How long can Chapter 13 plan payments be suspended?

It depends on your district. M.D. Ga. LBR 3070-1 gives the trustee authority to grant a moratorium not to exceed 60 days. E.D. Mo. L.R. 3015-6 allows a motion for a maximum of three consecutive months, one time during the life of the case. Longer relief typically requires a modification under 11 U.S.C. § 1329, which has its own outer time limit.

Do I still have to pay my mortgage during a suspension?

Commonly yes, if you pay it directly rather than through the trustee. E.D. Mo. L.R. 3015-6 states that an approved suspension applies only to regular monthly payments to the Chapter 13 trustee, and not to direct payments to creditors including continuing mortgage payments on a residence, post-petition lease payments, or post-petition domestic support obligations.

Can a creditor still act against me during a suspension?

A suspension is generally granted without prejudice to a secured creditor's rights. Both E.D. Mo. L.R. 3015-6 and W.D. Mo. LBR 3088-1 say the order is entered without prejudice to the right of any secured creditor to seek a lift of the stay or other appropriate relief. The pause addresses the trustee payment; it does not resolve a creditor's separate concerns.

What happens to money the trustee receives during a suspension?

You generally do not get it back. E.D. Mo. L.R. 3015-6 states the debtor is not entitled to the return of funds the trustee receives during the suspension period, and that the trustee will disburse or hold them as otherwise required. W.D. Mo. LBR 3088-1 says such funds are distributed under the confirmed plan and are not returned to the debtor.

Who stops my employer from withholding during the suspension?

You do, in the districts that address it. E.D. Mo. L.R. 3015-6 and W.D. Mo. LBR 3088-1 both place the responsibility on the debtor to cause the employer to stop the deduction for the suspended months and to make certain payments recommence on time afterward. N.D.W. Va. LBR 3015-3 requires a represented debtor to submit an amended wage withholding order at both ends of the suspension.

Is a suspension different from modifying my plan?

Yes, though the two overlap. A suspension is a temporary pause, often handled by the trustee or a short motion. A modification under 11 U.S.C. § 1329 changes the plan itself — reducing the amount of payments or extending the time for them — and becomes the plan unless disapproved after notice and a hearing. A permanent income drop generally points toward modification.

What if the trustee has already moved to dismiss my case?

Address both at once. W.D. Mo. LBR 3096-1 describes how a response to a motion to dismiss for default in plan payments should admit or deny the allegations or propose a specific solution, such as a suspension or a cure over a defined period, and provides that if the response says a motion to suspend will be filed, that motion must be filed at the same time.

Chapter 13

Suspending Chapter 13 Plan Payments

A Chapter 13 payment suspension is a court- or trustee-approved pause in plan payments after a hardship like job loss or illness. Federal law permits post-confirmation plan modification under 11 U.S.C. § 1329, and local rules govern the process. Suspension does not erase the payments; they are commonly added back to the end of the plan.

Key points

A suspension pauses plan payments; it generally does not cancel them, and the missed amounts are commonly added onto the end of the plan.
11 U.S.C. § 1329 lets a confirmed plan be modified after confirmation to reduce payments or extend the time for them, on request of the debtor.
Some districts let the Chapter 13 trustee grant a short moratorium without a court hearing; others require a motion filed with the court.
A suspension of trustee payments commonly does not cover direct payments you make yourself, such as an ongoing mortgage payment.
Suspension is generally granted without prejudice to a secured creditor's right to ask for relief from the stay.

If your income has dropped and the Chapter 13 payment you agreed to has become impossible, you are not the first person in that position. Chapter 13 has built-in machinery for exactly this: the plan can be modified after it is confirmed, and many districts also allow a short pause without a full modification. What follows is how that machinery works, what it costs you later, and what a suspension does not cover.

How does suspending Chapter 13 plan payments actually work?

There are usually two routes, and which one you use depends on your district and on how long you need.

The short route is a moratorium granted by the Chapter 13 trustee. In the Middle District of Georgia, for example, the trustee has authority to grant a reasonable moratorium not to exceed 60 days, without notice, with the grounds noted in the trustee's records (M.D. Ga. LBR 3070-1). Some districts allow a small number of suspended payments through the trustee before a formal filing becomes necessary.

