Surrender asset 2 years into the plan

[Granny]

Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of what happens if one surrenders a secured asset after a couple of years into a CH 13 Bk.

Yes, I am thinking about the d*mn truck again. My payments to the trustee require 60 months to pay off the truck. Two years from now, the truck will have over 1 million miles and will be in need of major repair that we won't be able to afford (15k) and we will have to give it up.

With such a major change to my debts, will they finally allow me to re-address Schedules I & J with something a little more realistic?

Thanks

[lrprn]

With such a major change to my debts, will they finally allow me to re-address Schedules I & J with something a little more realistic?

It sure is worth running the numbers again, Granny. Go back to your lawyer and tell him you are considering surrendering the truck (which makes good sense given what you've told us about the horrible deal the trustee offered for you to keep it). Ask your lawyer to rerun your adjusted figures through the Means Test again to see how they look without the truck skewing your expenses.

And if your lawyer is AWOL, plug your own figures into the Ch 13 sample forms here - http://www.legalconsumer.com/bankruptcy/br_home.php . Start by entering your zip code - the forms appropriate for your state appear after you click GO. You can fill the forms out right on the page and get a rough idea of where you stand.

Good luck - be sure to let us know what you find out.

[Granny]

It sure is worth running the numbers again, Granny. Go back to your lawyer and tell him you are considering surrendering the truck (which makes good sense given what you've told us about the horrible deal the trustee offered for you to keep it).

That horrible deal is what the attorney/paralegal worked out, the trustee hasn't even seen it yet.


I don't want to bother the attorney about something that will happen 2-3 years from now, even though I know for certain that it will happen. I don't anticipate an increase in income after we give up the truck, and we are already below the means for Texas. I think a better way to state my question would be this way:

If I have been forced to live with a budget that is way below the IRS standards in order to make the monthly payments, will they allow me to raise my monthly expenses for food, clothing, medical etc. once we surrender the broken down truck. Or will they expect me to continue with the measly budget that is being forced upon me.

BTW, I sent the attorney a plea today to take a look at my budget on Schedule J along with an explanation for why I would like to increase any one of the line items for the slight difference I was able to calculate in the payment plan. Maybe he will see that even a $50 per month reduction in the payment would be helpful to me.

Thanks for the reply.