Chapter 13 Newbie Questions

[OldSchool]

Hi All

New To All This, Please Bear With Me...

I have 15K in CC debt and 3K PayPal Pay Later.
I have met with a BK attorney and as follows.

. According to means test my wife and i earn to much for me to qualify for CH7 (Me 18K and wife 70K)
. We don't have a Mortgage , don't have a car note, no health insurance etc.
. So on paper we have a lot of disposable income.
. In reality after Rent, household expenses, utilities, gas etc. we don't have that much left after all is said and done.
. Attorney says with Ch13 i would be paying about $500 a month until all debts are cleared.
. After that i can start to rebuild my life/credit.

My Questions:
1. How difficult is the CH13 process, it seems your life is controlled by the Trustee.
2. Should i file now or hold off, maybe i qualify for CH7 in future.
3. Does CH13 nullify a Judgement.
4. What happens if you loose your job and can't pay as agreed.

Thanks In Advance...

[hcorreia1]

I am replying, but please know I am no expert only answering your questions based on my experience. The first thing I would consider is trying to negotiate with creditors directly, you could probably negotiate your debt to as low as 50%. I say this because you debit doesn’t seem to all that much. If you do decide to go down the chapter 13 you will have no phone calls to make or creditors calling you, so might be worth it. As for the trustee as long as you make tour payments the trustee won’t bother you. If you do end up loosing your job then you can qualify for a chapter 7.

Best of luck with your decision

[OldSchool]

I am replying, but please know I am no expert only answering your questions based on my experience.

Best of luck with your decision

No Worries
I appreciate your input...

[flashoflight]

1. It's not like that. They don't have access to your payroll system or bank account. But the trustee will want you to pay all of your disposable income up to 100% of the debt. If you claim a higher expense, you will need to provide receipts. They don't take your word for it. They can reject the expense outright and say it's unreasonable for your creditors to shoulder that burden.
2. This doesn't seem right. There are many affordable areas in Texas and I know plenty in Texas who live fine with much less than $98k/year in Texas even in pricey Austin.
3. The underlying debt can no longer be collected except via the trustee.
4. You need to find a new job real quick. You have about two to three months to resolve it. Most trustees file a motion to dismiss at month 3, but of course they will make a deal with you to make it up if you simply need time to catch up and just found another job.

[OldSchool]

1. It's not like that. They don't have access to your payroll system or bank account. But the trustee will want you to pay all of your disposable income up to 100% of the debt. If you claim a higher expense, you will need to provide receipts. They don't take your word for it. They can reject the expense outright and say it's unreasonable for your creditors to shoulder that burden.
2. This doesn't seem right. There are many affordable areas in Texas and I know plenty in Texas who live fine with much less than $98k/year in Texas even in pricey Austin.
3. The underlying debt can no longer be collected except via the trustee.
4. You need to find a new job real quick. You have about two to three months to resolve it. Most trustees file a motion to dismiss at month 3, but of course they will make a deal with you to make it up if you simply need time to catch up and just found another job.

Thank you for your input, much appreciated...