Should the mortgage lender have notified the court or lawyer when notified of chapter 13 filing? 11 Answers as of December 05, 2011

I am trying to understand how you could be unaware of a change in your monthly mortgage indebtedness for 2 years. Did you receive monthly statements from your mortgage company? Didn't the lender object to the amount scheduled in your Plan of Reorganization? That is usually how lenders deal with such discrepancies: and I have seen them oppose confirmation of a Chapter 13 plan over 1% of interest. So if the mortgage company did not object to your plan and the claims bar date has passed, then you probably have a convincing case for *estoppel *and *detrimental reliance.* Furthermore, the Automatic Stay in bankruptcy forbids any creditor from attempting to collect except as permitted by the Court. So it looks like you can fight the post-filing arrearage claim. Of course details make all the difference and the decision belongs exclusively to the Court.

Work out an "adequate protection order" before the hearing. Negotiate a catch up plan with the lender before relief from stay is granted.

You will need to oppose the Motion to Lift Stay. You can probably add the shortage to your plan.

You should object to the motion for relief and simultaneously make a motion to modify your plan to pay the arrears in your plan.

Re-open the bankruptcy to add the arrearage.

If you are defending a motion for relief from stay you can propose a payment plan to cure the arrears. You might get 6 months to catch up.

You can file a motion to modify your plan to include the post-filing mortgage arrears, and then make the proper increase in payments to the lender. If your district requires that the current mortgage payment be part of the plan payment (a "conduit payment"), you will need to factor that in. Hopefully you have legal counsel who is experienced in Ch 13 bankuptcy matters.

Sorry. This question is rather convoluted and is not intelligible. But yes, if your case was filed in the Southern District of Texas, the mortgage company is required by local rule to reveal the amount of the ongoing monthly mortgage payment when the case is filed, and is also required to file a notice with the bankruptcy court before it changes the amount of the ongoing mortgage payment. Your attorney has the ability to contest the change in the ongoing mortgage payment amount if the mortgage company did not give notice of the change in accordance with the local rules.

You may consider surrendering the home and convert to a Chapter 7. Unfortunately, bankruptcy does not change or alter your original mortgage agreement and because you signed the mortgage, you in effect had notice of the change.

This is a regular problem that the courts are aware of. Call your lawyer. (S)he should deal with it.