Section 11.8 Voluntary Act

• Library: Bankruptcy Practice (2007 Ed. + 2015 Cum Supp)

D. (§11.8) Voluntary Act

Filing a Chapter 13 petition is a voluntary act. There are no involuntary Chapter 13 proceedings. 11 U.S.C. § 303(a). Moreover, unlike Chapter 11, only the debtor may file the Chapter 13 plan before confirmation. 11 U.S.C. § 1321. Once a plan is confirmed, the trustee, the holder of an allowed unsecured claim, or the debtor may file a motion to amend the plan any time before the completion of the plan. 11 U.S.C. § 1329(a). The plan must be filed either with the Chapter 13 petition or within 15 days of the petition, unless leave of the court is sought and granted for additional time. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 3015(b).

While it seems that the Chapter 13 debtor also has an absolute right to dismiss the case or convert to a Chapter 7, 11 U.S.C. § 1307(a) and (b), the courts have carved out exceptions. The...