Little bit of a pickle and need some advice!

[jkim0907]

I'm currently in a Ch13 open case that was confirmed in February, 2012. It was confirmed in the state of Illinois in Cook County. My payments are $800.00 but for reasons that I won't explain, I'm a bit behind. I am trying to catch up and am trying to make double payments to let the trustee know that I'm want to keep the case going. I am currently behind about 5 months..or about $4K. I will be able to pay about $1600 a month instead of the $800 for the 5 months, but the trustee just sent me a Notice to Dismiss that if I dont catch up by April 22nd, the case may be dismissed. My attorney that I hired is garbage to be quite honest. He's already received all his money and he really isn't doing a great job with helping me out... I have offered this plan for the next five months and all my attorney has said was "keep doing that and then we will hope that the trustee will extend the notice"....

Here are my questions..
1. What are the chances that the Trustee will dismiss my case if they can see that I am making double payments to catch up? Should I contact the Trustee directly and ask?
2. If they don't accept this and they do indeed dismiss my plan, do I just need to re-file? If I do, do I get any credit for what I've paid so far? It's already been about $17K that I've paid into the plan....
3. If I do re-file, do I file in the state/county that I live in now (California) or file with the county I filed in Chicago with? Any help would be much appreciated.
4. If I do re-file, will I be starting a NEW 5 year plan?

Ugh, this is so hard.

[sophieanne]

I strongly urge you to call the trustee's office. Explain your situation and what your plan is to bring the plan up to date. At least they will know what's going on and hopefully will work with you.

[despritfreya]

First and foremost, unless and until your attorney withdraws from your case he/she is the attorney of record and he/she needs to act in your best interest.

You want to enter into a catch up arrangement with your Trustee. This can be done formally, by Motion filed with the Court and the entry of an Order by a Judge, or it can be done informally by written agreement with the Trustee that so long as you make the double payments he will not lodge an Order to dismiss.

If your attorney is not willing to do one or the other listed above you should communicate directly with the Trustee.

Des.