As recently announced here, the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has notified Detroit bankruptcy attorneys that changes are being made to the attorney time slots for Judge Tucker and Judge Shapero’s Chapter 13 docket effective February 1, 2010.  According to this Notice, all hearings scheduled after January 30, 2010 will be set using the updated attorney time slots. An updated list of attorney times for Judge Tucker and Judge Shapero’s Chapter 13 docket has been posted here.  A similar Notice was recently posted here with respect to Judge Steven Rhodes' Chapter 13 docket.  Judge Rhodes' schedule changes apply to motions filed after January 7, 2010.

All of these changes pertain to Chapter 13 cases.  As I discussed recently on the National Bankruptcy Forum, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy is also referred to as a "wage earner’s plan." Chapter 13 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.  The Court may approve 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. During the duration of the plan, the law forbids creditors from starting or continuing collection efforts.

-Drew Broaddus