Filed 13 then hospitalized before 341

[lrprn]

The relief of finally filing Ch 13 early this month lasted a whole 12 days until I was unexpectedly hospitalized last week with high fever and an infection (I'm home and better now, thanks).

After our insurance is done paying its share, we will be left with the remaining doctor and hospital costs that aren't a part of our plan since they occurred after filing. Our 341 meeting with our trustee is next week.

Has anyone else found themselves in this same predicament (additional potentially large nonsecured debt that happens after filing but before your trustee meeting)? What did your lawyer advise you to do? Did your trustee say or do anything about the unexpected extra bills? (btw, I've already talked to our lawyer - just would like to know what others' experiences have been.) TIA.

[JeepMom]

You *should* be able to add it for an additional fee.

I filed 7 and we had until the day of to add any debt. We would be charged an additional $150 fee by the lawyer to do so but in a situation like yours it would have made sense to pay the $150 vs not having the debt cleared.

Not much help on a 13, sorry!

[keepmine]

You can add the medical debt to the 13 at a 100% payback. Or, try and pay it outside the plan-have you tried to negoitate a settlement?
Don't worry about the trustee's reaction. Medical debt is not a luxury item.

[anonymuse]

Isn't there something where you can amend your paperwork up to the 341 date?

I know there's a fee on the CO site for: "Amendments to Schedules D, E, or F or to the Creditor's Address Mailing List or Matrix, regardless of whether the notice to creditors has been mailed" $26

Glad to hear you're doing better.

[aa06a47]

One thing you need to do is get a payment plan from the hospital and add this as a monthly expense. I don't think your trustee will be able to fight it. Recent ruling allow for future disposible income in the calculations. If you add a $100-200 a month payment to the hospital, it should reduce your payment to the trustee by an equal amount. I would run it by the lawyer.

[lrprn]

One thing you need to do is get a payment plan from the hospital and add this as a monthly expense. I don't think your trustee will be able to fight it. Recent ruling allow for future disposible income in the calculations. If you add a $100-200 a month payment to the hospital, it should reduce your payment to the trustee by an equal amount. I would run it by the lawyer.

Thanks,aa. Unfortunately I was just discharged from the hospital last Thursday evening, so the bills haven't even been sent to our insurance company yet. It will probably be at least a month until I know how much we will actually owe so I can create a payment plan with the hospitals and doctors - our 341 meeting will be long over by then. Good idea though - will discuss it with our lawyer.

I called our lawyer the morning after I was admitted and he told me not to tell the hospital we are in Ch 13 and that we will talk about the hospitalization and resulting costs with the trustee during our 341. As Keepmine already noted, it isn't like we took a luxury vacation or gambled the money away.

The irony is that if this had happened just 13 days earlier, we could have delayed filing a week so this could have been included with no questions asked. Oh well....as Minny says, this too shall pass...just have to tie a knot and hang on through this latest ripple.

Thanks for the support and good ideas, everyone - it's the best medicine ever!

[anonymuse]

Call the hospital and ask them to expedite the bill--I'm sure they won't have any problems doing that!

[SinkingFast]

Glad you're feeling better, Lrprn. Sorry this had to happen at all, much less at this particular time.

In Ch 7, you can add a Creditor any time during the 90-120 day period following filing. Up until you're discharged, I believe. Doesn't Ch 13 have an option like that??!!

The New Law bases expectations of future income and expenses on a 6 month snap shot of the past. Things like this can and do happen to people. Like you said, it's not like you took a lavish vacation or anything like that.

What's the difference between now and a year from now? If it happened a year from now, your plan could be ammended.

What's the difference between now and 3 months ago? If it had happened 3 months ago, you woulda accounted for it in your expenses.

The Court should be able to work around an unexpected medical emergency.

[aa06a47]

Glad you're feeling better, Lrprn. Sorry this had to happen at all, much less at this particular time.

In Ch 7, you can add a Creditor any time during the 90-120 day period following filing. Up until you're discharged, I believe. Doesn't Ch 13 have an option like that??!!

The New Law bases expectations of future income and expenses on a 6 month snap shot of the past. Things like this can and do happen to people. Like you said, it's not like you took a lavish vacation or anything like that.

What's the difference between now and a year from now? If it happened a year from now, your plan could be ammended.

What's the difference between now and 3 months ago? If it had happened 3 months ago, you woulda accounted for it in your expenses.

The Court should be able to work around an unexpected medical emergency.

I will try and find the ruling and post it tomorrow (I'm at work now), but future income and future expenses can be used in your chapter 13 plan. The case involved a debtor who was trying to use his old house payment as an expense (6 month look average). The trustee objected and won, the decision basically providing an intretation of the code.

[SinkingFast]

I will try and find the ruling and post it tomorrow (I'm at work now), but future income and future expenses can be used in your chapter 13 plan. The case involved a debtor who was trying to use his old house payment as an expense (6 month look average). The trustee objected and won, the decision basically providing an intretation of the code.

I read about that one Aa. The people were not keeping their house. Their attny tried to annualize forward payments they were not going to have after the BK. The Trustee objected and the Court agreed.

We Consulted with one attny that was gonna try and do that with us. He was the only one that suggested doing that so it did not sound right to us at the time. So we decided to go with another attny. Glad we didn't try and do that especially with that ruling coming down.