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Marilyn O. Marshall, Chapter 13 Trustee
Glossary of Terms

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address. The address of the debtor comes from the petition filed with the bankruptcy clerk. During the course of the bankruptcy case the debtor must inform the trustee of any change in address, pursuant to the debtor's responsibility to cooperate with the trustee under §521. Any change of address provided by the debtor will appear in the place of the address listed on the petition.

allocation reserve. This is the amount of money currently available to distribute to creditors. During the course of a month the trustee receives plan payments from the debtor. A certain percentage of the money received is held in the fee reserve to pay trustee fees

attorney. Individuals who file chapter 13 bankruptcies are typically represented by an attorney. This field displays the name of the attorney currently representing the debtor in this case. If the debtor is representing themselves, this field will contain the words pro se.

bankruptcy clerk. 28 U.S.C. §156 provides for the appointment of a bankruptcy clerk if there is a sufficient case load. The clerk accepts the filing of legal documents in bankruptcy cases and maintains the files for the bankruptcy judges.

bankruptcy court. Bankruptcy courts are part of the federal judicial system. 28 U.S.C. §151 authorizes the creation of bankruptcy courts. The powers of the bankruptcy court are defined in 11 U.S.C. §105, including the authority to issue any order, process or judgment that is necessary and appropriate to carry out the provisions of the Bankruptcy Code.

case audit. This is the review that any completed case must go through prior to the trustee requesting a discharge from the bankruptcy judge. The audit usually occurs when the case requires only one month's payment to paid creditors in accordance with the confirmed plan.

case number. Each Chapter 13 case is assigned a number by the clerk of the bankruptcy court when the case is filed. The number consists of three parts: case year, case type and case sequence number. The year is the calendar year in which the case is filed. The type designates the kind of case within the federal court system. Bankruptcy cases are assigned the type "B." The bankruptcy clerk assigns the next available sequence number to each bankruptcy case as it is filed. This sequence number starts over again at "1" each January. The combination of the three parts is unique within the division of the federal court district. There will be duplication of case numbers nationally.

check date. The date the trustee issued a disbursement check. Our checks are mailed the same day they are issued.

check number. Each check issued by the trustee has a unique number for identification purposes. No check number is ever reused.

check status. A disbursement check will have a status of outstanding, cleared or void. If the check status is cleared, there will be a date indicating when it was honored by the trustee's bank.

check total. The trustee issues checks that may have disbursements for many claims included on one check. The check total field indicates the total dollar amount of the check issued by the trustee.

claim bar date. §1322 requires that a Chapter 13 plan provide for the payment of claims. Bankruptcy Rule 3002 requires that unsecured creditors file their claims within 90 days of the date first set for the §341 meeting. Any unsecured claim filed after this date is barred from being allowed.

claim filed date. This is the date that a creditor files the claim with the clerk of the bankruptcy court. The trustee only pays claims that have been filed with the clerk.

claim status. This describes the most significant aspect of the claim. It will indicate whether or not the claim has been amended, withdrawn, or it is put on hold.

claimed. This is the amount of money claimed by the creditor. In order to be paid, the creditor must file a claim with the bankruptcy clerk or have the judge enter an order approving payment of money to the creditor.

class. Chapter 13 plans group together claims for similar treatment. These groups of claims are referred to as classes.

closing started. The date on which the trustee's office initiates the closing process for the case. After the trustee's staff conducts a case audit on a case that is completed or dismissed, we started the process in which we do the following:

• prepare a final report
• schedule a date for the entry of the discharge order
• receive the discharge order from the bankruptcy judge
• notify debtor and creditors of discharge
• disburse any remaining attorney fees to the debtor attorney
• refund the remaining money to the debtor.

