If a creditor doesn’t file a proof of claim in a Chapter 13 case, the trustee generally won’t pay that creditor through your plan. For unsecured debts like credit cards or medical bills, that usually ends the matter: the balance gets wiped out when you receive your discharge. For secured debts like a mortgage or car loan, the outcome is very different, because the lien on the property survives even when the claim is never filed.
The Deadline That Sets Everything in Motion
Most creditors have 70 days after the order for relief (typically the day the case is filed) to submit a proof of claim. Miss that window and the claim can be disallowed, which cuts the creditor off from distributions under the plan.1Legal Information Institute. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 30022GovInfo. 11 U.S.C. § 502
Governmental units get longer. The IRS, state tax departments, and similar agencies have 180 days from the order for relief to file.1Legal Information Institute. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 3002
Unsecured Creditors Who Don’t File
The trustee pays only creditors with allowed claims. An unsecured creditor who never files simply doesn’t get paid through the plan.3Northern District of Iowa Bankruptcy FAQ. What is a proof of claim?
When you complete every payment required by your plan, the court issues a discharge covering debts provided for by the plan. The discharge is a permanent order barring those creditors from trying to collect afterward, so an unsecured creditor who sat out the case generally walks away with nothing and cannot come after you later.4GovInfo. 11 U.S.C. § 13285GovInfo. 11 U.S.C. § 524
Secured Creditors Who Don’t File
A secured creditor who fails to file a proof of claim also loses out on plan distributions, but the lien on your property doesn’t disappear with the claim. Bankruptcy law specifies that a lien is not voided simply because no proof of claim was filed.1Legal Information Institute. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 3002
Your personal obligation on the underlying debt can be discharged, but the creditor’s interest in the collateral usually survives. Once the case closes or the automatic stay is lifted, that creditor can enforce the lien by foreclosing on a home or repossessing a vehicle if the debt hasn’t been satisfied.6Legal Information Institute. 11 U.S.C. § 1017Legal Information Institute. 11 U.S.C. § 362 So a mortgage lender that ignored your case can still take the house afterward if you haven’t kept the loan current.
You Can File the Claim Yourself
If a creditor doesn’t file, you or the trustee may file a proof of claim on that creditor’s behalf. This has to be done within 30 days after the creditor’s original deadline expires.8Legal Information Institute. Fed. R. Bankr. P. 3004
Debtors typically use this option for debts that would cause problems if left outside the plan:
- Secured debts like a mortgage, where filing lets you catch up arrears through the plan and keep the property.
- Priority debts such as certain taxes or domestic support obligations like child support, which often aren’t fully dischargeable.
- Any debt where you’d rather see the creditor paid through the plan than face collection efforts after the case ends.4GovInfo. 11 U.S.C. § 1328
If a creditor’s silence is helping you (an unsecured card issuer that missed the deadline, for example), there’s no obligation to file for them. The choice belongs to you and the trustee.