Plan Modificaton Needed??

[pyxis]

Hi

First I want to say this site has been a tremendous help for me during tough times. I'd appreciate any help on the following matter.

My plan has been confirmed for 6 months now. When we filed we included our property taxes into the plan for $2000. However for some reason I still don't know, a month after the plan was confirmed, the tax creditor was stricken from the plan by the judges order. I've been trying to clear that up with my lawyer with no luck bc lack of communication. Looking back on the plan filings I see that the attorney wrote an incorrect address for the city so that could be why it was stricken.

After the tax debt was stricken the trustee did an audit and raised my plan base from 0% to 4%. I have to call and find out why but could that be because the tax debt was stricken and there is "extra" money?

About two weeks after the audit, the county filed a claim for the taxes (when I filed the debt was still w the city). However it is about $500 more in penalties. The 13data website now correctly lists the tax debt at 100% repayment. But it still lists my plan base at 4%.

My question is do I have to file a plan modification to get the base back to 0% or can I just call the trustees office to get that straightened out? My attorney says I need a modification and now wants 2500 more in addition to the $4000 already paid through the plan.

Thanks for any advice

[Curly]

Pyxis, I was in a similar situation. I owed back city taxes. So, my city filed a claim and it was added to my plan at 100% pay back. Taxes are treated differently than credit card debt. It needs to be paid back at 100%. All your other claims will remain at the plan rate. However, any money dispersed will go to your taxes first since I believe it's handled as a secured debt. Secured debt is a higher priority to be paid back.

[Flamingo]

You need to sit down with your attorney and find out what went down here. If you included your taxes in your filing, those taxes would be paid back at 100% and included in your Plan to be paid out over the Plan period, but they would be a priority claim and be paid first before unsecured creditors. It appears the claim was removed from your Plan for some reason and now they City/County is coming after you for that amount, plus penalties since your Plan was confirmed. You need to find out why this was taken out of your Plan to begin with and why your attorney now wants to charge you to put it back in. Best of luck to you.

[secondtimer]

Is it possible the taxes are somehow post-petition debt? Only pre-petition debt can be included in the plan. Maybe the taxes were due after your petiton was filed.

Did the taxing authority file a claim? If so it'll be on PACER on the claims register.

Good luck & let us know what happens.

[pyxis]

Thanks, I forgot to look at pacer. The city did not file a claim. The only tax claim is from the county. But the debt was due when I filed. They were summer taxes and I filed in November. I also still have the original statement. I'll call the city and county and see what happened. I wonder if they'll take out that $500 in penalties. Wishful thinking probably.

My attorney is on vacation so ill call him next week. And he's not charging for just the taxes. I'm trying to keep my tax refund because of the wife's unforeseen medical expenses. So I guess I do need a modification after all. I just read that it can't be done by motion but has to be in the form of a plan mod. I'm still questioning the extra $2500 in legal fees. We accounted for $4000 in the plan and he only claimed $3000 so far. I doubt that the two page filing I received in the mail costs that much.

I guess I just need someplace to vent a little . I'll call my attorney next week.

Thanks

[Pandora]

once you file there should be no additional penalties. What does the claim amount state? That is the amount they should get paid, nothing more. As to your attorney wanting $2500 more to file an amendment... thats outrageous...

[pyxis]

The amount the county claimed (as shown on pacer) is $500 more than the amount due at the time of filing. I'll call the county today and try to straighten it out myself. As for the extra attorney fees, I agree it is outrageous. No way I'm agreeing to that amount.

[pyxis]

As to your attorney wanting $2500 more to file an amendment... thats outrageous...

Well the wife spoke to the attorney and he was a total ass and completely rude to her. Says he won't file an amendment without the extra $2500 included in the plan. He says the $2500 is for future unanticipated legal expenses. Can't believe we hired this joker. I'm going to try to call tomorrow during a work break and see how much fees we currently owe him for asking about those taxes. Hopefully it's not that much and I can just pay him directly and get rid of him. I hope he doesn't do anything to mess up our plan

As for the taxes I guess the city never filed a claim because they weren't notified of the bankruptcy. I can't afford to hire another attorney to fix this mess so I'm fine with paying an extra $500 toward the taxes.

Man this is getting my depressed I thought it would be smooth sailing after the confirmation. Gotta read up on some rules to file an amendment. Maybe I can get my tax return myself instead of paying someone.

[lillymarlene]

pyxis, that is awful. I sort of have a similar situation myself. When my attorney first wrote up my petition, but before filing, I noticed that a large creditor, for $10K had been left off. This first draft included my city water bill and old property taxes from my business. My attorney drafted another petition which ended up being filed, added another year to keep my payments down, added the creditor, but inadvertently left off the past due city water bill, confusing it with the old property taxes. The past due water bill, I just found out is now about $850 because of interest charges.

My only recourse I guess, if I want to stay low under the radar and not jeopardize my 13, is to try and pay it.