Opinion ID: 4552253
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

Text: Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the type of bankruptcy Rockwell entered when he first filed in August of 2015, is an entirely voluntary process. Harris v. Viegelahn, 135 S. Ct. 1829, 1835 principle of bankruptcy law that exemptions are determined when a petition is filed.). - 8 - (2015). During a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, a debtor contributes some of the income he earns after filing to the estate. 11 U.S.C. § 1306. A Chapter 13 debtor retains control of his property and works out a plan with the court to use the money from the estate to pay back his debt over three to five years. Id. § 1322. If a debtor proceeds under Chapter 7, the chapter to which Rockwell converted his bankruptcy in 2017, all of his assets, other than the ones exempted from the estate per § 522, become a part of the estate. Id. § 541. The Chapter 7 trustee then sells or otherwise disposes of the debtor's property and pays off creditors from the estate. Id. §§ 704, 726. Crucially, however, a Chapter 7 estate does not include the wages a debtor earns or the assets he acquires after the bankruptcy filing. Harris, 135 S. Ct. at 1835 (emphasis in original). A debtor may convert his bankruptcy from a Chapter 13 to a Chapter 7 proceeding at any time. 11 U.S.C. § 348. Absent a bad-faith conversion, § 348(f) limits a converted Chapter 7 estate to property belonging to the debtor 'as of the date' the original Chapter 13 petition was filed. Harris, 135 S. Ct. at 1837.