What a terrible 341 meeting!!!

[jzak423]

Well the meeting went pretty bad. My lawyer made a mistake on my means test reguarding how much in taxes is taken out of my check each month and now they're moving to a 100% repay plan. When I first met with my lawyer, he claimed my monthly payment would be around $350.00 which I thought was great. Then after the means test and all the paperwork was filed it went to $544.00 which was alot, but still managable. Now they're talking about amending my plan to $750-$800.00 which will be a far stretch to live on.

I'm going to have my lawyer look into it, but I think I'm screwed. The only plus side is the 100% plan will alow me to pay it off early (if I ever get an increase in pay).

The other issues I have is when paying back 100%, can they still make you pay more if you make more money or if you inherit money?

Plus having 30 other people in the room led to a nice little panic attack

[AllHosedUp]

"My lawyer made a mistake on my means test reguarding how much in taxes is taken out of my check each month"

It's like I said in an earlier post about my 341 meeting, "I guess everyone can't be Matlock." My attorney ended up leaving off four creditors during my 341 meeting, so I had to race to get that corrected before my conf. hearing. If it makes you feel any better, know that my 341 meeting was a fairly public spectacle as well. Don't sweat it, those people were in the same situation that you were in.

[CATCHMEIFYOUCAN]

Sounds similiar to when I first filed Ch13. I had two full time jobs which put me over the median. The Means Test proved a negative amount, but schedules I and J showed I had $800, however because of the new so called law with the means test the lawyer proposed a repayment plan in good faith of $250.

OBJECTION by Trustee.

Well make a long story short, I didn't see myself paying $800 a month the next 5 years working 80 hours a week. So I quit one job and converted to Ch7 wait a couple months and got discharged. Now I can pickup where I left off IF I WANT to working 80 hours a week or just part time

Best Wishes, Catchmeifyoucan

Can't you amend your plan ????

[HHM]

If you are paying back 100%, they don't usually require you to devote more money to pay it back faster. So if you do get a raise in the future, it should not be a problem.

[jzak423]

I'm sure I can reamend my plan, but the only issues I have is time. I want to have this all done before my wedding in June so I don't drag my future wife into this, she's so good with her mondy and doesn't deserve to be dragged into this.

[treehugger1]

Jzak: I'm hoping you analyzed every document prepared by your attorney prior to signing your name. I'm not so things are as messed up as you think. You might want to visit the US Trustee's website and pull up the Schedule's I, J, and 22. Fill them out yourself, and see if YOU can get a close estimate of what your attorney proposed. Do this independent of your attorney, so you will have some sense of what was proposed. Ask you attorney about any discrepency between your calculations and his/hers. I'm sure this is a short setback and can be negotiatied in a manner that is fair to all. While I have not filed for 13 as of yet, I have had to explain in detail all the strange additions/deductions/taxes on my paystub. I work for a state agency and, in my opinion, I might even need to help the trustee read my paystubs should he/she not "get it.". Be proactive here, and have a sense of what you "think is appropriate" by running the numbers yourself. Good luck.

[SinkingFast]

Our real life expenses and our Schedule J were very little alike. Rent, utilities, auto insurance,............. The REAL bills,........... Our attny used those numbers.

Food, clothes, etc,............ Those were "made up" numbers. Our attny took into Court what he knew the Trustee was used to seeing and would accept for a family similar to ours.

Bottom line,........... Real vs Schedule J came out about the same.

You can run Schedule J your own way if you want, but local BK attnys know what the Trustees will and won't accept.

[jzak423]

I guess my lawyer estimated my withheld taxes on my means test wrong. He said he did that way to keep my payment lower, but all it did was delay the process. My payment went from $544/ month to $756/ month. That $200 is really going to hurt (mainly because my pay is commision based). My lawyer said I could reammend the plan after my wedding in June since I'll have another dependent and my fiance isn't working. I guess it will be tight until then.

[aveda6]

We're meeting with lawyer tomorrow to finalize the retainer fee and provide all of the paperwork. In my pre-interview with him, I asked about "real-life" expenses and he knew pretty much exactly what the local trustee was willing to accept. These are the "made-up" numbers that are hard to figure out. He knew, for example, that the trustee allows for a food bill of $200 per month per person and $150 per month for "entertainment." The reason I'm going with this lawyer (over a separate one that I met with that was much cheaper)is that he has a lot of history with the trustee and knows what the trustee is willing to accept. I'm hoping that that allows the planning and approval to go much easier (though I'm a bit pessimistic that it will go well).