Hello all!
New to the forum and first post but I have seen so many helpful pieces of advice here I just wanted to get some more seasoned folks opinions. I'm 43 months in to a 60 month Chapter 13 plan. Payments have been around $129 per check so about $260 a month. In January 2020 I started working a new job with a significant pay increase. I went back and forth for so long about even taking the job because I knew that there was a possibility I would end up paying more to my plan, which is currently a 1% plan to all unsecured debtors except my over 10 year old car which is included and almost paid off. I called my attorney's office probably over 20 times before I even took the job to ask what needed to be provided, if I could get an estimate of a new payment amount, etc. and every time they just said to "wait and see what the trustee says when you file your taxes in 2021".
I reported both my new employment in Jan 2020 when I started working and then provided my tax return in February of this year, showing the significant increase from 2020. Received a letter from the Trustee in March that my taxes had been reviewed, no additional monies needed to be turned over or paid. Called my attorney a few times after receiving just to follow up and was told that nothing additional needed to be done and that this meant they would not be asking for a higher payment. Great news!...
Fast forward to today I receive a call from my attorney's office that the Trustee has reached out to them and has "zeroed in" on my return and they wanted to know if I had an increase in my income. UM YEAH! The increase that I called your office well over 20 times to discuss?? So I asked them what this meant and they said not to worry, just give them my paystubs from this year and they will calculate everything and see if a modification is needed. They call me back about 20 minutes later and tell me that they are going to propose to increase my payment to $1800 A MONTH! Over a $1600 increase monthly from my $260 payment. Very long story short they got extremely short with me on the phone and I was told that they've already maxed out all the expenses and if I don't appreciate what they are doing for me we can have a different conversation. Literally yelled at me on the phone. One of the most unprofessional experiences I've had in my life.
So my shaken and obviously hurt feelings aside, I understand that Chapter 13's are set up so that any disposable income goes to the trustee, but when the expense limits don't factor in my additional medical expenses, higher cost of living, etc., I just don't see the point of paying $1800 a month and still coming out with student loans that I'll have to pay on top of all this money going to my attorney and the trustee.
I know that voluntary dismissals aren't great and that my creditors can come after me, but all of my accounts were in good standing when I filed, I just needed to keep my head above water with the large amounts of monthly payments. But now that my income has increase so much I'm thinking that it may be better to voluntarily dismiss and then just make payment arrangements with the 4 creditors, which has to be less than $1800 additional a MONTH! My head is still reeling right now so I don't know if I supplied all the information or if this makes any sense at all, I'm just looking for any advice or words of wisdom here and I can answer any additional questions. Any info is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!
New to the forum and first post but I have seen so many helpful pieces of advice here I just wanted to get some more seasoned folks opinions. I'm 43 months in to a 60 month Chapter 13 plan. Payments have been around $129 per check so about $260 a month. In January 2020 I started working a new job with a significant pay increase. I went back and forth for so long about even taking the job because I knew that there was a possibility I would end up paying more to my plan, which is currently a 1% plan to all unsecured debtors except my over 10 year old car which is included and almost paid off. I called my attorney's office probably over 20 times before I even took the job to ask what needed to be provided, if I could get an estimate of a new payment amount, etc. and every time they just said to "wait and see what the trustee says when you file your taxes in 2021".
I reported both my new employment in Jan 2020 when I started working and then provided my tax return in February of this year, showing the significant increase from 2020. Received a letter from the Trustee in March that my taxes had been reviewed, no additional monies needed to be turned over or paid. Called my attorney a few times after receiving just to follow up and was told that nothing additional needed to be done and that this meant they would not be asking for a higher payment. Great news!...
Fast forward to today I receive a call from my attorney's office that the Trustee has reached out to them and has "zeroed in" on my return and they wanted to know if I had an increase in my income. UM YEAH! The increase that I called your office well over 20 times to discuss?? So I asked them what this meant and they said not to worry, just give them my paystubs from this year and they will calculate everything and see if a modification is needed. They call me back about 20 minutes later and tell me that they are going to propose to increase my payment to $1800 A MONTH! Over a $1600 increase monthly from my $260 payment. Very long story short they got extremely short with me on the phone and I was told that they've already maxed out all the expenses and if I don't appreciate what they are doing for me we can have a different conversation. Literally yelled at me on the phone. One of the most unprofessional experiences I've had in my life.
So my shaken and obviously hurt feelings aside, I understand that Chapter 13's are set up so that any disposable income goes to the trustee, but when the expense limits don't factor in my additional medical expenses, higher cost of living, etc., I just don't see the point of paying $1800 a month and still coming out with student loans that I'll have to pay on top of all this money going to my attorney and the trustee.
I know that voluntary dismissals aren't great and that my creditors can come after me, but all of my accounts were in good standing when I filed, I just needed to keep my head above water with the large amounts of monthly payments. But now that my income has increase so much I'm thinking that it may be better to voluntarily dismiss and then just make payment arrangements with the 4 creditors, which has to be less than $1800 additional a MONTH! My head is still reeling right now so I don't know if I supplied all the information or if this makes any sense at all, I'm just looking for any advice or words of wisdom here and I can answer any additional questions. Any info is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!
Comment