There appears to be a lot of confusion out there about what is actually a bankruptcy dismissal vs discharge. These are two very different things and you should understand both of them.
When you are a debtor you do not want a dismissal of your case. A bankruptcy dismissal will closed your case in fact it will end your case. A dismissal will not relieve you of your debts, and once the case has been dismissed you will be responsible for them again. You won’t receive a discharge once your case is dismissed. Creditors can continue to collect from you once your case is dismissed. A Chapter 13 case could be dismissed if the debtor is not making timely payments. That could be a serious problem so it’s important to keep in contact with your attorney to make sure that doesn’t happen and your case is completed successfully. Sometimes a case get dismissed with prejudice. This is bad if your are the debts because you can be barred from filing a new case for a period of time depending upon what the court orders.
A discharge on the other hand means the debts that could be wiped out have been or in a Chapter 13 case that the payment plan is satisfied and that the plan was completed successfully. This is what a you want as a debtor – I always tell my clients this the goal of the whole process is to get a discharge. This means all debts that can be wiped away have been wiped away. It means that your creditors cannot try to collect against you again. Its finality of the debt. This is what you want most as a debtor.
Using an experienced bankruptcy lawyer will help you gain what you want most from the process – discharge of your debts. If you are unsure of that your goal should be in bankruptcy then call your attorney and ask her about what your goal is…if they cant explain it to you simply then looking for a new advisor might be in order.