Nervous and don’t want to proceed

[AnxiousUserX]

I am nervous about everything, I’m not sure where to begin. Im at a point where I don’t even want to proceed with all this but I am nearly at my confirmation meeting.

I was supposed to save a bonus I received a few weeks ago and spent it. I can try to come up with the money over the next few weeks to hand over or ask a family member to take out a loan and pay back on the quiet, but I’m scared. I don’t want my family to get caught up in this and get in trouble.

The trustee just asked for recent bank statements and I know they will ask questions I’m not ready to answer. I’m in the beginning of this and I’m already ready to not go any further and go back to dealing with creditors.

Can I stop all this at this point?

[flashoflight]

Relax. It might not be a big deal. What did you spend it on? How much are we talking about? What did your lawyer say about it?

Even the worst trustee in the country is way better than dealing with creditors who have sued me or likely to sue me, IMHO.

[justbroke]

A Chapter 13 is voluntary. You can voluntarily dismiss at any time but you're thrown back to the wolves (creditors). Just answer the questions. A Chapter 13 is not like a Chapter 7. Even if you have money in the bank, they don't ask for the money in the bank! In a Chapter 13 you just pay as much as you would have paid had there been a liquidation (of that account) in a Chapter 7.

Speak to your attorney and let them know. It's probably not a big deal in the grant scheme of things. But, you must learn to budget and stay on a budget in order to be successful in a Chapter 13.

[mh321]

Just relax. Talk to your attorney. I get a small bonus each year and it ends up blending into my salary (basically) so the Trustee has never requested it, even though they have seen my bank statements.

How big of a bonus are you talking?

[AnxiousUserX]

Just relax. Talk to your attorney. I get a small bonus each year and it ends up blending into my salary (basically) so the Trustee has never requested it, even though they have seen my bank statements.

How big of a bonus are you talking?

It’s about 1,000.

[justbroke]

It’s about 1,000.

I don't think that's significant to worry about at all. Again, a Chapter 13 is entirely different. Absolute worse case is that it is non-exempt and you must pay $1,000 over the 36-60 months of the plan, which comes to $17-$27/month extra.

But, again, that's not a significant amount. You may need to explain it so that they don't think it's part of your ordinary (regular) pay.