Motion to Dismiss--missed payments

[michele71]

So I got a motion to dismiss letter the other day. I missed 3 payments over the last year because my family lost their house and jobs--I know this was stupid. However i called the trustee's office and sent a letter asking to be able to cure the arrears by paying 600 extra per month for the next 6 months on top of the current payment I told them if I have to eat Ramen Noodles so be it. Does any one think this would be acceptable? I am 1 year into my 3 year plan. I tried to call my lawyer but as usual they didnt call back so I sent the request to the trustee's office already and maybe my attorney will get it together--if not I guess i will have to respond through the clerk of court on my own.

HELP

[ednasouth]

Did you keep in touch with them and let them know when you were going to miss payments. I'm really new to this. My 341 for ch 13 is in 2 weeks. My attorney has always stressed that communication is IMPORTANT. He said if I'm every going to miss a payment, be late, etc. to let them know ASAP. Hopefully, he will let you pay the extra and catch up. Good luck!

[michele71]

edna yeah I let them know what was going on but it didnt seem to matter. I am hoping they will let me get the arrears caught up so I dont lose the 17k I have paid in...

[lrprn]

edna yeah I let them know what was going on but it didnt seem to matter.

How many times did you notify your lawyer you were going to miss payments? How did you tell them you were unable to make your payments? Did you make an appointment to see your lawyer face to face to ensure they knew you were going to miss payments so your lawyer could notify the trustee? If you couldn't get your lawyer to pay attention, why did you wait until your dismissal notice came to contact your trustee?

I am hoping they will let me get the arrears caught up so I dont lose the 17k I have paid in...

It's going to be a lot harder to get your case back on track now than it would have been if you had addressed this a lot earlier. Let's hope you have a sympathetic trustee.

Let's also hope that you can actually make up the arrears as you promised the trustee you could over the next six months - can you? How are you going to dig up $600 extra a month for the next six months when you've already missed three payments over the last 12 months?

[MSbklawyer]

Since you are only on a 36 month plan, you can extend the length of your plan so you won't have to pay so much extra each month.

[Flamingo]

So I got a motion to dismiss letter the other day. I missed 3 payments over the last year because my family lost their house and jobs--I know this was stupid. However i called the trustee's office and sent a letter asking to be able to cure the arrears by paying 600 extra per month for the next 6 months on top of the current payment I told them if I have to eat Ramen Noodles so be it. Does any one think this would be acceptable? I am 1 year into my 3 year plan. I tried to call my lawyer but as usual they didnt call back so I sent the request to the trustee's office already and maybe my attorney will get it together--if not I guess i will have to respond through the clerk of court on my own.

HELP

First, I am sure you were advised by your attorney when you filed that if you had any problem with making that plan payment for any reason to contact the attorney immediately. If you did not get a response initially, it was your obligation to ensure you got one (i.e., go to the attorney's office in person if necessary). You not only missed one, but 3 payments, without the Trustee having any idea why. The trustee will not deal with you directly as you are represented by counsel. You must get together with your attorney to resolve this and as MSBKlawyer states, you may be able to have your plan modified and extended to accomodate those missed payments. Dismissal is the last thing you want to have happen since you go back to step one prior to filing and all late charges and fees will reappear and your creditors will only receive what you have paid into your plan. You don't want to go there...get on top of this now and physically go to your attorney's office if necessary.

In the future, if you even think you cannot make a payment on your Plan (if you are able to get your circumstances at present resolved), contact your attorney immediately and get an acknowledgemenet that they received your information. Best of luck to you...

[michele71]

The reason the payments were missed were 2 fold. I failed to include 2 accounts in my bankruptcy and also my family needed assistance after they lost their jobs and were foreclosed on. Yes I did notify the trustee as well and my attorney and I can afford my payments just fine and I would not have a problem coming up with the 600 extra per month as I will just trim money from other areas of my budget such as food and clothing. I actually spoke with the trustee and was told to send them a letter in response to the motion as well as letting my attorney know again about what is going on. I have been having trouble with my attorney since this all started and I believe I have posted about this earlier. The payments that were missed were in june and aug and 400 in october. I am actually 2 1/2 pays behind. I was just wondering if anyone thought it would be a possible solution to avoid the dismissal I really didnt think I was gonna get blasted about "if u missed 2 payments how can you afford to pay" Facts are great before you bash me. Thanks for the advice?

[olivies]

I'm curious to know too...similar situation with late payments and trying to avoid a dismissal and if our attorney doesn't get on the ball we'll have to file something ourselves- I just don't know "what".

[justbroke]

The reason the payments were missed were 2 fold. I failed to include 2 accounts in my bankruptcy and also my family needed assistance after they lost their jobs and were foreclosed on.

When you are personally in an active Bankruptcy, especially Chapter 13, you can't be concerned with other family members... unless you're willing to suffer the consequences of having your case dismissed due to non-payment. While it can be painful to not be able to provide them with assistance, it usually just drags both family members down.

How to cure this?

First, you can't just write a letter and "ask" if you can cure the problem. You need to submit a modified plan and a Motion to Modify Confirmed Plan with the court. You need to indicate why you will not fall behind again, and you need to address the payments in your new plan. As msbklawyer wrote, you are in a 36 month plan and can extend your plan to 60 months in order to cure the issues. However, if there were mortgages that you messed up on, you're going to need a stipulation from them that they'll allow you to cure the post-petition arrearages in the new plan.

If your attorney is not responding, go sit in his office until he shows up.

[michele71]

Problem solved

I actually went and saw my attorney today and was told to send the letter as well as having responded via pacer. The case will be put on a continuance and monitored for the next 6 months and as long as I stick to the plan there will not be an issue. I will keep ya updated as to when i see the continuance posted on pacer and also tomorrow I should get a response from the trustee about the letter that I sent via email and will be sending the same via certified mail. The letter explains the situation and it is what the trustee's office advised me to do. The response from the lawyer will reiterate the information sent in the letter so that there is a formal record of it. There is no need to modify the plan as it wont need to be extended because the extra 6 pays will catch me up.

[lrprn]

There is no need to modify the plan as it wont need to be extended because the extra 6 pays will catch me up.

That's great news, michele71 - glad to hear things worked out in your favor!

[justbroke]

There is no need to modify the plan as it wont need to be extended because the extra 6 pays will catch me up.

Your Trustee is very accommodating! Congratulations on a smooth interaction.

[michele71]

I feel extremely lucky. The head case manager was really great. Thanks for everyones info and help.