Moving in with girlfriend/future Spouse

[mclawdawg]

Hi all,

I wanted to gather some basic information. I've been in my Chapter 13 for about 6 months now and have consistently made all payments on time. My landlord wanted to sell the house in the inflated housing market and I figured this was a good time to move in with my girlfriend and child who I've been supporting even though we didn't live together. This will make things easier on both of us, she pays for daycare while I pay for all of the household things that are included in my Chapter 13 plan. Rent, Utilities, etc.

Now what I'm concerned about. My girlfriend does work, but a lot of her money goes towards daycare. Will the trustee want to re-evaluate the plan because the trustee knows I'm living with someone who has an income?? I don't see how that's fair to my girlfriend, but anyway it's more of a lateral move and everything should remain the same budget wise, maybe freeing up a little bit of money on my end that I could mention. Keep in mind I do not pay Child Support, because I already have a support order that's including in the Chapter 13 plan I have with a previous partner 8 years ago for my oldest daughter who is with us half of the time. I also take care of my current daughter so my children are happy, healthy, and doing well so another support order wasn't considered amongst us. I'm going to let my lawyer know about all of this & I was already exhausted from gathering all my paperwork before and would hate to go through all of this again. What can I expect??

Thanks for taking the time to read.

[justbroke]

Your girlfriend's money doesn't count the way that a spouse's income would count. The Trustee has no claim, at all, to your girlfriend's money (period). The only difference is that... to the extent that she may offset your expenses, you would usually reduce your expense by that amount. So if your rent was $1,800/month and she paid half, then you could only claim $900 in rent (despite any local expense allowances).

It sounds like it will work out in that you still have your rent expense and are not really -- technically -- reducing any expense. So yes, speak to your attorney. You may not even need to give any notice to the Chapter 13 Trustee other than a simple change of address!

Best of luck to you!

[mclawdawg]

Thank you for your timely response. Yeah I want to be fair and honest, so I'm hoping for the best! Moving in to where we will all be together will be beneficial for everyone.