chapter 13 to a 7

[systemslt]

did a quick chapter 13 file last week. lawyer sent the file for me to look at and says need to complete the process in 15 days. after looking at the plan i found some errors that will make it imposable to make the required monthly payments.

i pass the means for a chapter 7 but the house payment is 2 payments behind.

with may tax return and my paycheck i can catch up with the payment by the end of this week.

after the house payment is current i want to change the chapter 13 to a 7 before the 15 day time period is up.

can this be done?

also how do you know if your house is in default?

thanks

[FreshLikeADaisy]

Best source of info on whether your house is in default is a call to your lender. But you already know what you've paid and haven't paid; technically, if you're behind you're in "default" simply because you are not paying as agreed, though default does not equal acceleration (foreclosure).

Maybe someone else can tell you more about the 13 to 7 conversion process, but whether it can be done actually depends more on your attorney than anything. Have you told him yet that you plan to convert? If you didn't pay him anything upfront for your 13 and he calculated his fee into your payment plan, be prepared to have to pay him for your Ch7. Good luck.

[sandhall]

if you have enough left over to pay for a 13 plan it will be a 13 plan. we converted but it was way later in our plan almost 24 months and we had to show the trustee we could not afford it. also luckily our attorney was already paid for the 13 but he did charge additional 1000 to convert so you will pay for both 13 and 7

[systemslt]

Best source of info on whether your house is in default is a call to your lender. But you already know what you've paid and haven't paid; technically, if you're behind you're in "default" simply because you are not paying as agreed, though default does not equal acceleration (foreclosure).

Maybe someone else can tell you more about the 13 to 7 conversion process, but whether it can be done actually depends more on your attorney than anything. Have you told him yet that you plan to convert? If you didn't pay him anything upfront for your 13 and he calculated his fee into your payment plan, be prepared to have to pay him for your Ch7. Good luck.

i have till April 17 to make this payment or it will default. also the bill says i can make arrangements to pay half now and make the rest up in future payments.

so it looks like i may be able to pay the lawyer in full for a chapter 7 before the 15 days are up.


when a emergency bankruptcy is filled giving 15 days to complete the possess, is this jest a document with no reference to what bankruptcy chapter will be filled at the end of the 15 days?

[FreshLikeADaisy]

Looks like you answered your own question on the default issue.

I'm sorry I didn't fully understand what you were asking before. As far as converting, because you already filed a 13, you're going to have to get all your papers in under the 13 *before* you can think about converting to a 7. When you file a bankruptcy, emergency (incomplete) filing or not, the very first page of your filing indicates what chapter you are filing under. There is no gray area; you either filed a 7 or a 13. The 15 days is the time the law allows you to submit all necessary paperwork in an emergency filing, not a chance to rethink the chapter: you are still filing a 13. It is assumed that you are already familiar with the difference between the two chapters, and one of the forms you have to file is a statement to that effect (Form B201) and you sign that you have received and read it.

Maybe one of the legal eagles here can tell you more, but you have to have a complete 13 filing before you do anything else. Please discuss this with your atty, because what you are suggesting (filing a 13 but attempting to convert to a 7 even before all required forms are submitted) is probably not acceptable to the court. Work with the atty to submit a plan that works for you, first. You can still amend the 13, even if you can't convert it yet. Good luck!!!