Contact:
Hartgen
(703) 739-0800
color='#0000ff'>jhartgen@abiworld.org
CHAPTER 13
STUDY FINDS THAT TWO-THIRDS OF DEBTORS DID NOT COMPLETE REPAYMENT PLANS;
LITTLE PAID TO UNSECURED CREDITORS
February 26, 2007,
Alexandria, Va. — A recent study funded by a grant from
the American Bankruptcy Institute examining chapter 13 filings found
that two-thirds of debtors did not complete a repayment plan or receive
a discharge, and that of the one-third who did attain a discharge, 15
percent later returned to bankruptcy. The Chapter 13 Project also found
that secured creditors received more than two-thirds of debtors’
payments and that unsecured creditors received less than a third, with
the median unsecured creditor repayment standing at $0. The
study’s findings are summarized in the March edition of the ABI
Journal in an article written by the Chapter 13 Project’s lead
researcher, Prof. Scott F. Norberg of
w:st='on'>Florida
w:st='on'>International
w:st='on'>University
w:st='on'>
The Chapter 13 Project looked
at 795 chapter 13 cases from 1994-2003 in seven federal judicial
districts to determine if the chapter 13 process fulfilled two of its
principal purposes: giving debtors a fresh start and providing for
creditor repayment. While the study looked at cases filed prior to the
implementation of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer
Protection act of 2005 (BAPCPA), Prof. Norberg notes that researchers
expected that the findings will help provide a baseline for measuring
the BAPCPA’s effect on chapter 13 case outcomes.
The study found that at least
half of all the chapter 13 filers in the sample had filed one or more
bankruptcy cases in addition to the sample case. The Project’s
researchers anticipated that BAPCPA’s limitations on the automatic
stay where the debtor has filed one or more cases in the year preceding
the current filing would substantially reduce the numbers of chapter 13
filings and increase the percentage of completed cases.
The researchers also predicted
that BAPCPA’s provisions will have the effect of further
diminishing unsecured creditor collections in chapter 13, while
increasing the costs of those collections. The diminished collections by
unsecured creditors would likely be due to the provisions enhancing the
repayment rights of secured creditors, such as the new restrictions on
the automatic stay to allow some creditors to retake collateral when the
debtor has equity in it (e.g., a car purchased within 910 days of
filing).
Debtors examined in the case
study were nearly evenly divided between men and women. Men comprised
36.9 percent of the petitioners, women 36.3 percent and joint
petitioners 27.8 percent. The vast majority of the debtors had modest
incomes; the average debtor’s gross income was $28,173 (adjusted
to 2006 dollars). Additionally, almost all of the debtors were in
extreme financial distress at the time of their filing.
To obtain a copy of the article
summarizing the findings of the Chapter 13 Project, please contact
or via email at
href='mailto:jhartgen@abiworld.org'>
color='#0000ff' size='3'>jhartgen@abiworld.org.
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