In re Escarcega

*758 CASES CONSOLIDATED FOR DECISION

MEMORANDUM DECISION REGARDING CONFIRMATION OF CHAPTER 13 PLANS USING ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS VIOLATING BANKRUPTCY CODE

In February 2016, the judges of the San Jose Division required chapter 13 debtors to adopt the Chapter 13 Model Plan (“Model Plan”), which had been adopted by the remainder of the district in August 2013. In certain cases filed in the San Jose Division, counsel have modified the terms of the newly implemented Model Plan. The cases covered by this order include modified Model Plans.

The unvarnished purpose behind the proposed modifications is to perpetuate the apparently long-standing practice in the San Jose Division that permits confirmation of chapter 13 plans without a defined term, 1 that allows no possibility of distribution on allowed claims of general unsecured creditors, 2 and that permits Debtors to obtain a discharge prior to the end of the estimated term without further court order. 3 All in all, these provisions are intended to authorize debtors to pay off their plans and obtain a discharge at any time after confirmation without having to go through the plan modification process and without having to pay allowed…