deal with, that could push you into deciding on Chapter 13.

When You Really Need to Use Chapter 13

The Chapter 7 solutions don’t always work:

• You often don’t have the luxury of delaying your bankruptcy filing enough so that more than 90 days has passed after the preferential payment. (Or a full year has passed, if the payment was to an “insider” creditor)

• The trustee may pursue your previously paid creditor in spite of your bankruptcy lawyer’s efforts to dissuade the trustee.

• You may not have the ability to pay off the trustee yourself. Or you may owe too much to pay it off fast enough to satisfy the trustee.

So you’re looking to file bankruptcy and your lawyer advises you that none of these three are going to work. Then, if you want to avoid having a Chapter 7 trustee chasing your prior-paid creditor, consider the Chapter 13 solution.

How Does Chapter 13 Fix a Preference Problem?

Chapter 13 solves the preference problem by enabling you to pay the trustee within your payment plan. You pay enough extra money into your Chapter 13 plan to pay what you would have paid a Chapter 7 trustee. But you have significant advantages in doing it this way.

But first an example to show how this works. Assume you paid off a debt of $2,500 to your sister 60 days before filing bankruptcy. You’d gotten a tax refund and she desperately needed the money. You’d put her off for years and then had promised to pay her from the refund. Now you’re about to have your home foreclosed on so you can’t wait to file bankruptcy. If you filed a Chapter 7 case the bankruptcy trustee would force your sister to return the $2,500. She’d get sued if she didn’t. You absolutely don’t want that to happen. So you file a Chapter 13 case—which you be doing anyway to save your home. Your lawyer calculates your Chapter 13 payment plan to pay an extra $2,500 beyond what you would otherwise need to pay. You pay that extra amount over the course of your 3-to-5-year case. This may increase your monthly payment somewhat, or it may extend the length of your case. But your sister would not have to pay back anything. The trustee would have no need to even contact her.

Advantages of Using Chapter 13

1. When you file a Chapter 7 case hoping to persuade the trustee not to pursue your prior payee, you may not know if that’ll work. Or if you hope to negotiate payments to the trustee, you don’t know if that will work. The trustee may want to try to get the money out of your payee after all. Or your trustee may reject your offer in order to get the money faster from your payee. Using Chapter 13 takes away these risks. The system allows you to use your Chapter 13 plan to pay what’s needed.

2. Chapter 13 gives you much more time to pay what you need to pay. A Chapter 7 trustee’s job is liquidation. He or she is under pressure to wrap up your case quickly, and so will pressure you to pay quickly. Ask your lawyer but generally a Chapter 7 trustee won’t give you more than a year to pay up. And he or she may simply require you to pay it all in a lump sum. In contrast, under Chapter 13 you have 3 to 5 years to pay.

3. You have more control over where the money goes, and when. Chapter 13 is often used to pay creditors that you want to or need to pay. For example, if you owe a recent income tax debt or back child support, it’s much better to have those debts paid through a court-ordered Chapter 13 payment plan.

4. You have more control over when debts are paid. If you have a debt or two that needs to be paid quickly, that can often be paid first. For example, if you need to catch up on a car payment (because it doesn’t qualify for cramdown), your plan may front-load money there. The extra money you are paying because of the preference can be put to better use early in your case.