Should I withdraw from CH13

[cd1973]

My wife and I filed Chapter 13 in july 2011 with $30,000 in debt. Our payment is $393/month We have yet to be confirmed because of income ups and downs, job changes, and the trustee being detailed. My income took a huge hit at the first of the year and I had to search for a job, found a job but had to move across country. It was a pay increase over what I have made in recent years. We left our house in limbo. My house was not part of the BK.

The trustee recently wants to bump our payment to $780/month, which in turn, over a 5 year payment for BK would put me in total paying close to $38,000. Now that is more than the debt owed. My attorney also tells me that if my wife starts working the trustee will want more money. She does not work now, but wants too work.

In the meantime my attorney (which I do not trust because his staff lied to me before) wants $1200 to ask for permission to sell my house. Also, his staff mentioned to me that we need to get confirmed so they can charge me for every change made.

What I was thinking is that if I request dismissal from chapter 13, then debt snowball all the debt and pay them off. I can then sell my house and stop paying the HOA bills.

I know that the CH13 is already on my credit but that is ok. Who needs credit when I hope to be debt free. I have learned my lesson and own up to my mistakes.

What is your opinion? I know every situation is different but looking to see what everyone thinks.

[LadyInTheRed]

You will not pay more in your Chap 13 than the total allowed claims, trustee fees and attorney fees that are included in your plan. If you do, you will receive a refund. You cannot just dismiss your Chap 13 unless you can convince the judge it is in the best interest of your creditors. You could stop making payments and your case would eventually get dismissed. But, then you would owe all the interest that accrued on your debt since you filed and your creditors will start collection actions. You risk having them sue you and record liens against your home before you can get them paid off and sell the house. It sounds like you have 2.5 years left in your BK. I just calculated how high payments on $30,000 in debt at 7% would be if you wanted to pay it off in 30 months. That would require payments of about $1,093 a month. I'm guessing your rate is higher than 7% and this doesn't take into account 2.5 years in interest. $780 a month for the rest of your plan is starting to not sound quite so bad.

I'm concerned that your plan is not yet confirmed and that you don't trust your attorney. There are just too many details that we don't know to be able to give you any real valuable input. While it is hard to find an attorney to step in to an already existing case, you may want to consult with some about your situation.