Wondering which will be worse....

[cawells]

I'm very thankful for this forum. It has answered so many of my questions and it's very refreshing to read posts from people so willing to help others. I haven't seen any postings that quite fit my situation. My husband and I filed a Chapter 13 in Dec. 09. Since that time our Trustee has been objecting to everything - our income, our expenses, every plan our lawyer has submitted and any other thing that can be imagined. The Trustee's latest objection includes wording that we don't have enough money in our proposted payment allotted for unsecured creditors. He goes on to say that he believes our plan payment should be over $1600 a month. If we were to pay that much we would be in much worse shape than we were before we filed. I'm to the point where I wish we would have just gone to Consumer Credit Counseling, but I don't think that is possible now that 90% of our debt has been sold to other companies. Am I worrying too much? Even if a 13 payment leaves us with no money after paying the Trustee (other than 200 a week for food and household supplies, gas for commuting, clothing, medical bills, house and car maintenance, vet bills, school fees for our 2 children and any other random thing that comes up) Are we still better off with a 13?

[SMinGA]

Without knowing some basics it is impossible to answer. This would help:

What state are you in?
How many in your household?
Gross & net income? Any deductions other than the usual taxes/medical?
What expenses/bills did you include in your plan?
Do you have non-exempt assets to protect?
Do you have secured debt being paid in the plan? If so, how much?
Any other debts that must be paid in full in the plan? Such as atty fees, taxes, mortgage arrears?

[researchnerd]

It's not too late to close your bankruptcy and attempt to settle with your creditors. If you choose this route, you will no longer have BK protections (from collections, foreclosure, and repo), and you may end up with judgments to collect and wage garnishment. Negotiations can be difficult and time consuming, but if done successfully you can end up paying 20-30% of your unsecured debt. Not great, but if you can't propose a plan that the Trustee likes and is realistically workable for you...it's an option.