Need help with budget - chapter 13 meeting

[BOBBY1269]

Hi ;

due to loss of income i have decieded to do a chapter 13 , my second mortgage is completely underwater , and i have about 10000.00 in credit card debt - 1st mortgage is on time , my question is what do trustees look at as far as overbudgeting - i am just starting to look at my budget , i thought budgeting 350.00 for entertainment was reasonable for 3 people , some people say its to low , some say its to high , i was also wondering want trustees consider to high and to low for expenses.

My whole chapter 13 is about 60000.00 all unsecured bebt , i cannot afford 650.00 for equity and cc payments anymore - please help with suggestions

thanks
bob

[justbroke]

I highly suggest that you get several consultations with bankruptcy attorneys that practice in your State. There is no way we members of the Forum can tell you what your payment would be. We could certainly speculate, but there is a LOT of information required to come up with a number.

There is something known as the Means Test that is used in Chatper 13s. You can go to http://www.legalconsumer.com and try their Means Test Calculator. It may give you an "idea" about what your payment could be, but it it not the final answer.

I believe that you're referring to a "lien strip" in Chapter 13 where you can get rid of the 2nd mortgage upon discharge. Unfortunately, just being "underwater" on a second mortgage is not a valid reason to strip it off. Your primary residence must be worth less than the balance on the first mortgage in order to strip the junior liens (2nd, 3rd, 4th...). If your 2nd mortgage has even $1.00 (one-dollar) in equity, then you can not strip it. If you can't afford the payment, then that means that you can't afford the property and would need to surrender the property in the Chapter 13 Bankruptcy.

[momofthree]

$350 entertainment for 3 people isn't going to fly. You might be able to get by with $100, but even that might be considered high for only 3 people. We're a family of 5 and I believe we budgeted around $25/mo to pay for our Netflix subscription....

[IamOld]

To echo justbroke and momofthree- what is "OK" for entertainment varies not only state by state but district by district AND - as justbroke said - this is EXACTLY what a GOOD atty will know because of the fact that they have experience with the local Ch 13 trustee!!!