Student Loans, Summer School Pay, etc.

[Wantmypeace]

Hi, all. I have learned so much from all of you, and I really appreciate all of the help you have shared!

I am meeting my attorney next week, but I have a couple of questions that I hope some of you may be able to help me with...

1) My and my husband's student loan payments will begin repayment in 3 months. The payments will be about 1600.00 together (250,000 in SL debt together). Can those payments be included in my means test? What about our anticipated budget? We are out of deferment/forebearance time, so we HAVE to start making payments or we will be in default on these loans.

2) We are both teachers and both have consistent paychecks, same amount every month. This summer, I'm teaching summer school to get some extra money to buy a cheap car to replace one that we'll be giving up in the bankruptcy. If I don't get paid until after we file, will the income hurt us? What if the paycheck comes in before we file? Could we prove that it is extra one-time pay to the trustee so he'd let us keep it for a replacement car?

Thanks so much for any help you can give us!

[jennordhavn]

1) I did not include my student loan payments on the means test, but did include them on Sched. J.

2) Not sure, but if it is received after you file, I don't think it will be a problem since it is a 6 month look back.

[Wantmypeace]

so...

1) Could you have? Or, was it not allowed?

2) Is it still okay if it is before the 341 meeting? We're on a tight schedule, I think...so, if I get the check on the 28th of June, and we file on July 1st, but I don't deposit the check until after the 1st, will I be okay? It should be within a few days of receiving the check, and I can hold it if I need to...

[jadams]

BK Law Network Article for more information.

Good luck, hopefully you and your lawyer can figure something out.

If you're giving up your current car and intend to replace it using money you earn in the summer -- is it possible you could wait to file until after you've bough the new car and exempt it (if your state allows a car exemption you aren't using)?

[Wantmypeace]

wish I could

I wish I could, but we're pretty much at the breaking point right now. We're going to have to do something NOW...

We also have a dirt bike that would be worth around 1000.00 IF it were running. Do we put it down as an asset and protect it? Or, is it even something we should mention since it doesn't run. We did have it registered last year before my husband crashed it, so would that be something they would look into and ask us about?

[jadams]

List everything. I don't think the bike is worth upsetting your whole filing.

Remember things are often not really worth what we feel that they are worth. We have some attachment to them and remember what they cost when we bought them. We tend to let that influence our opinion of their current value.

If it's worth $1000 when running, and doesn't run, how much is it presently worth? Try Craigslist and eBay to see if you can find a similar bike in a similar condition (for parts, etc.) and see how much it sells for.

My lawyer did a quick chuckle when he saw some of the values I used. He pulled up a few pages on his computer to show me (Craigslist, eBay) and said I have bad news and good news. The bad news is these things are near worthless to the public at large. The good news is that means you won't have any trouble keeping them.