Chapter 13 questions

[lala]

Hi All, I have been reading the posts but haven't found specific answers to some of my concerns. We are meeting with lawyers next week. Not sure if we'll be doing a 7 or 13.

Just curious, if we do a 13 are we under the trustees thumb for 5 years? What if we get an inheritance during the 4th year. Can they take that? What if we want to sell our house (we are current and plan on keeping it) at some point during the 5 years and make a profit. Can they take that?

Any feedback is appreciated!

[DeadManCrawling]

AS I understand it:

Yes they can take any inheritance, unless your plan is already 100% payback.

The home sale would probably have to be approved by the trustee. State law would determine if they could take any of the proceeds, assuming there was equity.

In florida, all equity would be protected, provided it was used to purchase another home within 12 months. It varies by state.

You are sort of under the trustee's thumb for five years, in that you will have to give them tax returns and keep making the payments. Generally trustees do not look to deep as long as the agreed payment shows up on time every month.

[lala]

Thanks! I had a feeling that was the case. It's not likely though that we'd get an inheritance. 5 years just seems like a long time to be in that situation. Although, it's taken us 10 years to get here!

I guess I hope we can do a 7, but I'm worried about equity in our house and cars and some company stocks my husband has.

Well, hopefully we'll have a better idea of which way to go once we take to lawyers next week.

[oldhack]

It varies by state/region. I never heard from my trustee except the couple of times I asked a question about the case or a procedure. Nor did I have to submit a tax return, or forfeit any refund.
Of course, I made all payments as scheduled, and the discharge went off without a hitch. For me, it was sure nice not to have to write a single bill payment for 4+ years. By the time it was over, I was saving almost 1/3 of my net income.
I hope you get a 'thumbless' overseer.