The longer route is a motion or a plan modification. Under 11 U.S.C. § 1329, at any time after confirmation but before the completion of plan payments, the plan may be modified on request of the debtor to reduce the amount of payments or to extend the time for them. The modified plan becomes the plan unless, after notice and a hearing, the modification is disapproved.

Trustee-granted moratorium: fast, short, no hearing in districts that allow it
Motion to suspend: filed with the court, often on negative notice
Modification under § 1329: reduces payments or extends time, and is the durable fix

What changes the answer for your case?

Several things move the outcome, and none of them are about how sympathetic the hardship sounds.

How long you need matters most. A one-month gap is a different request from a six-month one. Districts that give the trustee moratorium authority typically cap it — a defined number of payments or a defined number of days — and a request beyond that cap moves to a noticed modification.

Whether you are pre-confirmation or post-confirmation matters. Before confirmation, 11 U.S.C. § 1326(a)(3) allows the court, upon notice and a hearing, to modify, increase, or reduce the payments required pending confirmation. After confirmation, § 1329 is the operative provision.

Whether you have used a suspension before matters. In the Northern District of California's San Jose Division, the trustee may allow no more than three suspended payments in a case; a fourth request requires a modification with notice to interested parties that accounts for all prior missed payments (CANB official material — Procedures for Suspending Payments in Chapter 13.pdf).

Length of the pause requested
Pre-confirmation versus post-confirmation posture
How many suspensions the case has already used
Whether secured creditors are affected
Whether a wage withholding order is in place

What does federal law say about pausing plan payments?

The Bankruptcy Code does not use the word "suspension." It gives you modification, and districts build suspension procedures on top of it.

11 U.S.C. § 1329(a) provides that at any time after confirmation but before the completion of payments, the plan may be modified upon request of the debtor, the trustee, or the holder of an allowed unsecured claim to increase or reduce the amount of payments on claims of a particular class, or to extend or reduce the time for such payments.

There is an outer limit. Under § 1329(c), a modified plan may not provide for payments over a period expiring after the applicable commitment period under § 1325(b)(1)(B) measured from when the first payment under the original confirmed plan was due, unless the court, for cause, approves a longer period — and the court may not approve a period expiring after five years after that time. That five-year ceiling is why a long suspension can be harder to absorb late in a plan than early in one.

Where the authority comes from
Provision	What it does
11 U.S.C. § 1326(a)(3)	Court may modify, increase, or reduce payments pending confirmation, upon notice and a hearing
11 U.S.C. § 1329(a)(1)–(2)	Post-confirmation modification to reduce payment amount or extend the time for payments
11 U.S.C. § 1329(b)(2)	The plan as modified becomes the plan unless disapproved after notice and a hearing
11 U.S.C. § 1329(c)	Outer limit on the modified payment period; court may not approve beyond five years

Where do local rules and districts differ?

This is the part that varies most, and it varies by federal judicial district rather than by state law. Two districts in the same state can run different procedures.

Some districts cap the relief by time and frequency. Under E.D. Mo. L.R. 3015-6, a debtor may file a motion requesting a suspension of monthly trustee payments for a maximum of three consecutive months, one time during the life of the case, and the motion may be filed on twenty-one days' negative notice.

Others set out the mechanics of the motion itself. In the Southern District of West Virginia, a motion for moratorium must state the length of time payments would be suspended, the reasons the moratorium is needed, and the identity of all affected secured creditors (S.D.W. Va. LBR 3015-1.2).

In the Central District of California, after confirmation the plan's terms can be modified only by court order on a motion to modify or a stipulation between the debtor and the trustee, using court-mandated forms (C.D. Cal. LBR 3015-1). Find your court to confirm the local procedure.

Trustee moratorium capped at 60 days (M.D. Ga. LBR 3070-1)
Three consecutive months, once per case, on negative notice (E.D. Mo. L.R. 3015-6)
Motion must identify affected secured creditors (S.D.W. Va. LBR 3015-1.2)
Court order or trustee stipulation required, on mandated forms (C.D. Cal. LBR 3015-1)

What does a suspension look like in practice?

