I have been lurking here for a long time but just registered. This forum has been such an important resource for us! Here's our story:
Over the past 10 years we have accrued loads of cc debt. Can't claim any particular hardship or even extravagance...the eating out and small trips and home improvements and impulse buys just crept up on us. We could have continued to make the payments, but I woke up one morning and realized that we were accruing debt faster than we were paying it, and that barring a massive increase in our income, we were never going to be able to pay it off. Then DH had a salary cut, no bonus this year or next, child starting preschool, company car rescinded, etc. etc...Our credit was good, but our household finances were very dicey and getting worse all the time.
I've read this same story on here and elsewhere dozens of times...it's nice to know we're not alone!
We chose our attorney in July. We remained current on all payments until July, and purchased 2 newer cars on the advice of the attorney.
We filed Ch13 in August. The payment submitted was about $230/month. Our attorney was very aggressive in filling out or financial information, so we knew that some of the expenses weren't going to fly and based on what various people at the law firm told us, we expected to end up in a payment of about $400, with a worst case scenario of $800.
Our 341 was in September. The trustee was more challenging than I expected based on experiences I read about on this site, but I wouldn't call it a disaster, either.
Also in September, we found out that our mortgage payment dropped due to an ARM adjustment, thus increasing our disposable income. However, our health care costs are increasing so it might work out evenly.
The trustee filed her objections, including the mortgage adjustment. Confirmation is mid-November. Our attorney's office has informed us that the trustee is seeking a $1000 payment and that is probably what we are going to have to pay. The explanation for this is basically that it's just how the formula works out.
At $1000/mo, we are paying back unsecureds at 100%. I am frustrated about this because if I had known to begin with that we were going to pay it *all* back, I would have filed pro se and saved the $3000 attorney fees.
Early in the summer, when we decided that bankruptcy was our best option, we realized that there was a possibility that we would have to pay back all of it because of our income. We were okay with that because even though our credit will suffer, we would at least be debt-free at the end of 5 years.
Nevertheless, we figured that an attorney would know the law/system well enough to work to our advantage. When she filed the original payment of $230, it seemed like she was really going to fight to keep our payment low.
Now that the trustee has requested the $1000 payment, and the attorney is basically shrugging her shoulders and saying, "It's the formula, nothing I can do...," I feel that we've added 3K+ to our debt load and in return had some paperwork filled out. Our attorney's office has been very nice, but I am more than capable of filling out the paperwork and resent that I am going to be in the chapter 13 payment plan for an additional 3 months for what amounts to a few hours of paperwork.
Point being...if the standard chapter 13 formula is what it is and can't be worked around, why bother with a lawyer? Anyone can fill in blank spaces on a form.
I guess I am just looking for feedback, other experiences, etc. Just feeling frustrated and disappointed because the next 5 years are looking to be pretty rough, and for awhile there our lawyer had given us hope that our financial situation would actually ease up a bit.
By the way, we are in SE Michigan, Detroit. Thank you!
Over the past 10 years we have accrued loads of cc debt. Can't claim any particular hardship or even extravagance...the eating out and small trips and home improvements and impulse buys just crept up on us. We could have continued to make the payments, but I woke up one morning and realized that we were accruing debt faster than we were paying it, and that barring a massive increase in our income, we were never going to be able to pay it off. Then DH had a salary cut, no bonus this year or next, child starting preschool, company car rescinded, etc. etc...Our credit was good, but our household finances were very dicey and getting worse all the time.
I've read this same story on here and elsewhere dozens of times...it's nice to know we're not alone!
We chose our attorney in July. We remained current on all payments until July, and purchased 2 newer cars on the advice of the attorney.
We filed Ch13 in August. The payment submitted was about $230/month. Our attorney was very aggressive in filling out or financial information, so we knew that some of the expenses weren't going to fly and based on what various people at the law firm told us, we expected to end up in a payment of about $400, with a worst case scenario of $800.
Our 341 was in September. The trustee was more challenging than I expected based on experiences I read about on this site, but I wouldn't call it a disaster, either.
Also in September, we found out that our mortgage payment dropped due to an ARM adjustment, thus increasing our disposable income. However, our health care costs are increasing so it might work out evenly.
The trustee filed her objections, including the mortgage adjustment. Confirmation is mid-November. Our attorney's office has informed us that the trustee is seeking a $1000 payment and that is probably what we are going to have to pay. The explanation for this is basically that it's just how the formula works out.
At $1000/mo, we are paying back unsecureds at 100%. I am frustrated about this because if I had known to begin with that we were going to pay it *all* back, I would have filed pro se and saved the $3000 attorney fees.
Early in the summer, when we decided that bankruptcy was our best option, we realized that there was a possibility that we would have to pay back all of it because of our income. We were okay with that because even though our credit will suffer, we would at least be debt-free at the end of 5 years.
Nevertheless, we figured that an attorney would know the law/system well enough to work to our advantage. When she filed the original payment of $230, it seemed like she was really going to fight to keep our payment low.
Now that the trustee has requested the $1000 payment, and the attorney is basically shrugging her shoulders and saying, "It's the formula, nothing I can do...," I feel that we've added 3K+ to our debt load and in return had some paperwork filled out. Our attorney's office has been very nice, but I am more than capable of filling out the paperwork and resent that I am going to be in the chapter 13 payment plan for an additional 3 months for what amounts to a few hours of paperwork.
Point being...if the standard chapter 13 formula is what it is and can't be worked around, why bother with a lawyer? Anyone can fill in blank spaces on a form.
I guess I am just looking for feedback, other experiences, etc. Just feeling frustrated and disappointed because the next 5 years are looking to be pretty rough, and for awhile there our lawyer had given us hope that our financial situation would actually ease up a bit.
By the way, we are in SE Michigan, Detroit. Thank you!
Comment