Dismissal by Petitioner

• The petitioner reserves the right to dismiss his Chapter 13 bankruptcy at any time. All he needs to do is file a debtor's motion to dismiss with the bankruptcy court with his reasons for requesting the dismissal. He must send a copy to his court-appointed trustee and to each of his creditors. A hearing is scheduled. As long as there are no objections, or those objections are overruled, the dismissal is granted. Some reasons a petitioner may seek a dismissal include his financial situation has changed for the better, his creditors are seeking or have been awarded the ability to repossess property, he wants to refile claiming new debt, or he wants to convert his filing to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case.
  
  

Dismissal by Trustee

• The petitioner's trustee may also opt to file a dismissal of a Chapter 13 case. The trustee would file a trustee's motion to dismiss. The process would be the same as if the petitioner had requested the dismissal. The bankruptcy court sends copies to the petitioner and her creditors, a dismissal hearing is scheduled, objections are heard and the bankruptcy judge makes a ruling. Examples of reasons a trustee would file for dismissal include the petitioner does not make her required payments, fails to make those payments on time, fails to make complete payments or does not provide documents as requested.
  
  

Dismissal at the Request of Creditors

• Creditors may also call for a dismissal of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy if they feel that their respective interests are not being protected. The petitioner's creditors have no say in the development of the bankruptcy plan as long as the petitioner's plan is written in accordance with bankruptcy laws. However, they can request as an interested party that a petitioner's case be dismissed if they believe that the petitioner is not adequately paying for his assets, they are not receiving payments regularly or they determine that liquidation would be more in their best interests than a drawn out payment plan.
  
  

Dismissal by the Bankruptcy Judge

• The bankruptcy judge can also dismiss a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. For instance, the judge may dismiss a Chapter 13 bankruptcy if the petitioner does not pay her filing fees or if the petitioner does not provide listings of her income, assets, debts, and expenses in a timely fashion. A bankruptcy judge may also dismiss a Chapter 13 bankruptcy if the petitioner fails to make court ordered domestic support payments or file her taxes. Further, if the bankruptcy judge thinks the petitioner provided information in bad faith, such as inflating her expenses or not stating her true expected income, he may dismiss the case.