§ 1329. Modification of Plan After Confirmation

     (a) At any time after confirmation of the plan but before the completion of payments under such plan, the plan may be modified, upon request of the debtor, the trustee, or the holder of an allowed unsecured claim, to—

     (1) increase or reduce the amount of payments on claims of a particular class provided for by the plan;

     (2) extend or reduce the time for such payments; or

     (3) alter the amount of the distribution to a creditor whose claim is provided for by the plan to the extent necessary to take account of any payment of such claim other than under the plan.

     (b)(1) Sections 1322(a), 1322(b), and 1323(c) of this title and the requirements of section 1325(a) of this title apply to any modification under subsection (a) of this section.

     (2) The plan as modified becomes the plan unless, after notice and a hearing, such modification is disapproved.

     (c) A plan modified under this section may not provide for payments over a period that expires after three years after the time that the first payment under the original confirmed plan was due, unless the court, for cause, approves a longer period, but the court may not approve a period that expires after five years after such time.

(Pub. L. 95–598, Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2651; Pub. L. 98–353, title III, §§ 319, 533, July 10, 1984, 98 Stat. 357, 389.)

     At any time prior to the completion of payments under a confirmed plan, the plan may be modified, after notice and hearing, to change the amount of payments to creditors or a particular class of creditors and to extend or reduce the payment period. A modified plan may not contain any provision which could not be included in an original plan as prescribed by section 1322. A modified plan may not call for payments to be made beyond four years as measured from the date of the commencement of payments under the original plan.

     1984—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–353, §§ 319, 533(1), (2), inserted "of the plan" after "confirmation", substituted "such plan" for "a plan", and inserted provisions respecting requests by the debtor, the trustee, or the holder of an allowed unsecured claim for modification.

     Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 98–353, § 533(3), substituted "plan to" for "plan, to".

     Amendment by Pub. L. 98–353 effective with respect to cases filed 90 days after July 10, 1984, see section 552(a) of Pub. L. 98–353, set out as a note under section 101 of this title.

     This section is referred to in sections 1307, 1328, 1330 of this title; title 28 section 586.