Chapter 13, and overtime beginning to cease

[mark3413]

I'm currently in a chapter 13.It has been confirmed, and I have been on time with my payments.I was under the median income at the time, but wanted to try to pay what I could, so I went with the Ch. 13.I'm thinking about converting to Chapter 7 if possible.With my overtime each month,I'm getting very close to the means test limit.My question is; If I stop the overtime (Which isn't guaranteed each month anyway) will i be ok,if i STAY CURRENT WITH MY CHAPTER 13 PAYMENTS until i can have 2OR 3 months without any overtime,so it will bring my monthly income back down.It's just getting harder to stay in the Ch.13, and my overtime is getting ready to drop dramatically anyway.Is it hard to convert to a chapter 7, and will I have to wait to do it.Any suggestions on my plan. Any help appreciated.

[lrprn]

Is it hard to convert to a chapter 7, and will I have to wait to do it.Any suggestions on my plan. Any help appreciated.

Mark, talk to your bk lawyer. He/she can advise you how this might work in your situation, if it's feasible, and how long you will have to wait to make the switch. It's likely you will have to pay additional fees to your lawyer to do this so be prepared for that. Hope things work out for you!

[aa06a47]

I'm currently in a chapter 13.It has been confirmed, and I have been on time with my payments.I was under the median income at the time, but wanted to try to pay what I could, so I went with the Ch. 13.I'm thinking about converting to Chapter 7 if possible.With my overtime each month,I'm getting very close to the means test limit.My question is; If I stop the overtime (Which isn't guaranteed each month anyway) will i be ok,if i STAY CURRENT WITH MY CHAPTER 13 PAYMENTS until i can have 2OR 3 months without any overtime,so it will bring my monthly income back down.It's just getting harder to stay in the Ch.13, and my overtime is getting ready to drop dramatically anyway.Is it hard to convert to a chapter 7, and will I have to wait to do it.Any suggestions on my plan. Any help appreciated.

I'm told Chapter 13's are "voluntary" and you can always come out from under the umbrella of the protection it offers. I would wait as you stated until your income comes down to make sure you still qualify for the chapter 7 before converting. Your attorney can tell you what you risk loosing by doing so (things you keep in the chapter 13 are not always the same as you keep in a chapter 7).

I think it is great that you had it in your heart that you want to pay at least something to your unsecured creditors. In my opinion though, if you qualify for a chapter 7 at the start, you should always take the chapter 7 from the start. There are sometimes reasons to do chapter 13 to protect property you don't want to liquidate..etc., but chapter 13 is a long term committment to a plan that offers little room for unexpected expenses that happen.

As a side note, when I filed bk I was averaging about 400/month in overtime which was figured in to my disposible income. 4 months into the plan, the OT stopped.