A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is also called a wage earner’s Plan. It enables individuals with regular income to develop a plan to repay all or part of their debts. Under this chapter, debtors propose a repayment plan to make installments to creditors over three to five years. If the Debtor ’s current monthly income is less than the applicable state median, the plan will be for three years unless the court approves a longer period “for Cause .” If the debtor’s current monthly income is greater than the applicable state median, the plan generally must be for five years. In no case may a plan provide for payments over a period longer than five years. 11 U.S.C. §1322(d). During this time the law forbids creditors from starting or continuing collection efforts.

Although the role of the Trustee in Chapter 7 cases is fairly well known (as discussed here), the Trustee also has an important role in Chapter 13 cases; the trustee acts as the disbursing agent for the payments made into the plan: he collects the debtor's payment and pays it to creditors as provided by the plan for that case. 

The trustee also reviews the plan and challenges those plans that don't, in the trustee's opinion, meet the test for confirmable plans set out in the Bankruptcy Code. 

If the trustee and the debtor can't agree on the terms of the plan, a judge will decide if the plan can be confirmed.  

Once the plan is confirmed, the trustee pays creditors regularly from the payments made by the debtor. Generally, all payments on debt existing at the beginning of the case must be paid through the trustee; current mortgage payments and some leases are among the exceptions. 

-Drew Broaddus