Lansing Bankruptcy Lawyer On Can The Chapter 13 Trustee Make Me Pay ...

The answer is yes.  In certain circumstances the Chapter 13 trustee can demand that payroll control be entered in your case.  This is not the normal.  This would be the exception to the rule.  The general rule is that you can make plan payments directly to the Chapter 13 trustee.  Some law firms, like mine, insist that payroll control be used because you have a greater chance of success if you use payroll control than if you make voluntary payments.  That just makes perfect sense, because if the money is coming out of your check you have no excuse to spend that money anywhere else.  Once the money comes out of your check you have what’s left out of your check for your monthly expenses and disposable income.  If you have the opportunity to pay on your own, you also have the opportunity to misappropriate the funds that belong to the Chapter 13 trustee and use them for other things.     

I’ve had cases in the past where people have told me that they needed money for cable TV.  They needed money to go on a weekend trip to see their aunt.  This is not something that you can do when you’re in a Chapter 13, if you haven’t made your Chapter 13 trustee payment.  The Chapter 13 trustee payment each month has to be the priority.  That is the fuel that keeps your Chapter 13 going smoothly.  It’s the fuel that keeps the creditors off your back.  It’s the fuel that keeps you in your home if you’re repaying mortgage arrears over time.  It’s the fuel that keeps your car, if you are making your car payment through the Chapter 13 trustee.  By having the money come directly out of your check and paid to the Chapter 13 trustee, you are ensuring that as long as you can stay employed you are going to make your Chapter 13 case work perfectly.