Need advice - chapter 13 potential conversion to 7 down the line

[Leesa0926]

Hi all

We are planning to file but due to the way my income works it is currently up right now due to stocks my company has given me as income. I've already looked and there's no way around it currently but I expect around June of this year my prior 6 months will drop enough to qualify for the 7. There is no guarantee however so the attorney suggested we file the 13 now and then look to potentially convert if the income changes.



My current means test shows I have disposable income of close to $400. Based on what I know about my income and the stocks I receive it will be at least 500 less a month going into next year.



Does this make sense am I missing something?



If I was a couple years until a 5-year plan I could see just keeping it but if it's within the first year the conversion makes sense I just want to ensure that I understand this correctly.

[justbroke]

Generally speaking you have a right to convert to Chapter 7 by notice. So long as you qualify under the terms of the Chapter 7 and attest that you do. The question, however, is whether Florida allows one to convert to a Chapter 7, from a Chapter 13, when the debtor did not initially qualify for the Chapter 7. I don't know the rule for this although I did qualify for a Chapter 7 at the time of my filing and later conversion from my Chapter 13 into that Chapter 7.

I guess you could also dismiss the Chapter 13 and refile. Just need to deal with the issue regarding multiple filings.

[Leesa0926]

Thanks! This is what my lawyer advised so I'm assuming it must be allowed in Florida.

These last few months have shown about 30k added to my income which is not the norm hence why I didn't qualify for the 7.