where to find samples of chap 13

[justbroke]

HHM you are scaring me! Big time! I did file my Chapter 13 pro se.

I filed mine pro se as well, and have been in plan for 17 months and confirmed for over a year! Filing a Chapter 13 can be difficult in most Districts. The deck is already stacked against Chapter 13 debtors, as far as completion rates, but the real hurdle is getting a confirmed plan that will work for you. Unless you are meticulous and know how to follow the Rules (FRBP), Local Rules, and formats for Papers... you can find resistance starting right at the Clerk's office and ending with the Trustee himself!

In Districts where there is a model plan, it's easy to get confirmed. However, is your plan working you or are you working the plan?

[HHM]

HHM you are scaring me! Big time! I did file my Chapter 13 pro se.

It is not impossible, but most chapter 13 trustees "hate" pro se filers; and there really are too many pitfalls. Heck, many BK attorneys won't do chapter 13's (but that is more due to 13's being a time suck). Unless you are really committed to doing your homework on chapter 13's, it really is better and more cost effective to hire an attorney. Also, strictly speaking, if you can file a confirmable chapter 13, then you DO have the money to pay for lawyer; most chapter 13 pro se filers tend to be too stubborn or too stupid to know when they are in over their head.

[tigergem]

Well. I worked my budget very carefully. And my plan payment is within (under) $2.00 of income I don't have allotted for my regular necessities. Rent, insurance, phone, groceries, laundry, etc...

Seriously, I am almost to the penny. The plan and schedules weren't the parts I struggled with. In fact it felt like I had divine intervention, the way it fit so neatly together! It's definitely procedures that I have to pay special mind to, so they don't trip me up.

I'm not trying to be stubborn OR stupid... really... it seemed like the only way to get this done at the time I was doing it was to do it myself. I guess....MAYBE... if I hadn't had to put a transmission in my vehicle right at that time, I might have been able to afford to retain an attorney to do it, but only if I could find one first. There aren't any BK attorneys in my town at all.

[HHM]

Look at it this way. A difference of $100 in your chapter 13 is $6,000 over the life of your plan; I think most people can/should invest in the $2,000-$3,000 to hire an attorney to get the best possible chapter 13 plan. Most chapter 13 trustees can get an extra $100 to $200 per month out of a proposed chapter 13 plan by checking a few boxes on a standard form objection.

You are NOT saving any money in the long run by not hiring an attorney.

[tigergem]

I filed mine pro se as well, and have been in plan for 17 months and confirmed for over a year! Filing a Chapter 13 can be difficult in most Districts. The deck is already stacked against Chapter 13 debtors, as far as completion rates, but the real hurdle is getting a confirmed plan that will work for you. Unless you are meticulous and know how to follow the Rules (FRBP), Local Rules, and formats for Papers... you can find resistance starting right at the Clerk's office and ending with the Trustee himself!

In Districts where there is a model plan, it's easy to get confirmed. However, is your plan working you or are you working the plan?

lol and you are my [heart] justbroke! You give me hope, and I thank you for that. My Clerk's office has been super nice and uber helpful. I fully expect my trustee to be a bear. He might surprise me pleasantly. But his assistant is a bear. lol. My Plan is definitely going to work for me -- so long as I can sell it to the trustee, I guess. This is actually one of the BEST things that has happened to my budget and spending in years. My only regret is not doing it 3 or 4 years ago when the trouble started, right after my divorce. Then I might be about done with it.