Chapter 7 conversion

[Scottowl]

I am converting to Ch 7. It was done early this month, and the 341 will be late next month.
The lawyer got another $1000 for his troubles.

There is 1 car I will not be reaffirming. The license expires at the end of this month, and insurance premiums are due to renew the middle of January. I'm wondering how long until they take possession, and I can cancel the insurance.

I got a letter soon after the filing saying there is a presumption of abuse. Is this just a form letter?
I was in 13 because of income, but the new income schedule is far under that. My new income, between SS and pension is a whopping 2160/month. I had a hard time matching the expense schedule to show sufficient income.

I will still have tax debt, and plan to enter into some kind of payment plan.
The Ch 13 payment schedule showed unsecured IRS debt of around 1k, along with 4k that was secured.
I wonder if our Fed friends will knock off the unsecured portion?

There is 1 vehicle loan I plan to reaffirm. Is it common for a lender to negotiate a lower price during reaffirmation?
Do you have to file a plan to reaffirm before the 341 meeting?
I decided to reaffirm the mortgage. I wonder what new and exciting fees will be tacked on?
I am still in arrears with it, but plan to cash out what little 401k I have left to cover that.

I really didn't think retirement would be this ugly.

[Scottowl]

Ah, well.
I'll be finding all this out for myself shortly.

Happy New Year,

[Zombie13]

I believe the 'presumption of abuse' is a form letter; we might have gotten something similar when we first sbmitted our plan. It also said, the plan does not fulfill <something or other... obligations>. The attorney will handle that, but be sure you express your concerns with the attorney about it.

re: car possession: yknow, there's no telling. It depends I suppose, on availability of the labor force to come get it. Seems like, all industries are facing labor shortages, so, it's possible it could be awhile. Nonetheless, if you are not going to drive the car, may as well consider cancelling insurance now. Just, do not drive it at all. If you do drive it, and end up in an accident, your situation will get worse.

tax debt: not sure about this one... there are other recent threads on this forum about this topic, so it may be worth doing some searching.

re: lender lowering car loan cost during reaffirmation: there is a process called... mm... crunch up, or stack up, something like that. This is also covered in some recent threads on here; try searching for: 'car loan' and similar terms.

re: mortgage reaffirmation: Fees tend to be tacked on at the end of the bk; in a ch7 case though, that might happen fairly quickly.

My responses are a bit vague since I am not privvy to the details; hopefully other folks more knowledgeable on here can help more.

[shipo]

re: lender lowering car loan cost during reaffirmation: there is a process called... mm... crunch up, or stack up, something like that.

"Cram Down"?

[Zombie13]

"Cram Down"?

Yes, that! Cram down.

[Carmella]

Scottowl I have been wondering how you are doing. I hope your health is holding out.

I haven't been online for a few days and just saw your post now. I am dealing with a Covid outbreak at work which is very stressful, hoping I don't go down that covid road.

I don't know much about your questions, but I would think the "abuse" letter is fairly standard. Yep, check with the lawyer. I would think your circumstance would show the reality of what happened. It's not like you tried to pull something as you were working and were not planning on getting sick and ending up not working anymore.


Hopefully once you get through the Chapter 7 legal stuff you will be able to focus on your retirement and yourself instead of the financial stress/problems.

Please do let us know how it goes.

[Scottowl]

Thanks for the insight, Zombie. I saw on another thread you are all but done with your plan. Please accept my congratulations and admiration. It is not an easy thing to do!

Hi Carmella! This COVID twist dominates all of our daily lives.
Personally, I have had 3 doses of Moderna, and 3 positive test results since we began this at the end of 2019.
My 341 for Ch 7 is on Jan 24, via telephone, due to COVID. It will be a new experience.

I don't know that bankruptcy discharge will be a cure all for me. My back mortgage and tax debt will survive, and they represent at least 30% of my total debt. I am not working, so I am wondering how that is going to get paid off. If I deplete what is left of my 401K, it will not cover it all.
There is 3 months of disability pay that is being held up. As handy to have as it may be, I do not expect to see it. Anyone who has dealt with Sedgewick will have some perspective on this.

The worst of it is health insurance. Even though I am old, I am still 15 months too young for Medicare.
I will officially seperate from my employer tomorrow, and the insurance will be cancelled. There are some maintenance meds that I will not be able to afford.
I have 2 generic hypertension doses I can retain. However, insulin would represent over 37% of my income, and will have to go.
I have been trying to ration what insulin I have for the past month, and my blood sugar is nearly at 300 again.
There was also an anti-depressant I cut out at that time because I cannot afford it. That is not doing my mood any good.

I have begun a part time job search. So far I have found the National glut of unfilled positions does not apply to my age bracket.

I really have made a mess of things with little hope to recover. Even though I do know there is nobody but myself to blame, that fact does not give me the warm fuzzies.

