Behind on Ch 13 payments - what to do?

[tbon]

I am 1 1/2 months behind on C13. 2yrs. 2months into plan. Have not received a letter yet from either Trustee or attorney.

When we filed and they told us what our payments would be, I said that's rediculious, if we could pay that much we wouldn't be here in the first place. She said that's what our 6 months income shows. I told her that the only reason that is so is because my husband is working an extra job two weekends a month so that we could pay the CC off, and it's NOT working- HELLO?!
So, now two yrs into it, we are indeed BEHIND.
Not sure what to do with attorney, do not like her.
Can we just send the Trustee a note? Do we have to go through the attorney first?
Someone told me I could FIRE her, and get another attorney, we would be alotted 60 days, but the thought of paying another attorney not to mention finding one, would be a job on the finances as well. Not sure what to do?

We were behind once before, but caught up. Doesn't look like we will get caught up this time though.
Can anyone help?

[lrprn]

(tbon, I moved your questions off the other thread into one of its own so you didn't hijack the original thread. -lrprn)

I am 1 1/2 months behind on C13. 2yrs. 2months into plan. Have not received a letter yet from either Trustee or attorney.

Miss two 13 payments without notifying your trustee and a dismissal letter will be headed your way. Have you checked PACER to see if there's anything posted there?

I told her that the only reason that is so is because my husband is working an extra job two weekends a month so that we could pay the CC off, and it's NOT working- HELLO?!

Is your husband still working the extra job?

Most lawyers would have recommended that he quit the extra job and allow the extra income to drop off before filing. Did your lawyer suggest this? Was there a compelling reason you had to fie when you did?

So, now two yrs into it, we are indeed BEHIND.

So you signed your Ch 13 forms knowing you couldn't make the payments?

Can we just send the Trustee a note? Do we have to go through the attorney first?

What would you say to the trustee in a note? He/she can't do anything to modify your plan - the trustee represents your creditors, not you.

Your lawyer can amend your plan if your income has permanently decreased significantly or your expenses have permanently increased significantly. Have they? Have you discussed your continuing difficulties paying your payments on time with her? Does she know you are behind on your payments now?

Someone told me I could FIRE her, and get another attorney, we would be alotted 60 days, but the thought of paying another attorney not to mention finding one, would be a job on the finances as well. Not sure what to do?

From what you've shared, it's not possible to judge whether changing attornies at this point would help or not. If you can answer the earlier questions I asked, that would help.

We were behind once before, but caught up. Doesn't look like we will get caught up this time though.

What happened the last time to put you behind? What did you do to catch up?

[tbon]

1.Not on Pacer~ NDC is what is used here.

2.Yes, husband is STILL working 2nd job-had to in order to even THINK about repaying at 100%. Attorney DID NOT tell him to quit, I ASKED HER SPECIFICALLY if he should quit, she said NO. She said if he quit we would have to wait another 6 months to file, which was okay with me, but she suggest we go ahead and file, and he keep his second job.

3.NO, we signed our forms HOPING we could keep up the payments.

4.Waiting to see what 08 income taxes are, before we write a letter.

5.Last time we were behind, I sold a house (i'm a Realtor as second job,new associate not very busy).

[Nicollette]

Tbon, if you were to fire your attorney, wouldn't the BK court have to dismiss your case first, and then you would have to refile with a new attorney, or would the new attorney just take over from where the previous attorney left off? Just curious.

[lrprn]

1.Not on Pacer~ NDC is what is used here.

fyi...Ch 13 cases are posted on PACER *and* on NDC.

PACER is the official US courts website - it's where you can see copies of all the official filed bk documents related to your case.

National Data Center shows you the status of your Ch 13 payments and other information specific to your Ch 13, but NDC does not show court documents like a trustee request to dismiss your case before you get the paper copy in the mail. For that kind of document you have to go to PACER.

Do a forum search - there's tons of information aabout how to sign up for PACER (it's free) and how to keep the $0.08/page charges to a minimum and still see all the court documents related to your case.

2.Yes, husband is STILL working 2nd job-had to in order to even THINK about repaying at 100%. Attorney DID NOT tell him to quit, I ASKED HER SPECIFICALLY if he should quit, she said NO. She said if he quit we would have to wait another 6 months to file, which was okay with me, but she suggest we go ahead and file, and he keep his second job.

If husband did quit his second job, that would make a significant decrease in your household income and open the door to amending your plan into something liveable. Discuss how this would work with your current lawyer to see what she says. If you don't like the answers she provides, then that opens the door to exploring how to get different representation.

Good luck - I hope you are able to get your plan payments reduced to something you can live with month to month.

[lrprn]

Tbon, if you were to fire your attorney, wouldn't the BK court have to dismiss your case first, and then you would have to refile with a new attorney, or would the new attorney just take over from where the previous attorney left off? Just curious.

The second attorney takes over from the previous attorney. The second attorney then reviews the filer's filed plan to decide what the best way to proceed is at that point.

[tbon]

Thanks for the PACER info lrprn~
I appreciate your knowledge. I will indeed check it out.
Originally I said something about Pacer to our attorney, she stopped in her tracks, turned around and said, "WHAT? How do you kow about Pacer?"
I laughed, said I had connnections- lol, she gave me a concerning look. This was when we were filing.
Well, I didn't want to use her, but my husband said he felt comfortable with her, so we did.
Thanks again.

[Flamingo]

I am 1 1/2 months behind on C13. 2yrs. 2months into plan. Have not received a letter yet from either Trustee or attorney.

When we filed and they told us what our payments would be, I said that's rediculious, if we could pay that much we wouldn't be here in the first place. She said that's what our 6 months income shows. I told her that the only reason that is so is because my husband is working an extra job two weekends a month so that we could pay the CC off, and it's NOT working- HELLO?!
So, now two yrs into it, we are indeed BEHIND.
Not sure what to do with attorney, do not like her.
Can we just send the Trustee a note? Do we have to go through the attorney first?
Someone told me I could FIRE her, and get another attorney, we would be alotted 60 days, but the thought of paying another attorney not to mention finding one, would be a job on the finances as well. Not sure what to do?

We were behind once before, but caught up. Doesn't look like we will get caught up this time though.
Can anyone help?

You need to know that in order for your hubby's second job income not to be counted that you would have had to wait an additional six months to file to have that income eliminated. So when you filed, your montly payments were based on your circumstances at that time and not what your income would have been over the coming years. Anyone who files Chapter 13 worries how they are going to make those payments. You need to be careful as to late payments in a Chapter 13 because that is the main cause for Chapter 13 dismissal and you don't want that to occur at this point. You are almost 1/2 through your Plan if it is for 5 years. You need to sit down with your attorney and go over your options since are you are behind. This is not a mind game of who knows more than who or whether or not you like your attorney - you are almost half way through a Plan now and don't want to make any more mistakes. If you can't make those payments there is a reason and you need to go over all that with your attorney. Best of luck to you!!

[tbon]

I agree Flamingo~
I have sat down today, and tried to figure how to get back on track.
I have also written our attorney a letter, telling her that I know what could happen, and asking what to do at this point.
Hopefully I can sell a listing that I have on the market (I'm also a new Realtor), that would help get me back on track with payments for sure!
I don't know what is involved if one gets dismissed on a 13, not sure I want to know.
And you are right that we are halfway through, so I don't want to be dismissed.
Thanks for the input- it is much appreciated.