Filed Chapter 13 in April 2011. I had a life insurance policy on my daughter who died in a car accident. Will the Trustee take the payout?

First of all, please accept my deepest sympathies for your loss.  That is something a parents should never have to endure. As to your questions, it really depends on the terms of your plan, how your plan is structured, and the rules of the trustee and court in your jurisidiction.  The life insurance proceeds are part of your "bankruptcy estate" and in most cases any increase in income during the course of your case can result in a motion to increase your plan payments (assuming you are paying less than 100% to your unsecured creditors). You really need to discuss this question with a bankruptcy attorney in your area since a lot of this depends on the specifics of your Plan and the judge/trustee in your case.  I only practice in the Los Angeles area and what they do in Missouri could be completely different. Mark J. Markus, Attorney at Law Handling exclusively bankruptcy law cases in California since 1991. http://www.bklaw.com/ bankruptcy blog: http://www.bklaw.com/bankruptcy-blog/ Follow Me on Twitter:  @bklawr