Our Case is Coming Apart- Any Advice/Options

[screentest]

Our Chapter 7 petition was filed incorrectly.....very incorrectly.. and we are now between a rock and a hard place. An attorney for the US trustees office called our attorney yesterday and told them there was no way we were going to get into a 7 because we have too much income. We are above median.

The US trustees office is now routinely requesting pay-stubs for the month post filing in our area effectively making a 7 month look-back period not a 6. This is forcing many people out of a potential chapter 7. In my case, July was a 3 check month and I had some mandatory overtime in July I had to take and the Trustee got their Ah ha! moment.

I spent 4 hours today reviewing our petition, means test etc and my attorneys filed very incorrect numbers..not even close to reality. I should have caught this. After repairing the means test today, I still show negative 455 in DMI as I expected; however, now I have positive DMI of between
$500-$900 on my schedules.

I thought we may have to go Chapter 13; however, my attorneys advice against it stating the trustee in our area will not even consider approving a plan for us unless we have enough to cover a "significant" payback to unsecured. How in the world is this legal? I thought your DMI was all you could offer? This is not good enough? I have significant unsecured 140K +

I could probably offer a plan of around $550 a month and he wont even consider it? I cant even afford this amount.

Could the new forward looking decision by the supremes' help me here. I have nowhere near the DMI the schedules say; however I have been forced to accept the 7-month look-back numbers. My future numbers will be far less.

My attorney today told me he believes I may be one of those few in America that cant qualify for either a 7 or a 13. Lucky Me!

Should I allow a dismissal, fight the creditors again and refile a 7 in 6 months after my real numbers come back to reality or request a conversion to 13 and then allow that to be reconverted to a 7 when I fail?

Again I have nothing to protect here. Our home is going back to the bank and my exemptions cover the few remaining items we have. I wish I would have waited until next year to file...jumping the gun and getting my mortgages modified to lower payments may have cost me this case.

Our amended petition was filed again today and we are waiting for a response.

Thanks

ST

[SweetGeorgia]

I don't have any advice to offer, but just support! Hang in there!

We would not have qualified for 13 (too much unsecured debt). If we had not been able to do 7, we would have been..I don't know! Stuck in Chapter 11?

This is complicated. You need your attorney's help, obviously. I think if I were in your position I would try to sit down and plan exactly what happens if I can't have bankruptcy for this month, next month, six months from now. You're not keeping a house; what else is at risk? Wages?

We had wages garnished before and after filing BK last month. That sucks, and does not work at ALL like I thought it would. But it IS the signal I was waiting for (to file bankruptcy) since we weren't keeping a house or anything. Yet, I could have planned a little better for it.

All I can do is wish you luck and peace of mind. My thoughts are with you!