Chapter 13 Discharge: The debtor will be granted a discharge under Chapter 13 after she has made all payments under the plan unless, subsequent to the order for relief, she has executed a court-approved written waiver of discharge. [B.C. §1328(a)]

a. Debts discharged: A standard Chapter 13 discharge includes all debts that are provided for by the plan or that have been disallowed by the court under section 502, except for [B.C. §1328(a)]:

(1) Long-term debts for which the plan has provided for the curing of a default within a reasonable time and the maintenance of payments during the case, with the final payment being due after the last payment required by the Chapter 13 plan [B.C. §§1328(a)(l), 1322(b)

(2) Alimony, maintenance, and spousal or child support [B.C. §§ 1328(a)(2), 523(a)(5);

3) Student loans, unless there will be an undue hardship on the debtor and her dependents if the debt is not discharged. B.C. §§1328(a)(2), 523(a)(8);

(4) Health Education Assistance Loans (HEAL), where the three conditions for discharge required by the applicable federal non-bankruptcy statute have not been satisfied

(5) Liability for drunk or drugged driving that caused death or personal injury

(6) Criminal restitution that is included in the debtor's sentence

(7) Allowed post-petition claims for necessary consumer debts which were not approved in advance by the trustee, under circumstances where procuring his prior approval was practicable

b. Note; applicability of section 523(a):  In a chapter 13 case, only the debts described above  are nondischargeable, and any other debts that would be nondischargeable under the general dischargeability  provisions of section 523(a) are discharged by the standard chapter 13 discharge.

c. Hardship discharge: If the debtor has not made all payments under the plan, the court, after notice and a hearing, may award a hardship discharge where the following three conditions exist: (i) The reason for the debtor's failure to complete the payments under the plan is not one for which, in fairness, she should be held accountable

(ii) Those unsecured creditor holding an allowed claim has received property under the plan, having a present value as of the effective date of the plan, of not less than the amount that he would have received for his claim in a case under Chapter 7 if the estate had been liquidated (i.e., the "best interests of creditors test |B.C. §l328(b)(2)];

and (iii) Modification of the plan is not practicable [B.C. §1328(bK3)].Example:Debtor files a Chapter 13 plan, proposing to pay forty monthly installments of $140 each. The plan is confirmed, and Debtor makes the payments, as scheduled, for thirty-seven months, before dying. All of the unsecured creditors have received more than they would have received on their claims if the estate had been liquidated under Chapter 7. Under these circumstances, a hardship discharge is appropriate.

(2) Debts discharged in hardship case: [§1181] A Chapter 13 hardship discharge includes the unsecured debts that would be discharged under a standard Chapter 1 3 discharge, except that it does not discharge any debts that would be nondischargeable under section 523(a). Any long-term debts provided for under the cure provision of Code section 1322(b)(5) also are nondischargeable.

revocation of discharge

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