This entire process takes approximately 90 days from the start.

confirmation. When a case is filed, the trustee schedules a date for the confirmation hearing to be held in front of the judge. This field contains that date.

creditor. A creditor is a person or business that the debtor owes money. 11 U.S.C. §101 specifically defines a creditor as, " entity that has a claim against the debtor that arose at the time of or before the order for relief concerning the debtor." The debtor must provide a list, or schedule, of all the creditors that are owed money. This list must include the complete address, the amount owed and the type of debt.

debtor. The debtor is an individual who files a bankruptcy petition in federal bankruptcy court.

debtor last name. This is the last name as supplied by the debtor in documents filed with the clerk of the bankruptcy court.

default. Default is the amount of dollars that the trustee calculates the debtor is behind in plan payments. It is determined by substracting all payments made on behalf of the debtor from the total amount of payments due at this time. A zero or negative number in this field means the debtor has made all payments required by the plan up to this point in time.

dismissal notice date. If the judge enters an order of dismissal, this means the chapter 13 case has been terminated prior to the successful completion of the chapter 13 plan. The trustee will notify any creditors who were scheduled by the debtor or have filed a claim of the dismissal. This is the date that the trustee actually distributes the notice.

due. This is the amount of money remaining to be paid to the creditor. You determine this by subtracting the money paid from the repay amount.

fee reserve. This is money reserved to pay chapter 13 trustee fees as dictated by federal bankruptcy law. The dollar amount of this fee reserve is determined by the total dollars currently being held by the trustee that have not been distributed to creditors. The trustee does not take a fee until money is actually paid to creditors.

filed. This is the date that a bankruptcy petition was actually filed with the clerk of the bankruptcy court. The entire process of a chapter 13 bankruptcy starts with the filing of a petition, which is a legal document required in chapter 13 bankruptcies.

item amount. The trustee issues checks that may have disbursements for many claims included on one check. The item amount is the dollar amount being paid on a specific claim. The check total field may be greater that the item amount.

joint debtor. A married couple may file a joint petition. When this occurs, one of the couple is designated the joint debtor on the petition.

judge. When a debtor files a petition, the bankrutpcy case is assigned to a judge. The judge is the individual who makes decisions to resolve any disputes that may arise during the case and approves the debtor's plan of repayment in a chapter 13 case.

last receipt. This is the dollar amount and the date of the most recent payment made to our office. The date is the date our bank processed the payment through their lockbox system, not the date on the check or money order.

location. Marilyn O. Marshall is appointed as trustee in Cook County. Cook County is part of the Eastern Division of the Northern District of Illinois. Meetings and hearings are conducted in downtown Chicago. The location field indicates which location is being used for the case.

lockbox. All office receipts are processed through a lockbox. This means that all funds received by the office are deposited to the lockbox, including payments received in court, our office or the mail. The fastest way to have money credited to a Chapter 13 case is to send it directly to the lockbox.

mode. This is the method of disbursement for a class of creditors in a chapter 13 plan. The modes are:

• pro rata: Money divided among creditors in proportion to the amount of their claims
• pro capita: Money available divided into equal amounts for each creditor in the class
• set amount: A fixed dollar amount to be paid to a creditor each month.

monthly payment. The basis of all Chapter 13 plans is that the debtor will make regular payments to the trustee. §1322 requires the plan to "provide for the submission of all or such portion of future earnings or other future income of the debtor to the supervision and control of the trustee as is necessary for the execution of the plan." The forms used for filing a Chapter 13 meet this requirement by stating the monthly payment the debtor will make to the trustee. The value in this field is taken from the petition filed by the debtor and modified to reflect the monthly payment as approved by the judge when the plan is confirmed.

next receipt due. The trustee's computer system tracks the payments due by the debtor in accordance with their plan. This field is the next date the trustee expects to receive a payment. If the debtor has taken advantage of payroll deduction, the actual date the trustee receives the money from the employer may be later than the date displayed in this field.

paid. This is the dollar amount the chapter 13 trustee has disbursed to the creditor for this claim. It does not include any money the creditor may have received prior to the bankruptcy filing or money paid directly from the debtor to the creditor.

