Help, please

[beachgirl]

My husband and I are considering filing for bankruptcy and we're worried. I have found alot of helpful advice on the forum, and have a few questions.
Our background - 2 kids, house payment (925/mo), 1 car payment (450/mo), the usual utilities, phone, cell, satellite, etc. We also have nearly $90,000 in unsecured debt. We have been struggling to make payments, have gotten a little behind (just a week or two), and are tired of making minimum payments on everything and seeing our balances rise. We have looked into Chapter 7 & 13 and would prefer to do 7, but am afraid we make too much money (approx. $4000/mo depending on how much o/t my husband has that week.) He has been working 60+ hourse a week and they are about to cut his overtime all together. We are worried that if we aren't able to do a Chapter 7, we will be required to pay an outrageous amount in a Chapter 13. My kids are 15 & 13 and are involved in school activities (which are quite expensive) and soon to be driving. We want to be able for them to be involved in the same things they are now. If we don't qualify for Chapter 7, how much money would a Chapter 13 want with the amount of unsecured debt that we have. We have our home, which we want to keep. It has very little equity in it because we've refinanced in the past 5 years. I have a car that will be paid for in 2 years, and we just bought new appliances in the past year that we want to keep. Will this be possible? Any advice will be greatly appreciated. (We are Georgia residents if that helps)

[jane taylor]

Dear Beachgirl:

Your situation sounds almost identical to ours! We have two teenagers as well and were worried that they couldn't do the things they were used to doing. We had to file Chapter 13 because of our income and expenses, but it is not the end of the world. We are only a couple of months into it, but I know that we will be better off in the long run. There was no way we could continue to pay even the minimum on cc's --it does catch up with you eventually.

We included our mortgage and car payment (had two years to go on it) in our BK. Our Plan is for 60 months. I think Minny said once to me to look at it like a car payment. It does help to reframe mentally.

Ask lots of questions at the lawyers' offices. Good luck and keep us posted.

jane

[DOA]

You know, I bet you won't qualify for a 7. And even though you spouse is going to have no OT next week, month, or year, he had it in the last 6 months which is what they are going to figure it by. As for your kids and thei "activities", your out of luck most likely. The judge looked at me and asked "Are you under a court order to put your child through college?" I said "No sir", and the judge said "Then college tuition for your child isn't a required expense, she can drop out."
So best of luck getting ballet, soccer or anything of that sort looked upon kindly. Heck, if they don't care if my child can finish an education you can't really think they'll care if your son can do a header or your daughter can dance.

[SinkingFast]

Go here:

http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/

In the Bankruptcy box, click on Means Test. That will take you to the IRS Schedules for expenses, and the Census Bureau stats for Median Income in your State. Depending on where you live decides how much you can earn and qualify for Ch 7.

If your Hubby has had a lot of overtime in the previous 6 months and the OT is gonna stop, that can be addressed. Part of the BK process is declaring expected increases or decreases in income. If you can get his company to stipulate that the OT he's been working was a one time thing, or the work has slowed down, or whatever, and Hubby won't be getting the extra income again on a regular basis, the Court may consider using Hubby's base income in figuring your plan.

I'd suggest you schedule some appointments with BK attnys in your area and go for some Consults. They'll give you lots of info and it's free. Plus, different attny will have some different perspectives and you'll learn different things from each one.

[beachgirl]

What kind of payments could we be looking at? I want to be able to survive each month!

[Minnymouth]

Only an attorney can help you with that figure..... based on your information.....

Minny

[debtisbad]

beach girl,

You have alot of company. I recently moved from GA. Wanted to file there, but attorney advised me to file in IN since that is my new residence. Tried to get in to GA to file before 10/17 but attornys were slammed with business, so I just waited. I really wish someone would challenge this new law It is a bunch of bullsh*t. Everybody's ot getting cut, jobs getting cut, and what does GW do. He changes the law! What an idiot!

[SinkingFast]

What kind of payments could we be looking at? I want to be able to survive each month!

You can get a decent idea by running the Means Test yourself. That's what I did. The only part I couldn't figure was the Trustee's Admin Fee for a Ch 13 plan. For where we live, the Trustee would get 8.8%. But 8.8% of what?? I didn't know.

The House,......... If you have more than 5 years left on your mortgage, you can take the difference between your house payment and the Schedules allowable for Rent/Mortgage and put that in the Secured Debt Portion.

The Car,......... You'll have to prorate that payment out over 60 months. If you're on the front end of a long term note, you'll get most of the $450/month in car payment. If you're close to the end of a 5 year car loan, you'll get hit big time there. You have to annualize your payments over 60 months. Because you have to project your expenses out for the duration of a Ch 13 plan of 5 years.

If you pay child support, alimony, owe the IRS for back taxes, you can deduct those Priority debts as well.

The rest of the stuff you need to complete the Means Test is at the DOJ website. You can only deduct the allowables from the Schedules.

Beyond the Means Test, it comes down to how Sched I compares to J. That's income and expenses again. Only this time, on Schedule J, it's your real expenses. Car payment is annualized again there. But J is what you really spend at the grocery, on laundry, utilities, etc.