Baby on the way...

[goon]

So I did some searching already and couldn't find exactly the information that I am looking for.

Filed ch 13 on 04/29/2010
341 on 6/9/2010 - nothing out of the ordinary at the 341
no remaining objections (we are cramming down one of the cars and there was some back and forth on value but I believe that is all settled)
no confirmation yet (this is typical in AZ they take forever right now)
so far all payments made on time

Wife is pregnant, Baby is due 12-30-2010

Ok, so obviously this will have an affect on our budget... I know that I cannot file anything untill the baby is born. Also, I know I need to talk to my lawyer ( and will ) but I believe a modification is an extra charge so I want to at least run some numbers myself first so that I know if it is worth the effort with the lawyer, that and when I do go to the lawyer would like to have my ducks in a row.

Luckily our youngest is 2 and a half , so we still have most of the "big" baby items, it will just be the additional costs afterwords that I am worried about (diapers, formula, food, clothes, bottles, medical, .....). My wife is currently a stay at home mom so daycare is not a factor.

other info, since I am sure someone will ask, our current plan pays back a significant amount of unsecured (I think it is around 60%-65%), we are in a 5 year plan, payments are $1895 a month and our only secured claims are 2 car loans that are rolled in for a total of $43k (and the remaining due the bk lawyer of $2200), unsecured claims are $89,500 (assuming second mortgage from surrendered/foreclosed house becomes unsecured, they submitted as secured but my understanding is that it will become unsecured)

so the questions....

1. Exactly which schedules would be modified in a situation like this? (just I and J)?

2. For my expenses/budget to determine dmi, can I get away with estimating my increased expenses and filing the change right after the baby is born? (This will be my third child I can work out pretty well how it will affect my budget) or do I need to wait and somehow get by for a month or two so that I have "real" expense numbers?

3. can/will my income be re-evaluated at the same time?
This would actually be a good thing for me, when I filed I had a one time bonus in the 6 month lookback and it was before lanning (which I just learned about on here yesterday), I was told at the time that I just had to deal with the inflated income number, at this point the bonus would no longer be in the 6 month lookback window which would reduce my averaged monthly income and decrease my dmi

4. Can any legal fees for this modification/alteration of the plan be added in as a claim since it is related to the BK, or since it is a change after filing does it have to be paid out of pocket?


Thanks for the help!

[Pandora]

I can answer #4 as we had to modify our plan - it cost us $26 to do so (and $26 for each subsequent modification / addition if we have to). Of course, ymmv - but generally any mods have to be paid upfront.

Congrats on the baby

[LadyInTheRed]

Moving backwards: #3. Yes, your current income will be included in calculating the new payment.

[NowImDownInIt]

Dang Pandora, it cost me $500 up front to file my modification.

Anyway, you can use projected costs as long as you stay below IRS standards upon new baby's birth.

[goon]

Thanks for the info, you guys have answered most of my questions.

Not sure yet what my attorney's cost to file a modification would be ( looked at the contract and it just had an hourly rate, guessing a modification would be some kind of flat rate but who knows).

Gotta work these numbers out a couple ways, but guessing between the expense increase and the bonus rolling off the pay that it should be more than worth my while to file the modification, and i am paying enough to unsecured claims that I cant imagine an issue there....

One more question to add to the mix, do I have to wait till I have the babies social security card ( and SSN) before I can file?
Don't remember how long after birth it took to get the SSN card last time.

If anyone has any other insights into this situation, please do share

[Pandora]

Dang Pandora, it cost me $500 up front to file my modification.

OUCH! Wonder why so much? Any add-on's to our plan (like creditors) is $26 per incident - same with any mods. I'd have freaked out if our fee was that high.

[Flamingo]

Thanks for the info, you guys have answered most of my questions.

Not sure yet what my attorney's cost to file a modification would be ( looked at the contract and it just had an hourly rate, guessing a modification would be some kind of flat rate but who knows).

Gotta work these numbers out a couple ways, but guessing between the expense increase and the bonus rolling off the pay that it should be more than worth my while to file the modification, and i am paying enough to unsecured claims that I cant imagine an issue there....

One more question to add to the mix, do I have to wait till I have the babies social security card ( and SSN) before I can file?
Don't remember how long after birth it took to get the SSN card last time.

If anyone has any other insights into this situation, please do share

You will be given the baby's birth certificate upon leaving the hospital which should suffice for anything until you get the SS card in the mail. The hospital submits all that information when the baby is born. You are correct that nothing can be done until the baby is actually born so what you need to do is work with your attorney now to have all in place for a modification but a modification cannot take place prior to an actual event occurring. Usually attorney's charge a flat fee for a modification or filing a Motion...it was $400 for us to file a motion during our Chapter 13 to refinance so expect something in that range unless your retention agreement states otherwise.

[MOMof3]

Our baby wasn't born when we filed but we were able to include all of the related expenses for her. Talk to your attorney to see if you really need to wait to file your modification. I can pull out my forms and see where the additional expenses were included, but it wasn't questioned by the court or trustee & included daycare costs in addition to the typical monthly expenses of formula, diapers, etc... We also were never required to "prove" her existence in any way, but the trustee saw our tax return & the increase in dependants, so that should have been proof enough.

[NowImDownInIt]

You will be given the baby's birth certificate upon leaving the hospital which should suffice for anything until you get the SS card in the mail.

When I had my son and daughter I was surprised that I didn't get a birth certificate (at least not a vital statistics, legal one)... I did, however, get a notarized "Statement of Birth Facts" which was my legal documentation until I went to the county clerk office to get a birth certificate for each of them.