payroll deduction. As a convenience, the debtor may direct his or her employer to deduct money from their salary and send it directly to the trustee. The trustee encourages all debtor to take advantage of this option since it increases the likelihood the plan will complete.

plan balance. This is the amount of money remaining for the debtor to pay to complete their plan. If the plan calls for the trustee to make the current mortgage payment or interest is being paid on claims, the plan balance may increase as well as decrease.

plan months. The debtor may propose a plan that extends up to five years according to §1322(c). This field contains the number of months proposed by the debtor, and is updated at the time of confirmation to reflect the plan as confirmed.

rate. The percentage of the claimed amount that will be repaid to a creditor filing a claim.

repay. Repay is a calculated dollar amount that a creditor will receive as repayment for their claim under the terms of a chapter 13 plan. Administrative and priority creditors receive 100% of their claims. Secured creditors must receive 100% of the value of their security. Unsecured creditors may receive between nothing and 100% of their claim, depending on the circumstances of the particular case.

receipt. A payment made to the Chapter 13 trustee by the debtor or by some one else for the debtor. These payments are made in accordance with the terms of the Chapter 13 plan proposed by the debtor.

scheduled. This is the dollar amount the debtor says is owed to the creditor. When a debtor files a chapter 13 petition, there must be certain documents submitted that detail the debts and property of the debtor. These documents are called schedules. The scheduled amount is what the debtor says is owed to creditor. The actual amount to be paid to the creditor is determined by the claim filed by the creditor. The claim can be challenged by the debtor. If a dispute does arise, it is resolved by the bankruptcy judge.

status. This information provides the user with the most significant event relating to the case and the date associated with that event. For example, if the §341 meeting has been held and the confirmation hearing is scheduled to occur the case status will contain Confirmation Hearing and the date the hearing is scheduled.

type. There are different types of debt under the federal bankruptcy code. They are administrative (ADM), priority (PRI), secured (SEC) and unsecured (UNS). If the type is blank, there is no claim on file. The office also uses additional codes when listing creditors. These additional codes are:

• EST. This designates an estate transfer, which is a refund of money to the debtor.
• NTC. This designates a creditor that is listed for "notice purposes only" and is not being scheduled by the debtor to receive funds from the trustee.
  
  

total receipts. This is the total dollar amount of receipts recorded by the trustee in a particular case. All receipts are posted through a lockbox prior to appearing in our database.

unsecured %. Claims that are not secured by an interest in property or required to be paid 100% by statutory provisions are classified as unsecured claims. The Bankruptcy Code requires the debtor to pay these creditors what they would get in a Chapter 7 liquidation and make their best effort to repay these creditors for a period of three years. In fulfilling these requirements, the debtor may pay unsecured creditors anywhere from 0% to 100%. This field contains the repayment percentage proposed by the debtor prior to confirmation and is updated to reflect the percentage approved by the judge when confirming the plan.

In the Northern District of Illinois, Judges require debtors to pay a certain amount of money during the course of the plan and the percentage to unsecured creditors may vary depending upon the total dollar amount of claims. This type of plan is called a pot plan or base plan.

voluntary petition. An individual commences a Chapter 13 case by filing a document, called a petition, with the clerk of the bankruptcy court. The document contains a list of all creditors, the amount of money the debtor owes to the creditors and the assets of the debtor. The document also contains a plan to repay the creditors and a budget of income and expenses that proves the debtor's plan will work. No one can force an individual to be involved in a Chapter 13 case, so all Chapter 13 cases are considered voluntary.

§341 meeting. The Bankruptcy Code requires that a meeting of creditors be held in every bankruptcy case. §343 of the Bankruptcy Code states:

The debtor shall appear and submit to examination under oath at the meeting of creditors under section 341(a) of this title. Creditors, any indenture trustee, any trustee or examiner in the case, or the United States trustee may examine the debtor. The United States trustee may administer the oath required under this section.

In Chapter 13 cases, the United States Trustee delegates the responsibilities dictated by the Code to the trustee assigned to the case.