Loss of income in a Chap.13

[lsmartin]

I am currently 2 years into Ch.13 repayment plan (Pro Se), but my wife has to quit working because of health reasons and start drawing social security. I have passed a means test and can convert to a chap.7. My question is, do I have to wait 6 months for the income loss to reflect itself in my income history? Also, is it better to convert to a 7 or just withdraw from a 13 and and refile a 7? Thank You in advance for any help or advice.

[lrprn]

I hope your wife's health problems improve soon.

You should sit down with your lawyer now to figure out when your combined six-month income look back will fall below Ohio's median income for your family size or your disposable income according the the Means Test and Schedules consistently falls below about $120/month. That's when you can file Ch 7. How fast that happens depends on how far above the median you were or how much disposable income you showed when your wife was working.

Do you plan to convert your active Ch 13 or have your Ch 13 dismissed and file a new Ch 7?

[MSbklawyer]

It may be that your best solution would be to simply modify your plan to lower your payments to reflect your change in income. Stay in 13 with a much lower payment instead of converting to 7.

What was your reason for filing chapter 13 instead of 7 in the first place? Was your income too high for 7 or were you too recently out of another bankruptcy to do 7? Or some other reason? How long do you have left in your chapter 13 repayment plan? Do you have any debts in your current chapter 13 that would be discharged by the chapter 13 'super discharge' that would not be discharged if you converted to 7 or dismissed and refiled in 7?

A good answer to your question would require the answers to those questions and probably some others as well.