The most common surprise is that a suspension is not forgiveness. Under W.D. Mo. LBR 3088-1, an order granting an abatement, waiver, or suspension does not eliminate the payment; it adds payments onto the end of the plan and may require the plan to be amended. E.D. Mo. L.R. 3015-6 says the same thing: the suspended monthly payments will be added on to the end of the plan.

The second surprise involves wage withholding. If your employer is deducting plan payments, the suspension order does not stop that automatically. Both W.D. Mo. LBR 3088-1 and E.D. Mo. L.R. 3015-6 place the responsibility on the debtor to cause the employer to stop the deduction and to make certain payments recommence on time afterward. N.D.W. Va. LBR 3015-3 requires a represented debtor to submit an amended wage withholding order when a suspension is authorized and when it ends.

The third: money the trustee receives during a suspension is generally not refunded to you.

What a suspension does and does not do
Question	Common answer in the rules cited here
Are the payments forgiven?	No — commonly added to the end of the plan
Does wage withholding stop automatically?	No — the debtor is responsible for stopping and restarting it
Are funds the trustee receives anyway refunded?	Generally not; the trustee may disburse or hold them
Do secured creditors lose their remedies?	No — suspension is without prejudice to seeking stay relief
Does it cover direct payments you make yourself?	Commonly no — see the E.D. Mo. limitation

What documents and information are involved?

Expect the request to be document-driven rather than conversational. The rules cited above point to a fairly consistent set of inputs.

A motion generally has to say how long the pause would last, why it is needed, and who is affected — S.D.W. Va. LBR 3015-1.2 requires all three, including the identity of affected secured creditors. Where the relief is a full modification rather than a short pause, more is required. Under E.D. Mo. Local Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (effective December 1, 2024), a debtor seeking to amend a confirmed plan must file a motion with a brief but specific statement of the reason and identifying all changes to the plan terms, together with an amended plan and either an amended budget or a signed statement that income and expenses have not changed.

If a wage order is in place, add the amended wage withholding order to the list (N.D.W. Va. LBR 3015-3).

The length of the requested suspension and the reason for it
The identity of affected secured creditors
An amended plan, where a modification is required
An amended budget, or a signed statement that income and expenses are unchanged
An amended wage withholding order, if your employer deducts payments
Proof of the hardship your district's trustee expects to see

What should you ask a bankruptcy lawyer?

This is a situation where a short conversation with the attorney who filed your case usually beats reading rules on your own, because the answers turn on your district, your trustee, and how far into the plan you are.

Useful questions to bring:

The timing question matters more than people expect. Because § 1329(c) caps the modified payment period, a suspension late in a five-year plan may be harder to absorb by extension alone, and the shortfall may have to come from somewhere else in the plan.

If you are already behind rather than anticipating a gap, say so plainly. Some districts treat a pending motion to dismiss for default and a motion to suspend as parts of the same conversation — W.D. Mo. LBR 3096-1 describes responses to a motion to dismiss that propose a suspension, a lump-sum cure, or periodic payments, and conditions the outcome on filing the suspension motion at the same time.

Does my district allow the trustee to grant a moratorium, or does this need a motion?
How many suspensions, if any, has my case already used?
Will the suspended payments fit inside the period allowed under § 1329(c)?
Which of my payments are direct payments that a suspension will not cover?
Who has to file the amended wage withholding order, and when?
Is a modification a better fit than a pause, given that my income change looks permanent?

