I need some help!!

[Madden]

I have some questions that I hope the wonderful people on here can help me with.

I looked at Pacer for the first time tonight, and it shows a status of awaiting 341 hearing. We had that hearing on 12/18/09. Why would it show this? We filed on 11/16/09.

Secondly, and much more troubling, we received documents this week showing that the US Trustee is saying there is a presumption of abuse. He states that it appears we understated our income on our Schedule I, thereby making our DMI very high. He is stating that our net average monthly income appears to be $900 per month higher than what is on Sched I! It states that mine is $700 per month higher and my wife's is $220 higher. How would they come up with such an assumption? Looking at my W2 for 2009, it shows that my net monthly income was $75 LESS than what is on our Schedule I and my wife's is almost exactly the same. What is even stranger to me is that I am paid on an annual salary. What the UST is saying that it appears I earn is just a little short of my gross amount! How would they determine this? It isn't justified by the 6 months of paystubs we turned in.

A letter from our attorney states that our first option is to convert to Chapter 13. Our second option is to file a response to the motion and then if we lose we could convert to chapter 13. Nowhere does she say anything about the earnings discrepancy. I found that by reading through all of the document.Then she goes on to state that the $2500 we paid her only covers her work up to the 341 meeting and does not cover any additional work. She states that she still has $600 of our retainer, but will need an additional $400 retainer and then will charge an hourly rate of $190 per hour for her services.

I'm totally lost by this. I hope someone can give me an idea if all of this is kosher and help possibly get an idea of what is going on. Should I still be trusting my attorney?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

[lrprn]

I looked at Pacer for the first time tonight, and it shows a status of awaiting 341 hearing. We had that hearing on 12/18/09. Why would it show this? We filed on 11/16/09.

Sounds like your trustee's staff is late updating your case. It happens, especially when the staff is overwhelmed with the large number of filings that are being done these days.

What the UST is saying that it appears I earn is just a little short of my gross amount! How would they determine this? It isn't justified by the 6 months of paystubs we turned in.

Just because the US trustee thinks there might be abuse doesn't mean there has been. Your trustee and the US trustee have access to more financial records than just the last six months.

Let your lawyer find out the details and discuss what she finds with you. If what the US trustee is stating is incorrect or mis-interpreted, then fight it out. You can win in this situation if the US trustee has made an assumption about something they see in your finances that is incorrect.

Then she goes on to state that the $2500 we paid her only covers her work up to the 341 meeting and does not cover any additional work. She states that she still has $600 of our retainer, but will need an additional $400 retainer and then will charge an hourly rate of $190 per hour for her services.

The original retainer fee covers the Ch 13 basics. Anything outside the basics - and having the US trustee get involved in your case is outside the basics - costs more. This is typical in this situation.

Some Ch 13 lawyers will fold the additional fees into an amended plan so you can pay the extra fees that way. See if your lawyer will do this for you.

I'm totally lost by this. I hope someone can give me an idea if all of this is kosher and help possibly get an idea of what is going on. Should I still be trusting my attorney?

It is kosher, and everything your lawyer has done to this point is trustworthy.

[chriselle]

this is somewhat bothers me now. The 341 was held dec 18, I thought the US Trustee has to make a decision if the case is presumed abuse. I know they can hit you with general abuse or totality of circumstances before the 60th day after the 341. I know the discharge or closing can take longer due to backlog but not the 10 day statement.