Hello,
I found this forum last night and have spent the last 12 hours reading. At first I just thought of it as an intersting diversion, but the more I read, the more worried I became.
I filed Ch 13 last year in October, before the law changed. I'm retired from a civil service job and was way over my head in mostly credit card debt. I had never been late with any payments, but it was getting difficult to juggle payments from month to month on 40% of my former income. I also had bought an RV shortly before I retired last spring. I had my hearing in December last year, and the last deadline (for any government claims) passed in April. I am paying 1st & 2nd mtg. out of plan, and surrendered the RV. I have only unsecured debt in the plan (about 72K with 61K "scheduled").
My lawyer had suggested at our second meeting that I find a part-time job once the plan hearing is over. He even suggested that I work for one of his friends, who needed some help. I never followed up on this, but got a 20 hr./wk job with my naturopath this past February, not because I thought I needed the money, but because I was bored to tears. I never told anybody about the job and additional income, because it didn't occur to me that I was supposed to do this.
Another worry: I have a Visa card with my credit union, which I used for various things, including getting 1K repair done on my car. I owe 3.5K total on it (all since the ch 13 filing). So after reading all the posts here regarding extra income, incurring debts, etc, I'm beginning to feel panicky.
Basically, my daughter is going to pay off my Visa account and I will give her my paychecks for the next 5 months. Then I'll quit my job. I have never had occasion to deal with anybody from the trustee's office. I make the monthly payment through my credit union's billpay option (on a monthly automatic basis, which is OK with the trustee), and according to the NDC, all payments so far (11 of 36) have been posted, the lawyer has been paid off, the trustee has received money, and there are more than 2 payments sitting in the account without further dispersements. Nobody has asked for last year's tax return. I NEVER get a refund, I'd rather have the money in my own bank account every month than give it to the government interest free. I figured it out so that I normally owe just a few bucks on April 15.
In your estimation, how likely is the trustee to find out about all this? Do they ever check anything, as long as payments are made on time?
One other question: As I said, I have so far made 11 payments of 36. On the NDC case summary it says under "case status" ABOUT TO COMPLETE and under "date case closed" 8/31/06. ????? Also on the claims page, all "principal owed" say $0.00. As stated above, nobody other than lawyer and trustee have been paid a penny, and more than 2 payments are sitting there. Anybody have an idea what's going on?
I was raised by a father who was totally unpredictable, and my natural inclination is not to ask any questions as not to make any waves that would only lead to trouble. Therefore, I would be reluctant to even call my lawyer. Any comments?
EmmaT.
I found this forum last night and have spent the last 12 hours reading. At first I just thought of it as an intersting diversion, but the more I read, the more worried I became.
I filed Ch 13 last year in October, before the law changed. I'm retired from a civil service job and was way over my head in mostly credit card debt. I had never been late with any payments, but it was getting difficult to juggle payments from month to month on 40% of my former income. I also had bought an RV shortly before I retired last spring. I had my hearing in December last year, and the last deadline (for any government claims) passed in April. I am paying 1st & 2nd mtg. out of plan, and surrendered the RV. I have only unsecured debt in the plan (about 72K with 61K "scheduled").
My lawyer had suggested at our second meeting that I find a part-time job once the plan hearing is over. He even suggested that I work for one of his friends, who needed some help. I never followed up on this, but got a 20 hr./wk job with my naturopath this past February, not because I thought I needed the money, but because I was bored to tears. I never told anybody about the job and additional income, because it didn't occur to me that I was supposed to do this.
Another worry: I have a Visa card with my credit union, which I used for various things, including getting 1K repair done on my car. I owe 3.5K total on it (all since the ch 13 filing). So after reading all the posts here regarding extra income, incurring debts, etc, I'm beginning to feel panicky.
Basically, my daughter is going to pay off my Visa account and I will give her my paychecks for the next 5 months. Then I'll quit my job. I have never had occasion to deal with anybody from the trustee's office. I make the monthly payment through my credit union's billpay option (on a monthly automatic basis, which is OK with the trustee), and according to the NDC, all payments so far (11 of 36) have been posted, the lawyer has been paid off, the trustee has received money, and there are more than 2 payments sitting in the account without further dispersements. Nobody has asked for last year's tax return. I NEVER get a refund, I'd rather have the money in my own bank account every month than give it to the government interest free. I figured it out so that I normally owe just a few bucks on April 15.
In your estimation, how likely is the trustee to find out about all this? Do they ever check anything, as long as payments are made on time?
One other question: As I said, I have so far made 11 payments of 36. On the NDC case summary it says under "case status" ABOUT TO COMPLETE and under "date case closed" 8/31/06. ????? Also on the claims page, all "principal owed" say $0.00. As stated above, nobody other than lawyer and trustee have been paid a penny, and more than 2 payments are sitting there. Anybody have an idea what's going on?
I was raised by a father who was totally unpredictable, and my natural inclination is not to ask any questions as not to make any waves that would only lead to trouble. Therefore, I would be reluctant to even call my lawyer. Any comments?
EmmaT.
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