Early Payoff?

[bk112307]

Hi guys:

I'm a newbie...
I filed chapter 13 on 11/23/07. I'm supposed to pay $456 for at least 36 months. I've been making my payment for almost a year now I want to convert to chapter 7 but my lawyer said I would lose my 05 truck (paid off about $10k). I also have another car which it was included in the plan (not paid off, owe $7000). He said I could probably pay $10k to the court to keep truck (would also continue to pay the car directly to lender) and convert to chapter 7. My lawyer is not sure if after 36 months I would be discharged, he is also not sure if it would be a good idea to pay $10k and keep truck. I do not want to be paying them for the next 4 more years, but at the same time I dont want to lose my truck. Budget is really tight and that extra $456 would come in handy. Sometimes I feel like my lawyer is not being helpfull. What are yor thoughts?

I can probably borrow some money from family members ...

[lrprn]

You haven't shared why you filed Ch 13 and why you are struggling now. If you give us more details, we can better tell if what your lawyer is saying makes sense.

If you don't understand why your lawyer thinks you'll lose your truck (probably has to do with your state bk exemptions and what can be protected if you convert to a 7), then you need to sit down with him/her and ask questions until you do understand it.

Staying in your Ch 13 and paying it off early is still an unknown quantity. The 2005 bk law removed the specific legal language that existed about early Ch 13 payoffs after three years. The first opportunity for paying off early after three years under the 2005 bk law comes up next month. Only time (and decisions by bk judges to make case law) can predict what the Ch 13 trustees and local court judges will agree to do about early payoffs. Since you just filed Ch 13 just a year ago, it's doubtful even if you can get your trustee to agree to an early payoff that you could get away with paying less than 100% of what your Ch 13 creditors filed claims for. Not a good situation.

Have you asked your lawyer about amending your current Ch 13 plan if you are struggling to make it month to month and may not be able to make your payments on time much longer?