HELP ..chapter 13 repayment determination

[Ruthanned1]

ustee wants to base payment on "income going forward"
so does this mean that i can list all my future expenses? ie car insurance, i need new tires ..need a surgery. need to buy two new baby carseats..etc. live in colorado family of four. filing married but single (non-filing spouse) we initially passed the means test when we filed 12/09.. lawyer filed errors on the means test...which now us trustee has filed a motion to dismiss...after 2 amendments to the forms ...(in which lawyer again made mistakes )... now it has to go in front of the judge. just got a call that us trustee wants to "settle" before court. proposing that i pay 842/month plus my car payment of 342, my private student loan payment of 255/month ....at the time we filed , nfs received a 9k bonus which was included in our income. now if we file "going forward" we do not have the 9K bonus and we pay 1000/daycare per month. so actually we r making less. it does not make sense...i need HELP any suggestions on all allowable deductions that we can claim? i really need to get that payment lowered. we have a 7 month old and a two year old...any special deductions for that age group.. ie we need diapers, formula, baby food and misc infant/toddler necessities....any suggestions /comments r appreciated.
Ruthanned1 is online now Report Post Edit/Delete Message

[momofthree]

maybe it would be best to dismiss and re-file showing correct income on the look-back.

How did the trustee come up with the $842 payment? Do you have non-exempt assets or priority debt (IRS, mortgage arrears, etc.)?

[Ruthanned1]

no assests . married in april, filed in december. non filing spouse. idk how they determined the 842..i asked the attorney to email me the b22 form she said she does not have one that that is the number that the us trustee's analysts came up with and called her proposing the "settlement" i did the means test for the filing period and legitimately had 90/month disposable income! i faxed it to the lawyer with a note that said i wanted this again resubmitted , to the us trustee, the judge, the analyst ..and filed! she reponded with //not an apology or acceptance that she made mistakes ..but with " it does not matter what your means test showed... you make 113,000 per year and IRS standards are aprox 81,50" " "it is like u are telling the court that u need an extra 30,000 a year to support your family." the us trustee is basing their numbers "looking forward now " what we bring home is way less than that yearly amount ...with paying taxes, health insurance, child support. etc... then with all the allowable expenses we r 90 short. she said, "on a sidebar the us trustee did say that if u make a few payments than fell that u cannot complete the plan? then most likely u can convert to a seven without US TRUSTEE scrutany. ??????????? i dont know what to do..

[lrprn]

Ruthanned1, it's obvious you are stressed. We understand. We've all been there at one time or another. However, several of us have answered this same question in several other Ch 13 threads where you've posted versions of it.

Bottom line - you can't list future expenses when you file.

Second, your Ch 13 payment is based on a very complex interaction of all of your income, asset payments, and living expenses on the required Means Test and Schedules. The current bk law does not allow you to use all of your actual living expenses on the Means Test - some (housing, transportation, etc) are limited to what is allowed for your neighborhood and state only. Then your real expenses, asset payments, etc. are noted on your Schedules.

In the future, please don't post very similar questions in multiple threads. It's actually against our forum rules to do that. Instead it's best to start one thread of your own so we all answer your questions there. You'll actually get more and better quality responses that way. Thanks!

[momofthree]

Honestly, a payment of $842 sounds quite reasonable for a family of 4 with an income of $113k a year. Of course, my view may be skewed since we are a family of 5, make 1/2 that, and have a special needs child, lol. You mention taxes, medical, etc. and that should all be accounted for on your income statement (schedule I) and also the means test.

If you'd like, you can post your budget and we can give you tips on how & where to cut back. As you are now seeing, filing a chapter 13 bk forces you into examining and changing your whole lifestyle and views of money and budgeting. You will need to learn the difference between WANTS and NEEDS, and learn to save any extra money you have each month for those unforeseen expenses that always manage to pop up "out of nowhere." When you don't have credit to fall back on anymore, you need to be very vigilant about sticking to a budget and saving each month for those unexpected expenses....