Glenn Randall Buettner, 625 B.R. 78

Debtor Glenn R. Buettner filed a 36‑month Chapter 13 plan proposing to pay allowed nonpriority unsecured creditors $4,036.54.
The Chapter 13 trustee objected under 11 U.S.C. §1325(a)(4), arguing a hypothetical Chapter 7 liquidation would yield $8,521.69 to unsecured creditors (non‑exempt assets $10,301.88 less trustee commission $1,780.19).
The parties agree debtor’s attorney fees total $4,486; the dispute is whether those Chapter 13 fees must be deducted from the Chapter 7 hypothetical distribution for §1325(a)(4) purposes.
Debtor’s counsel has not filed a fee application, but Local Rule 2016.1 permits payment through a confirmed plan where the fee is at or below the presumed reasonable amount and no objection is filed—conditions that are met here.
If the plan is confirmed, counsel’s fees will be an allowed administrative expense as of the plan’s effective date (confirmation date), reducing the Chapter 7 hypothetical distribution to unsecured creditors to approximately $4,035.69.
The court sustained the trustee’s objection, denied confirmation, and ordered the debtor to file an amended plan within 30 days.

Issue	Trustee's Argument	Debtor's Argument	Held
What is the “effective date of the plan” for §1325(a)(4)?	Treat effective date as the date needed to compute a Chapter 7 hypothetical (trustee urges date of filing / Chapter 7 comparison without Chapter 13 effects).	Effective date means confirmation date when plan becomes binding; compare distributions as of confirmation.	The phrase means the plan’s confirmation date; Supreme Court precedent equates “effective date” with confirmation.
Do Chapter 13 attorney fees reduce the Chapter 7 hypothetical distribution under §1325(a)(4)?	No — only Chapter 7 administrative expenses should be deducted; Chapter 13 fees should not be combined with Chapter 7 expenses in the hypothetical.	Yes — if Chapter 13 attorney fees will be allowed as administrative expenses on the confirmation date, they must be treated as senior claims in the Chapter 7 hypothetical and reduce the unsecured distribution.	Fees allowed as administrative expenses on the confirmation (effective) date are included in the Chapter 7 hypothetical; here, under local rules the fees will be allowed and reduce the Chapter 7 distribution, so the plan fails §1325(a)(4).

Lamar, Archer & Cofrin, LLP v. Appling, 138 S. Ct. 1752 (2018) (textualist interpretation principle used to read statutory phrase in its ordinary meaning)
Hamilton v. Lanning, 560 U.S. 505 (2010) (construed “as of the effective date of the plan” to mean confirmation date for projected income analysis)
Rake v. Wade, 508 U.S. 464 (1993) (construed “value, as of the effective date of the plan” to mean present dollar value as of confirmation)
Till v. SCS Credit Corp., 541 U.S. 465 (2004) (present-value principles for deferred payments apply in bankruptcy valuation contexts)
Lamie v. U.S. Trustee, 540 U.S. 526 (2004) (addressed limits on compensation from the bankruptcy estate; cited in contrasting authority)
In re Cook, 322 B.R. 336 (Bankr. N.D. Ohio 2005) (approves discounting streams of plan payments to present value for §1325(a)(4) analysis)