After you file for bankruptcy all of this changes.  In essence, the court becomes your financial overseer.  Any financial move you make besides paying your debts as designated through the Chapter 13 plan and paying for your regular living expenses will require court approval. 

So what does this include? Any loan, even something as small as taking out a 401k loan through your employer, will require court approval.  The idea behind this is that the court wants to make sure that you are not putting yourself in a worse financial position than you were in before you filed the bankruptcy. 

What happens if you do take a loan without court approval?  First, a new loan reduces money that is already earmarked to take care of the things in your budget, like food, clothing, shelter, insurance, which may cause a monthly financial shortfall.  Secondly, if you need to request a reduction of your monthly plan payment to the court because of a decrease in income, then the court is likely to deny your request because of the loan you have taken out without prior approval.  Thirdly, the court may even dismiss your case.

As you can see, this can be detrimental to your case.  Be mindful of this as you embark on a Chapter 13 case filing.