More questions, Atty still has not filed!

[jmonez]

I have paid my attorney for the chap 13 over 3 weeks ago and still he has not filed my b.k petition. Is that a long time, I have been trying to contact him over a week without a response. So I am reaching out to have some questions answered. thanks for your help.

1. i am almost 60 days behind on my current auto, and secured credit card loan through hsbc on 2 dirt bikes. I am afraid that they will be repo'd soon if my attorney does not file. I am hoping to include them in my b.k. The auto is not able to be cramed down due to only 845 days financed and bikes are eligable. My question is, if he files in time and i can include them, will my overall payment likely be less than they are now in my plan. right now on auto i pay $666 per mo and $245 on secured hsbc loan. thanks for any advice or help you can give me. Oh yeah, i also have aprox 40k in unsecured cc debt and a second mortgage with a $750 a mo payment i am trying to lien strip.

[optimistic1]

Thats alot of food on his plate for either him or his paralegal to process, especially when there are probably hundreds of other clients that retained him. You will just need to give him some time. Try storing the dirt bikes at a in-laws house, or at a local storage company if you are afraid of repossession. The car itlself, would be harder to hide, so I do not have any suggestions for that. Just be patient, and be OPTIMISTIC!!

[jmonez]

is it possible, that the trustee or creditors(secured) will not allow me to include the loans in a chap 13, and say they want the items back, and not allow me to pay on them through the plan?

[BankruptinNC]

is it possible, that the trustee or creditors(secured) will not allow me to include the loans in a chap 13, and say they want the items back, and not allow me to pay on them through the plan?

I'm not sure about the bikes (whether or not they could be considered luxury items), but as far as the car goes, I know it can be included in the plan. I had just purchased a new car 2 1/2 months before filing that has been included in my plan. While I do have to pay the full secured amount of the vehicle, my interest rate was significantly lowered. However, with that being said, you also have to keep in mind that the trustee will get a percentage of everything that is paid out through the plan, which means a bigger paycheck for the trustee. But as I said, it just worked better for me that way. As far as the attorney's delay, I think 3 weeks is probably not too long to wait. Both of the attorneys I consulted with prior to filing told me it would take about 2-3 weeks to process the paperwork & file. As optimistic1 stated, it probably has alot to do with all the people that are filing in these hard times. Hope this helps, and good luck!

[lrprn]

is it possible, that the trustee or creditors(secured) will not allow me to include the loans in a chap 13, and say they want the items back, and not allow me to pay on them through the plan?

Every creditor MUST agree to the Ch 13 terms and allow payments for reasonable assets like cars to continue - that's the power of the bk law.

Two dirt bikes may be considered luxury items. How much do you owe on each one vs. how much they are worth in today's market? Can you protect one or both bikes with your state's bk exemptions?

[jmonez]

does anyone know if its possible to include property taxes in chap 13? also my auto lender(credit union) is saying they are going to repo my car if i dont make a payment by 20th of this month, and my attorney still has not filed! what should I do? my payment past due is $1300 and I dont have the money.

[StartingOver08]

Property Taxes are a priority debt in Ch 13.

Are you planning to keep the car in the BK? Get your attorney to file before the 20th so the repo is stopped. Call or e-mail your attorney right away so he can file an emergency petition if necessary.

[jmonez]

great, thank you all for your help and advice. the dirt bikes are both over 2.5 -3 years old, each is worth aprox 1500-2000 , and i owe aprox 10,000 on both? ihope i can keep them if possible. i will talk with my attorney about an emergency petition. thanks again

[Flamingo]

Since you have retained your attorney, get a message to him that the bank has contacted you that they will repossess your vehicle by 3/20. Hand deliver a letter to his office if need be and get a message on his voice mail, with his receptionist, assistant or paralegal. After you miss a second payment on a vehicle, you are very ripe for repossession at any time depending upon how busy the repo people are that work through that creditor. They can repossess any time of the day at your home or where you work. What we did after our second vehicle payments were missed (told to stop in 2/02 by our attorney - we filed 4/02) was call our bank and stated we had retained an attorney to file Chapter 13, proivided the name and phone number, and to contact the attorney for any further information. We still took preventative measures to ensure they could not repossess the vehicles just in case but we did not have an problem. We filed two months after retaining our attorney due to having to complete and file our 2001 federal and state taxes were which included in the filing.