My clients’ chapter 13 plan has not yet been confirmed, but it probably will be confirmed on June 4 unless we change course before then. They may need to convert to chapter 11, but the only way they could come up with the necessary fees would be by using the money that the chapter 13 trustee is holding. I have never converted a case from 13 to 11 before, and I don’t know what happens to that money. $15000 would be a bare minimum to undertake an 11. My last “small” ch 11 ran up $37,000 in fees and costs, not including outside litigation counsel. The reason plan payments are refunded in the case of a conversion to 7 is that they (theoretically) come from post-petition earnings, which are not POE in a 7. After BAPCPA, they are POE in an 11, but they would go to the debtor as DIP (= trustee). They can be held in escrow for post-conversion fees, but just remember that they are estate property and you have no lien on them. But as long as the estate is not administratively insolvent, they should be available to C11 admin. expenses, including your fees.
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