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Bankr. M.D.N.C. : New Local Form Chapter 13 Plan

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By Ed Boltz, 4 August, 2025

Summary of Revised Chapter 13 Plan in the Middle District of North Carolina (Effective October 1, 2025)

Incorporates Protections from In re Klemkowski and Advances Mortgage Servicer Accountability

Effective October 1, 2025, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of North Carolina has adopted a revised Chapter 13 plan form. While many of the changes are clarifying or stylistic, the most important addition reflects an increasingly debtor-protective trend in mortgage servicing oversight. 

Key Substantive Revisions

âś… Online Account Access Requirement (New in Section 8.3(d))

“The Holder shall continue to send the Debtor the same monthly account statements that it sends to its non-bankruptcy customers and allow the Debtor online access to the Debtor’s account(s)... and neither sending such statements nor providing information through online access will be deemed a violation of the automatic stay.”

This provision, newly added in the 2025 revision, squarely adopts Judge Harner’s reasoning in In re Klemkowski, 635 B.R. 201 (Bankr. D. Md. 2024), where the court found that servicers’ refusal to provide account information during bankruptcy impairs debtors’ ability to monitor compliance and exposes them to post-discharge collection risks. Codifying this in the plan ensures that debtors can check balances, confirm payment applications, and identify errors in real time—critical tools for avoiding post-discharge “surprise defaults.”

âś… Removal of “If Current” Column in Sections 4.1(b) and 4.2(b)

In response to comments during the public notice period (June 3 – July 3, 2025), the Court deleted the “If Current” column from the mortgage and real estate sections. This minor, but meaningful change clarifies that debtors must specify who is making mortgage payments—Trustee or debtor—regardless of whether the loan is current or in arrears. The old column often led to confusion and conflicting interpretations at confirmation.

âś… Other Minor Cleanups

The redlined version also corrects internal references and language for clarity:

  • The notice section adds clearer guidance for both debtors and creditors;

  • Formatting and consistency improvements (e.g., checkboxes and punctuation) throughout.

Commentary

By incorporating Klemkowski into its local plan, the Middle District of North Carolina has taken a firm and necessary step toward protecting debtors from post-discharge mortgage surprises—particularly the “gotcha” tactics some servicers use to tack on phantom fees or restart collections. With the revised plan now explicitly requiring both monthly statements and online account access, the burden shifts to servicers to demonstrate transparency, not to debtors to guess their balance.

Consumer bankruptcy attorneys in the MDNC should be mindful of this new enforcement framework—and prepared to invoke it, both during and after the plan term, whenever a servicer steps out of line.  Lawyers representing mortgage servicers  will need to push their clients to comply (some already have), since while providing this access will NOT be deemed a violation of the automatic stay,  failure to provide this access will open those mortgage servicers to  actions for contempt of the confirmation order.

Acknowledgments

This improved plan form reflects the collaborative work of a dedicated group of professionals across the local bankruptcy bar and system. Special thanks go to:

  • J.P. Cournoyer, Bankruptcy Administrator, for his leadership and attention to compliance with national and local policy;

  • Brandi Richardson and Jody Troxler, Chapter 13 Trustees, for their practical insight into plan feasibility and administration;

  • Julie Young, Deputy Clerk of Court, for shepherding this through the notice and comment process; and

  • Pamela Keenan, creditor’s counsel, for ensuring balanced input from the mortgage servicing side

Commentary:

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mdnc_chapter_13_plan_october_2025.pdf (538.08 KB)
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