From Chapter 13 to Chapter 7?

[may]

I've been searching through this forum but MAN...there's so much stuff!!

We filed for Chapter 13 back in Jan. DH kept his $650 truck payment and I surrendered my vehicle. July we found out that we both were getting pay cuts. So now DH would like to put his truck in the bankrupcty. We have two options. Our lawyer told us that we could add it to the Ch. 13 and it would increase our payments (at most) by $40 a month. That would be around $210 a month for 4 years. That's over $10k that we'd be paying back! Our other option is to do a Ch. 7. We'd have to pay $1k to re-do all the paperwork and all that and we'd be done. Our lawyer told us we can keep our house (which I would die if anything happened to it). We've never been late on our house payment and don't see where we would be. And there is no equity in it.

So what should we do? I'm leaning towards the Ch. 7 just because the whole point of this was for us to live better. Having that extra $210 plus getting rid of DH's truck payment would be amazing!! Our biggest worry right now is finding a truck for him under a $300 payment. Or just financing a truck at all. Plus finding how we can get the $1k to do the Ch. 7 if that's what we decide to do.

Gosh this is stressful! I'm so ready for it to be DONE!

[catleg]

Go for the chapter 7. If you're timely on your payments it should be a simple motion to convert rather than a re-file. Check with the attorney and see what he is charging you for. There are some here with the same experience. You might try posting this in the ch13 forum.

[may]

Yeah, she said she wishes she didn't have to charge me the $1k but she has to. (Not sure what that means.) We already paid $800 for the Ch. 13.

[keepmine]

Stop paying all debt you wish to discharge in a 7 and use that money for legal fees.

[may]

That's what we're going to have to do. We can just pay what we would pay on DH's truck into savings, but then we're still $350 short. I guess we'll have to wait another month and do the same thing by holding onto DH's truck payment. In two months we'll have the $1k. They wouldn't come get his truck within that time would they?

[keepmine]

You may have a couple of months.
They can do nothing as long as you are in the Chapter 13 without filing for relief from stay.
Ask your lawyer how much time he thinks you have before the 13 is dismissed.