At the end of my rope

[workinghard]

99.9% chance my case is getting dismissed for missed payments. Get this, my options are pay the arrears to the trustee to get current approx $4000 or get dismissed and refile but I'll have pay another $3000 to the attorney PFFFT! If I had 3K to give the attorney why wouldn't I pay the trustee....I have had it. Let the chips lay where they fall.

[BKOnce]

50/50 chance game ==>> Tossing the dice/coin game!!...

[Jenn]

Did you just file recently? Looks like March, maybe you can make an appointment with the trustee with your attorney present and go over your expenses and disposable income again, it looks like maybe they need to renegotiate it since its so early and you are already missing payments. Talk to them, they really are there to help you, I know it seems like they dont, but they do. Call them, dont just let things get out of your control.

[lrprn]

99.9% chance my case is getting dismissed for missed payments.

Did something recently change in your financial situation that caused you to miss payments? Is there some reason that you aren't filing an amended Ch 13 plan?

[workinghard]

My husband has been off work 2 months and I had a job change that caused my payroll to become in arrears (only received 1 paycheck last month). According to the attorney, my only options are to come current with the missed payments (2 + another one coming due) or let it be dismissed and refile at which point he wants me to pay the addl;' attorney fees etc... AND at that would have to request a motion to extend the stay longer than 30 days,,,which I don't understand why is that. We had filed an amended budget once but my payment went UP almost $300 because of secured creditors wanting higher finance rates than offered. I just feel totally scr*wed.

[Jenn]

Girl, call your trustee- this sounds fishy to me. Of course he would want you to refile, then he could get your money again!

[CATCHMEIFYOUCAN]

Oh WOW

My husband has been off work 2 months and I had a job change that caused my payroll to become in arrears (only received 1 paycheck last month). According to the attorney, my only options are to come current with the missed payments (2 + another one coming due) or let it be dismissed and refile at which point he wants me to pay the addl;' attorney fees etc... AND at that would have to request a motion to extend the stay longer than 30 days,,,which I don't understand why is that. We had filed an amended budget once but my payment went UP almost $300 because of secured creditors wanting higher finance rates than offered. I just feel totally scr*wed.

I dont have assets but I had been working 2 full time jobs and had filed for CH13. When I decided to quit one of my jobs I immediately told my lawyer when my last day of quitting one job was going to be. I was able to convert to CH7 with no more payments to CH13. I had only been in CH13 for 2-3 months. I feel for you! Did your husband know he was going to be let go? Wondering if THAN you could have converted to CH7 or amend the plan right away! Maybe its more complicated when you have assets such as a house ???

I hope all works out for ya! CMIYC

[lrprn]

Sorry to hear about all your recent troubles, WH

According to the attorney, my only options are to come current with the missed payments (2 + another one coming due) or let it be dismissed and refile at which point he wants me to pay the addl;' attorney fees etc... AND at that would have to request a motion to extend the stay longer than 30 days,,,which I don't understand why is that.

Since your husband is still out of work after two months, that drastically changes your income structure. I don't understand why your lawyer isn't suggesting filing an amended plan rather than allowing your plan to be dismissed and then refiled (unless your lawyer is padding his legal bill at your expense?)

The reason for the request to extend the 30 day stay is that when a Ch 13 is dismissed and then refiled, the law only allows a 30 day stay unless a longer one is officially requested from the court.

We had filed an amended budget once but my payment went UP almost $300 because of secured creditors wanting higher finance rates than offered.

Filing an amended budget is not the same as filing an amended plan. And secured creditors can't increase your APRs after you file so I don't understand why you had a $300 increase - can you explain that in more detail? Did your trustee or a creditor object to your plan? Did you have to buy back part of an asset's value?

[SinkingFast]

AND at that would have to request a motion to extend the stay longer than 30 days,,,which I don't understand why is that.

It's part of the New Law. When you refile, the Automatic Stay automatically lifts after 30 days. That's why your attny would have to file a Motion to Extend Stay if your refile.

[CindyLou]

Can you convert to a 7?

[BKTango]

You really should give thought to either converting to a chapter 7 if at all possible or making sure your plan gets amended. Either way, you need to inform the trustee of the income situation.

[workinghard]

Hello...thanks for all you replies and support.

We cannot convert to a chapter 7. I have no idea what exactly the trustee knows but at the 341 meeting my husband told them he was out of work. The lawyer keeps saying "you have to have enough income to support the plan". Based on my income alone, that is not possible although I make more than my husband.

The vehicle was a 0% finance contract. The creditor made an objection and wanted "prime plus" interest instead of the rate quoted by the attorney. Also, the value of the vehicle came in question and they raised it by about $5000. All that made my payment soar.

Anyway, I left word to my attorney I cannot afford to pay the arrears at this time so, looks like dismissal is imminent. I will have to go from there and deal with the repercussions. Try loss mitigation for the home and just let them have the vehicles back and get something else. I'm sure once I'm out of the plan subprime lenders will be banging down my door to give me a car at 29%. That's the worse case scenario.

[Jenn]

Well, not only that, but if you give the cars back- they will look to sue for garnishments. Seriously, CALL YOUR TRUSTEE- it seems like there is hesitation on your part to do so, you need to know all your options before you just let it all go to dismissal.

[rrockinggramma]

I was in your position in 2004. We dismissed for non payment and then refiled. It takes about 6 weeks to turn a case around and by then the creditors were coming out of the woodwork tacking on all kinds of late fees etc. You might have to sit down and seriously rethink your entire strategy and your budget. A different attorney sometimes helps also, because he/she can offer a different perspective. And it sounds like you are really upside down on the vehicles. What is most important for you to save? The house?? The car?? I would start there. Save whatever it is you want to keep the most and then let the rest go and start over. IF you have to file a chapter 13, which is what is sounds like, then you have to make it as stress free as possible. In my first chapter 13, our problem was still trying to live in the "lifestyle" that created the financial mess in the first place. Once I figured out that it was ok to let go of some things and downsize the lifestyle (the point of chapter 13 to begin with) then the chapter 13 became more manageable and a lot less stressful.

[workinghard]

You make good points. My husband called the trustees office and gave our side of the story. They took notes and said we need to tell this to the judge at the dismissal hearing. They did not have any of our facts on file. Said it's still 50/50 chance but anything is possible.

We have cut our lifestyle (I've been eating ramen noodle soups alot these days). We are willing to give up the the vehicle that went up to $800 in the plan. No way is that worth keeping! If that goes from $40K to secured to 40K unsecure, less whatever they sell it for...should make a big difference or at least I think so.

I do want to save my house and have considered alternatives. My main concern is I do animal rescue so I have alot (8) cats and (1) dog. They are like my family, I don't have any kids. It might be hard to find a place to rent and also landlords do credit checks and they are not supposed to discriminate but we all know they do. I even thought about putting an ad in the paper to see if anyone would call. But have thought about it for last resorts.