Can you exit a Chapter 13 early, if so how?

It depends. You can exit early, if you have paid off all creditors in full. You can file for a hardship discharge if you cannot amend the plan and creditors received what they would have received in a Chapter 7 case. You may be able to convert depending on the reason for filing in the first place. Talk to a local attorney for further assistance. [I am a Virginia-licensed attorney. This communication is intended as general information and not specific legal advice, and this communication does not create an attorney-client relationship.] I hope this helps. If you think this post was helpful, please check the thumbs up (helpful) tab below. Thank you!

Mr Goldstein has addressed the most common ways to exit a Chapter 13 early. Another less common way to do this is, with an agreement with the Trustee, to pay off the plan in full. Sometimes a family member can lend you the money to escape from the Chapter 13, but the Trustee is not obligated to agree to give you a receipt saying "paid in full," so you will need to obtain permission first. Hope this perspective helps!

Yes, people can exit Ch. 13 early. I have one client who is getting her Ch. 13 Plan confirmed in month 6 and finishing her plan the same month. We did this by paying 100% to her unsecured creditors (which was a small amount due to our objecting to various claims which were disallowed by the court), and by surrendering her home which the client decided to give up after realizing that the modification we were able to negotiate within the bankruptcy case still did not make her house worth keeping. The mortgage lender failed to timely file a proof of claim, so they will not be paid. Without an experienced lawyer, my client would not have completed her case so quickly, effiently, and with success. The majority of the time when people exit Ch. 13 early, however, is when they pay off their case in full, usually by gathering a lump sum of money. Often, this might be borrowed or given to the debtor from a family member. At other times, a person in Ch. 13 may lose their job or have a health problem which causes them to lose work time and money, which then causes them to not be able to keep up with their plan payments. In this situation, the person might convert their Ch. 13 case down to a Ch. 7 case, and then receive a discharge early. Finally, sometimes in rare cases a hardship discharge is appropriate in a Ch. 13 case and the judge will let the person out early. I had one client who received a hardship discharge out of Ch. 13 when she unfortunately came down with a terminal illness which caused her to stop working alltogether with, of course, no hope of being able to pay off her debt. Thus, there are various scenarios where one may exit a Ch. 13 case early. It is best to seek the advice of a bankruptcy lawyer in your area who may advise you in your particular situation. Under no circumstances shall the response posted above create an attorney-client relationship between the reader and/or poster of the original question, unless and until a separate engagment agreement is signed by Anne-Marie L. Bowen, P.A. and its client. The information provided above is not legal advice nor is it conveyed in the course of an attorney-client relationship, but is intended merely as a general overview with regard to the subject matter covered. You should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel and are encouraged to do so.