Planned for 13 now a 7 extremely above median

[Clambert1273]

Just in case my "journal" might help someone else. I figured I would post on this side of the fence. The original plan by my attorney & I was a full on 13 so we started planning that out since about mid October. He directed us to get a 2nd brand new car to live the 5 years. We had been living on one car since 2017! So we got a low cost new car with massive warranties & maintenance. It works for us. The main reason we were going 13 was to save the house, it had been in forbearance a year & was due to end 12/16/21. I didn't have 37K laying around to pay the amount, then a wonderful person on this forum told me what to do & I did it so that now brings my mortgage current which now meant the possibility of a 7 but wait!!!

I knew we were above median just on my salary alone but I still wanted to try so the minute the mortgage was handled I made an appt with my attorney. Once I told him what I did, he agreed 7 was the way to go. His paralegal & I each started hashing out the means test. Same result different numbers... I easily passed with DMI of $109 mind you we are 34K+ above family of 4 median here. My point to anyone else wondering if they are above is crunch the numbers you might be surprised. His paralegal & I compared tests and I only pointed out 3 places we were very different. She thanked me for reviewing and I'm sure will be adjusting the forms as necessary.

Another note of importance, find the right attorney!! I have no idea what mine charges for a 7, I didn't care. I like him and he always stands behind me or gives me better advice. I asked him about what trouble I might get being above median, he laughed and said "you're fine and I will make sure we are prepared for the worst" so he's got my back. He doesn't think there will be any major issues especially since we can't file until Jan 3 for the homestead exemption increase.

I will keep this updated as we move along or get new info.

[flashoflight]

Congrats on the partial claim/deferral.

DMI of positive $109 would not make me feel good. The above median cases are subject to heavy scrutiny and there is no guarantee that your numbers will hold. You will need receipts to back up your expenses. And the trustee has to agree that your expenses are in-line with a spartan lifestyle. You're also playing trustee roulette. Ultimately the court will decide if you are 7 or 13, but it's better if the trustee accepts your numbers. The further out from median you are, the more difficult it is to shoehorn into a 7. People with big mortgages and two car payments have an advantage when trying to pass the means test as above median. Fortunately there are a number of people here who have been successful with a 7 way above median. I was way above median and I got down to DMI of positive $500 with iron-clad expenses and threw in the towel. At least that made my 13 very cheap.

[Clambert1273]

All the expenses were standard allowed amounts that my attorney did except my mortgage & car payments. We didn't pad expenses or try to "get over" it was all in the allowances so I am not worried about the expenses necessarily. If it gets kicked to a 13 then so be it as that was the original plan but for now we are moving forward this path

The one thing my attorney did that I did not do when filling out my own was he included our VA disability as income and I didn't. He did that so there would be no question arising if they got picky. We are above median on my salary alone so using his figures still with the standard expenses is what came to with the 109.

[vet2019]

All the expenses were standard allowed amounts that my attorney did except my mortgage & car payments. We didn't pad expenses or try to "get over" it was all in the allowances so I am not worried about the expenses necessarily. If it gets kicked to a 13 then so be it as that was the original plan but for now we are moving forward this path

The one thing my attorney did that I did not do when filling out my own was he included our VA disability as income and I didn't. He did that so there would be no question arising if they got picky. We are above median on my salary alone so using his figures still with the standard expenses is what came to with the 109.

Not sure why the attorney would include VA Disability anymore since the passage of the Haven Act. That is clear cut, there are no questions that income does not count, there is nothing to be picky about it.

[Clambert1273]

So today is BK eve, our filing is tomorrow for the ch 7. It's one of the first times I actually feel a new year shows promise lol. We have been using YNAB to budget with since late November so our budget is pretty set and doing well. I'm ready for the filing tomorrow & to see light at the end of a tunnel.

[Clambert1273]

After a stressful few days dealing with potential equity issues, we got it done and filed today