Income

[Jrix1971]

I just filed Chapter 13 and I am confused about what is considered income.

I moved in with my elderly mother to be full-time caregiver after she had a Silver Alert.
I closed my consignment mall and am now here with my mother 24/7.


When I first contacted the law firm, I was told by the paralegal handling my case, that my mother's SS Retirement and pension can be considered MY income.

I filled out the BK Questionnaire for Chapter 13 to reflect this.

I was just shown Friday what I will be paying monthly, and it is high.

I do eBay and resale to make my ends meet, but am confused how my mother's $1747.00 a month is somehow considered MY income. That 1585.00 is now my monthly trustee payment.
A monthly mortgage payment of $1101.00 is included in my payments to trustee.


Please let me know if this is correct.

Thank you,

[justbroke]

The bankruptcy code doesn't define "income" but does define "current monthly income." That is all income that you receive on a regular basis regardless of taxability (except for some obscure war-related payments).

Unless you are married, no other person's income is your income (period).

There are some calculations in a Chapter 13 that require you to "offset" expenses that someone else may be paying or paying a portion. For example, if your rent is $1,200/month and you had a roommate that paid $600/month you'd have to offset the rent expense allowance; it's not income but rather a reduction in an expense.

In your particular case you have no housing expense. That mortgage payment is not your payment. Because you have no rent expense, you don't get to claim the rent expense. That is probably why your payment is higher than you expected.

I wonder if that has put you in a 100% plan?

[Jrix1971]

Thank you for confirming this.

I have been paying my mortgage since 2019 with no problem until May. I became late on my mortgage payment, and the private lender first agreed to a loan modification, then changed his mind. This after he learned I was living at my mother's. He refused my repayment.

Beside the point, the private lender is someone I would never have dealt with, had the home loan company disclosed his history.
He has a public record of scamming veterans
for over 20 Million. He ran for Mayor of Orlando, and was caught running two fake charities. The Federal Trade Commission and Attorney General in Florida sued him for this. He was also a lawyer and was disbarred.

I told the paralegal, I may need to sell my home, because the repayments are so high.
I have taken on remote work and Uber Delivery to try to compensate.
I am supposed to start paying tomorrow the trustee tomorrow. And I asked the paralegal if she could have payments lowered, she said NO.

Thank you, and any advice is much needed and appreciated.

[justbroke]

Unfortunately if you can't afford your home then you will have to surrender it in the bankruptcy. Sometimes there is no way to save the home. If you don't understand your payment plan and that you're not keeping the your home I would suggest asking the attorney if they can take a 30 minute appointment so that you understand this better.

While there are Chapter 13 "forced" mortgage modifications programs (especially in the Middle District of Florida), you will must be able to afford the new payment. The new payment would be 31-33% of your current income. It would be set that way during the Chapter 13 and may lead to a permanent modification. However, if you have too much in arrears to be able to submit a feasible Chapter 13 plan, it wouldn't matter if you could save the home.

The question becomes if the home is worth saving and whether you asked your attorney about saving the house through the Mortgage Modification Mediation program available in the Middle District of Florida.

[Jrix1971]

Thank you for your help.
I am emailing her now.

I appreciate you taking time out to advise me.
I let my paralegal know my situation during the consultation on day one.

Kind regards