[Zombie13]

Thanks Scottowl . Yes, not an easy thing to accomplish.
Is there any way you can get a cost reduction on your medicines? Such as, "SingleCare . com" ?
For job search: are you on LinkedIn? Something to consider, as well as the other typical job search sites like indeed . com.

[Barbisi]

Happy New Year Scottowl even though I know it's everything but!
I don't think you should blame yourself for all that has happened to you because such an attitude is only making your depression worse. Instead, recognize where you bear responsibility and where you simply had no control (e.g. your current health struggles.)
I have read many of your posts and it seems to me you have had unrelenting bad luck for many, many years. Your former company hardly sounds like a peach to me. Why couldn't they have assigned you different, less physically demanding work that didn't come with a pay cut, given your many, many years of service to them?
As for medications, contact the pharmaceutical companies directly and see if you qualify for greatly discounted or free medicine because of your age and financial predicament. I see TV commercials all the time saying in effect," if you can't afford your medicines _______ may be able to help."
May you have a less ugly retirement ahead and get the breaks that so far have eluded you in this life!
Sending goods vibes and wishes for a better tomorrow to you!

[Carmella]

I agree with Barbisi see if there's a way to get meds. Ask your doctor or the pharmacist and call the companies I have known people to get free or very discounted medications because they did the legwork for it. And these are people who were working/had income so it's not only based on income (thought I assume some options are based on income) A friend of mine has trouble getting the right inhaler since she is allergic to what Medicare pays for, but Medicare only will give her their standard option. She has been able to find a discounted version of what she needs.

As for the Covid situation.

Guess who is home this week in Isolation. Yep Carmella tested positive on Monday. There is an awful outbreak at work and our infection control is almost zilch. So many patients and staff have it, it's not funny. I have a mild case, Omicron I assume cold like symptoms. At least it's nice to be out of the rat race for a week.

[Barbisi]

I agree with Barbisi see if there's a way to get meds. Ask your doctor or the pharmacist and call the companies I have known people to get free or very discounted medications because they did the legwork for it. And these are people who were working/had income so it's not only based on income (thought I assume some options are based on income) A friend of mine has trouble getting the right inhaler since she is allergic to what Medicare pays for, but Medicare only will give her their standard option. She has been able to find a discounted version of what she needs.

As for the Covid situation.

Guess who is home this week in Isolation. Yep Carmella tested positive on Monday. There is an awful outbreak at work and our infection control is almost zilch. So many patients and staff have it, it's not funny. I have a mild case, Omicron I assume cold like symptoms. At least it's nice to be out of the rat race for a week.

Oh, Carmella , I'm so sorry to read this!
I hope your symptoms are mild, if you have any at all!
How is your husband doing -is he off work and in isolation too?
We are fortunate to be isolated from most people most of the time - my husband will be returning to work in -person next week. (He started working on Tuesday again at home only after two and a half weeks off (partly the company closure/partly his PTO days) and I only interact with medical professionals for PT and chiro care, as well as attend classes at the gym (which so far hasn't had any outbreaks {KNOCK ON WOOD}) at least that we know of LOL!

[Scottowl]

Barbsi! That was an excellent suggestion about the prescriptions!
I was able to get a discount card from the insulin manufacturer that knocks the price down to 35$/month. Thank you!

Also, I have been researching an Offer in Compromise to the IRS. I am not eligible until the BK closes, but it looks as if I would qualify for a healthy reduction. They would accept payments, if need be.
I will not even know the exact amount owed until after the discharge.

My last hurdle is the mortgage. 6 months or so ago I began reading up on van dwellers. Although not a life I would choose, there are stories of older people who travel around in campers, or even converted mini vans and live on next to nothing. It is fascinating to me on how little some of them do get by on.
It is a community, and they meet up around annual free/low cost medical and dental clinics. It seems to be their own little society. This lifestyle is not for me, but it shows what a positive outlook can bring.


Dangit, Carmella! I hope you don't think I jinxed you! LOL.
I hope you can avoid the complications some people are going through.

It seems funny to say, but most people on here would say the BK procedure is their dominant concern.
For me it is a couple steps down from the top.

[Carmella]

Scottowl I am doing fine. It's been a head cold, sneezing, loss of appetite and I think a little fatigue, but NOTHING like the fatigue I had the day after the vaccination. It's good you are finding some options and planning for the future.

The lifestyle that fascinates me are the people (not sure how many really do this) who live in hotels, the extended stay type and move from place to place. I don't think I would choose to do that, but how fun would it be at retirement. If I were single I think I would do a round of traveling to a few different cities or different parts of the country just because! With the house paid off and hopefully minimal bills I think it would be fun.

My husband is almost 7 yrs older than me so by the time I retire I think he'll be an old fuddy duddy. He's already acting that way, he's always acted older than most people his age. The things he tells me because he sees himself as old since he will be 65 this year. I work with people who are over 65, over 70 that do not have his attitude so when I am able to retire, he's going to be around 74 acting like he's 90 yrs old...