Planning on filing 13 soon, lots of questions!

[ferfermom]

Ok, so we have $82,000 in credit card debt . We want to keep our home valued at $158,000. We have 3 years left to pay on our mortgage balance due $18,800, and we have a home equity line of credit ( is that a 2nd mortgage?) of $44,000.

Live in Washington State. Myself, husband & 19 year old son. Our total gross income last year was $ 76,813. Son is not in college, and not even sure if he qualifies as part of our household. He is diabetic and cant seem to keep any type of job.

I am confused , I have read that there is NO minimum amount that we have to pay back our creditors after figuring our DMI, however I have also read that whatever equity we have in our home we have to at least pay back our creditors in the 5 year chap 13 plan.

I am not even sure how to figure what equity we even have, and if its alot, which I'm guessing it is since we've lived here 23 years, how are we supposed to be able to pay that much back to creditors and still have enough money to pay our monthly expenses? Do some people not even qualify for chapter 13? We are above state minimum standards for chapter 7 ,so I'm feeling hopeless right now. Any suggestions will be most helpful, thank you.

[NewDawn]

The equity in your home is the current market value minus your second mortgage amount minus the original mortgage balance still owing. I looked up Washington State exemptions. I believe since July of 2007, the homestead exemption was increased to 125,000 if you have lived in the state for at least 3.3 years, which you have.

In other words, your true equity would be covered under the state exemptions. I have heard of people filing Chapter 13 and paying nothing to unsecured creditors. Hopefully someone else here can chime in.

[momofthree]

I am confused , I have read that there is NO minimum amount that we have to pay back our creditors after figuring our DMI, however I have also read that whatever equity we have in our home we have to at least pay back our creditors in the 5 year chap 13 plan.

You have to pay a minimum equal to the non-exempt equity as well as any other non-exempt assets you want to keep. If what the pp posted is true, then you do not have any non-exempt equity, so you'd only have a minimum requirement if you have other non-exempt items you plan to keep OR if you have priority debt that needs to be paid (IRS). In other words, you'll most likely be fine just paying your dmi into the plan. Have you figured out your dmi yet?

[lady elaine]

I also live in WA state and my daughter is diabetic. We filed in January, currently rent a home and gave up our home to foreclosure. We had about the same amount of credit card debt you have and our payment right now is 1300.00 twice a month for one income of 120,000.00 a year.
As far as you figuring out what you will have to pay, keep in mind that what you calculate is likely going to be quite different than what your attorney or the trustee calculates. To get a better idea of what your allowances are, use the IRS website and look under the given amounts for your family size. That is what I did just before filing, and I cam up with a number that was pretty accurate.
The trustee unfortunately will not be sympathetic to your son's diabetes and any connection you feel there may be to it keeping him from holding a job (we ran into this with our oldest daughter). I don't know this for a fact, but at age 19, he is likely not considered a dependent according to the trustee.

Good luck to you You guys will get through this, it is just the initial filing that can be a bit nerve wracking. All in all, it has not been as bad as I had made it out to be in my mind.