Payment amount question

[kittykat]

Hello,

I am behind on my mortgage about 7000. I tried to work with wells to pay an extra 1000 a month but they said no. My question is if that's all I would put in my bk 13 will the trustee still take all of my disposable income?

[justbroke]

Ostensibly, the answer is yes. I would assume that your Chapter 13 "net disposable income" (NDI or DMI) was calculated with your mortgage payment included. That means that it was already factored and you can't treat the unsecured creditors disproportionately due to mishandling payments "outside" the plan being missed.

However, you could use the Chapter 13 to deal with "post-petition" arrearages. In my district, the Chapter 13 Trustees have been known to allow 6 months to cure a post-petition arrearage through the Plan. Additionally, your Trustee me also require you to make all future mortgage payments through the Trustee ("in" the Plan). This would "cost" you an additional 10% in commissions to the Trustee (unless you are allowed to take it form your NDI/DMI).

I don't recall if you filed with an attorney, but if you did file with an attorney then you need to contact them yesterday. Many things can be solved inside the Chapter 13 Plan and your attorney is only as useful as the information provided (in a timely manner). If you are Pro Se, then you'll need to ask the Trustee if they will be okay with you modifying the plan to include the post-petition arrearage with a cure period of 6 months. Or, you could file a Motion to Modify Confirmed Plan in order to accomplish this "before" speaking with the Trustee. Either way, a Motion to Modify would be required. As to whether you will be allowed to do this is an entirely different story. The Trustee will be REAL interested in where you plan to get this extra $1,000/month (unless you're in a 100% plan).

[LadyInTheRed]

justbroke, I think you may be confusing kittykat with another member. This is kittykat's first post.

kittykat, have you already filed BK? If your question pertains to a possible future Chap 13, the answer may be different. Do you have any other debt? If so, it must all be included in your BK. You don't get to pick and choose. If the mortgage is your only debt, then you should be able to pay less than your disposable income, as long as your plan pays all of your mortgage arrears and the trustee fee. It will probably also have to include the regular monthly mortgage payments.

[kittykat]

LadyInTheRed I haven't filed yet. The only debt I have is my car which will be paid off in October and my mortgage. Im from Northern Ca if that helps. Thankyou for your help

[justbroke]

So sorry to misread! You would be able to cure any issues with any secured property in a Chapter 13. That means that you can payback the $7,000 over the entire term of the Chapter 13 (and not in the 6 months for post-filing issues). You should start shopping for attorneys as California is a State that does non-judicial foreclosures.

Feel free to ask any other questions that are on your mind.

[LadyInTheRed]

I have some questions. The answers may lead to a suggestion on how you may be able to deal with this without having to file bankruptcy.

How long have you been in default?
How much are you incurring in penalties each month?
Has the bank sent you a notice of default? If so, how long ago?

What county are you in? Or, if you don't want to be that specific, what district of Northern California? Go to http://www.canb.uscourts.gov/court-info/court-locations and click your count to find out.