Attorney not answering questions

[cubfan300]

My wife and I filed Ch 13 bk on July 3, 2006. Received notice from Trustee's office on July 23 that they were garnishing my check for $2240 a month. That was $250 a month more than what the attorney had calculated in his office when we first met. Contacted attorney about amount and he said that due to a debt that we had a co-signer on, this debt had to be included in the total to be paid in order to protect co-signer. No problem.
Garnishment started that week for the $2240. 341 hearing was August 13 and the trustee mentioned that he had only received $1120 to this point and that it was received after August 2, so we were a full month behind on our plan. We mentioned that the garnishment had been in place for more than a month, so that there should be more than enough to fund the plan. Our attorney then spoke up and said that he would contact the Trustee's assistant to work out the details. We leave the hearing and our attorney mentions that we should have been sending the Trustee $1120 each payday until the garnishment started. A little late to be telling us this, I thought. In addition, since the Trustee had not received funds from my employer until after our payment date, we were, one month behind and that we needed to come up with that amount within 45 days or the bk would be dismissed.
Now, we are on a budget that the attorney set up, with all disposable income going to fund the plan via garnishment. How are we supposed to come up with $2240 to pay the amount due. Is there any relief from this situation short of letting the Trustee discharge our case and then immediately refiling. Any suggestions to resolve this are welcome.
Thanks all!

[lrprn]

My wife and I filed Ch 13 bk on July 3, 2006. Received notice from Trustee's office on July 23 that they were garnishing my check for $2240 a month. That was $250 a month more than what the attorney had calculated in his office when we first met. Contacted attorney about amount and he said that due to a debt that we had a co-signer on, this debt had to be included in the total to be paid in order to protect co-signer. No problem.
Garnishment started that week for the $2240. 341 hearing was August 13 and the trustee mentioned that he had only received $1120 to this point and that it was received after August 2, so we were a full month behind on our plan. We mentioned that the garnishment had been in place for more than a month, so that there should be more than enough to fund the plan. Our attorney then spoke up and said that he would contact the Trustee's assistant to work out the details. We leave the hearing and our attorney mentions that we should have been sending the Trustee $1120 each payday until the garnishment started. A little late to be telling us this, I thought. In addition, since the Trustee had not received funds from my employer until after our payment date, we were, one month behind and that we needed to come up with that amount within 45 days or the bk would be dismissed.
Now, we are on a budget that the attorney set up, with all disposable income going to fund the plan via garnishment. How are we supposed to come up with $2240 to pay the amount due. Is there any relief from this situation short of letting the Trustee discharge our case and then immediately refiling. Any suggestions to resolve this are welcome.
Thanks all!

What did you do with the extra $1120 for the two paychecks after filing and before the auto-payment started?

It's too bad that your lawyer didn't explain this to you better, but you are most definitely responsible for making the payments to the trustee before the auto-payments from your employer kick in - in fact, the first payment is due within 30 days of filing. I'd be asking relatives or close friends if you can borrow $2240 or look for stuff to sell because if you can't come up with the money, your case will be dismissed.

Unfortunately you can't refile immediately either - how long you have to wait depends if your case is dismissed with or without prejudice. Ask your lawyer if there's anything he/she can do under these circumstances (doubtful). You're in a very bad spot, cubfan .

[cubfan300]

New problem

Well, we went to court last week to answer the Trustee's objection to our plan. My attorney wanted to take the amount behind (approximately 3/4 of our monthly payment) and roll it into our plan. This would have increased our payment a total of $15/month. Then Trustee objected to that as well and when he started to state the merits of his objection, he started making references to amounts that weren't correct. The amount of income after plan payments that he referenced was $730/month. The amount left each week in my check alone after our plan payment is $345, not to mention what my wife makes operating a home daycare. I nudged my attorney to make this point to him (because he didn't catch it) and he told me not to worry about it. The judge, bless her heart, asked the Trustee where he was getting that number from. The trustee said that it was from our filing. The judge then said that she had a copy of our filing in front of her and it shows an amount of $2600/month after the plan payment. She overruled his objection and told my attorney and the Trustee to work out the arrangements for amending our plan.
Well, I got a letter in the mail yesterday stating that the terms of our amended plan required that the full monthly payment be made by the 3rd of each month and that because only $857.78 had been received this month, we had 7 days to make it current or the plan would be dismissed. Now, my weekly paycheck is garnished to the tune of $514.62, making the amount listed by the Trustee received to date this month unlikely. My check has been garnished since the filing, minus the first three weeks that we had added in the amended plan. My attorney keeps telling me to not worry about it and that he will take care of it and that since my paycheck is garnished, it will work out. The other piece of this is that on the 13datacenter.com website, it shows that I have made every payment, for the same amount, $514.62, since we started.
Um....I am tired of waiting for it to work out. Could there be some collusion between the Trustee, who is leaving his post soon, and my attorney? Should I consult with another attorney about this? Is there anything that I can do proactively to find out what exactly is going on?
Thanks,
Cubfan300

[SinkingFast]

As Lrprn said before, your attny did not do a very good job of explaining what's expected at the onset of a Ch 13 plan. He/She should have told you to be sure you made the first payment, out of pocket, via Certified Funds, within 30 days of filing.

Frankly, your attny may not be the best Consumer Advocate. And, by this point, your attny probably does not care whether your BK works out or not. With the number of plan payments you've made to date, the attny has already been paid the remainder of his/her fee anyway. Attnys get paid first out of the proceeds of Ch 13 plan payments.

Doubtful your attny is in collusion with the Trustee just because the Trustee is leaving. Trustees get paid as funds flow into the plan. When your Trustee steps down, another Trustee will be handed your case. The new Trustee has expenses and has to be paid out of your plan too.

You do not want to let this plan get dismissed. You loose big time. Best case scenario, your case gets dismissed without prejudice and you can refile in 180 days. Meanwhile, you have more Consults to find another attny, pay another attny's and filing fee, and dodge your Creditors. The moment the Automatic Stay is lifted, your Creditors are gonna be all over you. As bad as things were before you filed BK,.............. Imagine 1000 times that, if you can.

Lrprn gave you an excellent suggestion. Borrow what you can from family or friends. Scrounge around the house and sell what you have to to make up the difference. Get your plan caught up, keep making your payments, and stay under the Trustee's radar until he/she's gone.