Keywords: Applicable commitment period . Chapter 13 plan .
Means Test > Income > CMI six month window Chapter 13: "applicable commitment period" issues / rebuttal / conversions § 1325(b)16 Cases , IssueID 17 |
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Ch 7 Means Test |
Ch 13 Means Test |
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Topic Description:A debtor's income determines the lenght of a Chapter 13 plan, also called the "applicable commitment period" that is the result of the Chapter 13 version of the means test. (See section § 132___ . Caselaw centers on timing income measurement in conversions from Chapter 7 (do you restart the clock?), whether a zero-payment plan has to be 5 years, and issues about certain types of income that is excluded from income for this'bright-line" provisio, while still relevant under other parts of the code (e.g. good faith, ability to pay, etc.) Lines of Cases:
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ACP is a temporal requirement, not just a multiplier. So a zero payment plan must last 60 months.
below median income debtor proposed using tax refund to shorten plan to 3 years. Trustee objects noting that longer plan would help creditors by extending payments from tax refund. Court agrees.
An above median income debtor whose disposable income is negative as calculated under the means test, is not precluded from proposing a three-year Chapter 13 plan.
If a debtor has zero or negative "projected disposable income," then there is nothing "to be received in the applicable commitment period." Id. If there is nothing for a debtor to receive in the "applicable commitment period," there is nothing to "appl[y] to make payments, to unsecured creditors under the plan." Id. If none of the subsection's provisions are relevant to a debtor's situations, then that subsection does not apply. Therefore the term "applicable commitment period" simply does not apply to Musselman.
ACP is a temporal requirement, not just a multiplier. So a zero payment plan must last 60 months.
below median income debtor proposed using tax refund to shorten plan to 3 years. Trustee objects noting that longer plan would help creditors by extending payments from tax refund. Court agrees.
An above median income debtor whose disposable income is negative as calculated under the means test, is not precluded from proposing a three-year Chapter 13 plan.
If a debtor has zero or negative "projected disposable income," then there is nothing "to be received in the applicable commitment period." Id. If there is nothing for a debtor to receive in the "applicable commitment period," there is nothing to "appl[y] to make payments, to unsecured creditors under the plan." Id. If none of the subsection's provisions are relevant to a debtor's situations, then that subsection does not apply. Therefore the term "applicable commitment period" simply does not apply to Musselman.
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