Bouncing a Check to Your Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Trustee

Chapter 13 bankruptcy trustees across the country have different rules regarding your monthly plan payment. Every trustee will allow the debtor to set up an automatic wage withholding through his employer. This is absolutely the safest and surest way to fund your Chapter 13 plan. Because your bankruptcy payment is automatically withheld, you know exactly what you will receive in net pay, you are assured that your payment is made on time, and you never have to deal with a motion to dismiss for failure to make payments.

Most Chapter 13 trustees also accept money orders and cashiers checks because some debtors are self-employed. Self-made payments are due on the same day of each month, and are sent to the trustee’s lock box address for processing.

A few trustees still accept personal checks from debtors. If your Chapter 13 trustee accepts personal checks you must make sure that your check does not bounce! If it does, you are in default on your plan payments and the trustee will petition the court to dismiss your case. You will have to make arrangements with the trustee’s office to pick up the bad check and replace it with certified funds to avoid dismissal. Usually the trustee’s office will charge an additional fee to cover his or her costs associated with processing the bounced check.

Before sending a personal check as your bankruptcy plan payment, speak with your attorney to determine if this form of payment will be accepted. Your attorney can guide you through the monthly payment process and discuss your options for bankruptcy success.