Some questions that I'm still struggling with.........

[Mgtobin]

Again this site is great with all the info & helpful people. I wish I had found it sooner. I filed a little over a month ago, went to the 341 & I guess I'm waiting now......not sure what can happen between now & the confirmation date.....but waiting & stressing. I've been reading a lot on here & am questioning the "means test" how did they come up with the amount of my payment? My income varies from month to month because I don't always work the same amount of hours per week. Are they going to start taking the payment out of my paycheck & how will that work & how soon if I don't get paid the same amount each week. If they do & if it's a week my pay is short how will I pay my living expenses? As you can see I'm stressing. These questions didn't pop into my head while speaking with my attorney. The responses here are very helpful.

[May2014]

Can you email your attorney? That's the only way we communicate with ours, works great! We haven't gotten to our 341 yet, but I did look up our chapter 13 Trustee and discovered the various payment methods that he accepts and when payments are due. Maybe you could check to see if your trustee has a website, it might have all of your answers.

[LadyInTheRed]

I am very concerned that you don't know how your plan payment will be made. Your first payment is usually due within 30 days of filing. Your attorney should have told you when you filed whether payment would be deducted from your pay check or whether you should send a check to the trustee every month. Please call your attorney right away to find out whether you should be sending a check to the trustee.

If your income and expenses vary, they should be averaged over the 36 to 60 month plan to arrive at a monthly payment amount. If your payments are deducted from your paycheck, the same amount will be deducted from each check. If not, you will have to send a check every month in the same amount. You need to budget and save in the months when income is high so you can pay your plan payment and living expenses in months when your income is low.

Your plan payment appears on the plan filed with your petition and should be the same as the dmi calculated on schedules I/J, which may or may not be the same as the dmi on your means test.

[Mgtobin]

So I went over the numbers & looked at all the numbers & found some discrepancies as to how the plan payment was calculated. The monthly income was calculated using a 5 paycheck number. This month there are 4 pay checks so I'm coming up short there. Also the figure for gasoline & food,necessities was short by about $150-$200. What can I do?!iFortunately I made my first payment but I'm afraid I'm going to be short this month.

[LadyInTheRed]

If the numbers on schedules I and J are not accurate reflections of your expected income in next 60 months (assuming a 60 month plan) divided by 12, then you should talk to your attorney about what you think is incorrect and perhaps modify your petition and plan. (If you expect no changes in your income or expenses that you can prove, then use your current annual income and expenses and divide by 12.)

For anybody who has not yet filed: Review your petition carefully before you sign it and understand your plan and how your attorney arrived at your payment amount. Don't be rushed into signing something you don't understand. ETA: Never be afraid to say to an attorney who is pointing to the signature line and handing you a pen, "I would like some time to review this before I sign. Can you leave me some post-it's so I can flag the pages where I have questions."

As to what to do this month: scrimp and save and make sure you make your next plan payment.