Frequently asked questions

Does suspending Chapter 13 payments cancel the missed payments?: Generally no. W.D. Mo. LBR 3088-1 states that an order granting an abatement, waiver, or suspension does not eliminate the payment; it adds payments onto the end of the plan and may require the plan to be amended. E.D. Mo. L.R. 3015-6 is to the same effect. Treat a suspension as a deferral of the obligation, not a discharge of it.
How long can Chapter 13 plan payments be suspended?: It depends on your district. M.D. Ga. LBR 3070-1 gives the trustee authority to grant a moratorium not to exceed 60 days. E.D. Mo. L.R. 3015-6 allows a motion for a maximum of three consecutive months, one time during the life of the case. Longer relief typically requires a modification under 11 U.S.C. § 1329, which has its own outer time limit.
Do I still have to pay my mortgage during a suspension?: Commonly yes, if you pay it directly rather than through the trustee. E.D. Mo. L.R. 3015-6 states that an approved suspension applies only to regular monthly payments to the Chapter 13 trustee, and not to direct payments to creditors including continuing mortgage payments on a residence, post-petition lease payments, or post-petition domestic support obligations.
Can a creditor still act against me during a suspension?: A suspension is generally granted without prejudice to a secured creditor's rights. Both E.D. Mo. L.R. 3015-6 and W.D. Mo. LBR 3088-1 say the order is entered without prejudice to the right of any secured creditor to seek a lift of the stay or other appropriate relief. The pause addresses the trustee payment; it does not resolve a creditor's separate concerns.
What happens to money the trustee receives during a suspension?: You generally do not get it back. E.D. Mo. L.R. 3015-6 states the debtor is not entitled to the return of funds the trustee receives during the suspension period, and that the trustee will disburse or hold them as otherwise required. W.D. Mo. LBR 3088-1 says such funds are distributed under the confirmed plan and are not returned to the debtor.
Who stops my employer from withholding during the suspension?: You do, in the districts that address it. E.D. Mo. L.R. 3015-6 and W.D. Mo. LBR 3088-1 both place the responsibility on the debtor to cause the employer to stop the deduction for the suspended months and to make certain payments recommence on time afterward. N.D.W. Va. LBR 3015-3 requires a represented debtor to submit an amended wage withholding order at both ends of the suspension.
Is a suspension different from modifying my plan?: Yes, though the two overlap. A suspension is a temporary pause, often handled by the trustee or a short motion. A modification under 11 U.S.C. § 1329 changes the plan itself — reducing the amount of payments or extending the time for them — and becomes the plan unless disapproved after notice and a hearing. A permanent income drop generally points toward modification.
What if the trustee has already moved to dismiss my case?: Address both at once. W.D. Mo. LBR 3096-1 describes how a response to a motion to dismiss for default in plan payments should admit or deny the allegations or propose a specific solution, such as a suspension or a cure over a defined period, and provides that if the response says a motion to suspend will be filed, that motion must be filed at the same time.

Sources

11 U.S.C. § 1329 — Modification of plan after confirmation · official source
11 U.S.C. § 1326 — Payments · official source
11 U.S.C. § 1322 — Contents of plan · official source
11 U.S.C. § 1325 — Confirmation of plan · official source
E.D. Mo. L.R. 3015-6 — Chapter 13 Suspension of Monthly Trustee Payments
W.D. Mo. LBR 3088-1 — Chapter 13 Emergency Refunds, Suspension of Plan Payments and Borrowing
M.D. Ga. LBR 3070-1 — Chapter 13 - Payments
S.D.W. Va. LBR 3015-1.2 — Chapter 13 Plan Payments to Trustee
N.D.W. Va. LBR 3015-3 — Chapter 13 — Confirmation and Modifications
C.D. Cal. LBR 3015-1 — Modification of Confirmed Plan or Suspension of Plan Payments
E.D. Mo. Local Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (effective December 1, 2024) — L.R. 3015-5 — Post-Confirmation Amendments and Modifications
W.D. Mo. LBR 3096-1 — Chapter 13 Responses – Immediate Orders to Follow
CANB official material — Procedures for Suspending Payments in Chapter 13.pdf — Procedures for Suspending Payments in Chapter 13 (N.D. Cal., San Jose Division)

By Antonio G. Jimenez, Esq. · Florida Bar No. 21022

Last reviewed July 26, 2026 · Sources verified July 26, 2026 · How we verify

Every figure on this page is drawn from a primary legal source and checked against our canonical legal database before publication. Bankruptcy.law is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.

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