Plan Question

[bwebb2006]

I have calculated my income vs. my expenses and have $129.75 left over in doing so. I have approximately 4100.00 in priority claims and 1200.00 in secured colateral on a title loan against my car. Will this pass the test for a viable plan does anyone know?

[aa06a47]

I have calculated my income vs. my expenses and have $129.75 left over in doing so. I have approximately 4100.00 in priority claims and 1200.00 in secured colateral on a title loan against my car. Will this pass the test for a viable plan does anyone know?

It should be enough to pay the priority and secured claims (in a 60 month plan). However, for a plan to be feasible, the unsecured creditors must receive at least as much as they would in a Chapter 7 total liquidation. If all your assets are exempt, then you should be OK.

You should note though that your expenses must fly past the eye of the trustee. He / she will be looking for ways to get more money from you. So, while your plan of $130/month pays the priority and secure claims, and even gives the unsecured a few penny's to fight over, it may not past the trustee test as a viable plan.

[bwebb2006]

Can the trustee

We are very faithful to the giving of our tithes we do not do more than the 10% but with that can the trustee force us to lower the amount we give in our tithing because our disposable income is low? We have firm conviction on following the tithing principles.

[anonymuse]

There's precedent out there protecting the tithing if it is a continuation of tithings you have done in the past.

[SinkingFast]

There's precedent out there protecting the tithing if it is a continuation of tithings you have done in the past.

Yep! Anon is correct!

The Court likes to see consistency. If you've been giving 10% all along, then the Court won't blink an eye at that deduction. You'll probably want to be prepared with proof of your giving. Your Church giving records will do just fine for that. Most Churches prepare those annually.

[anonymuse]

Found this from an old post:

Tithing Didn't Affect Good Faith in Proposing Plan

A 36-month Chapter 13 plan in which the debtors proposed to tithe 9.8 percent of their gross income, or a total of nearly $15,000 over the plan's three-year term, to their church, while paying only $294 to their unsecured creditors in installments over the life of the plan, was proposed in "good faith," as required for confirmation. The debtor, a deacon in his church, had regularly tithed to the church and had historically been tithing in an amount approximating his proposed charitable contributions. The plan likewise did not violate the "disposable income" requirement as modified by the Religious Liberty and Charitable Donation Protection Act. In re Petty, 2006 WL 510510 (Bkrtcy.E.D.Ark., Judge Taylor).

[aa06a47]

Found this from an old post:

Tithing Didn't Affect Good Faith in Proposing Plan

A 36-month Chapter 13 plan in which the debtors proposed to tithe 9.8 percent of their gross income, or a total of nearly $15,000 over the plan's three-year term, to their church, while paying only $294 to their unsecured creditors in installments over the life of the plan, was proposed in "good faith," as required for confirmation. The debtor, a deacon in his church, had regularly tithed to the church and had historically been tithing in an amount approximating his proposed charitable contributions. The plan likewise did not violate the "disposable income" requirement as modified by the Religious Liberty and Charitable Donation Protection Act. In re Petty, 2006 WL 510510 (Bkrtcy.E.D.Ark., Judge Taylor).

Yes, that is the way I understand it, you gotta prove a history of it though. Otherwise, just about everybody could tith themselves into a chapter 7.

[SinkingFast]

Yes, that is the way I understand it, you gotta prove a history of it though. Otherwise, just about everybody could tith themselves into a chapter 7.

Yep! We give to lots of Charitable organizations and Churches but we never get a receipt. We have no proof so we told the paralegal to put down zero when we got to that section. We explained that we do give here and there, but don't have proof of any amounts. She said OK and wrote down zero.