Are Direct Payments by Debtor on Mortgage Considered Payments “Under the Plan” for Purposes of Discharge?

By William H. Brown, Adviser to The Academy d/b/a ConsiderChapter13.org

In the most recent opinion on the issue, as of this writing, the Court in In re Rivera, 2019 WL 1430273 (Bankr. D. Ariz. Mar. 28, 2019), in perhaps still a minority view, concluded that debtors’ default in making all direct postpetition mortgage payments was not a failure to complete payments required “under the plan.” The debtors had made all payments required to be made through the trustee, including mortgage arrearages, but they had defaulted on postpetition mortgage payments in the last months . . .

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