Another Question About Income

[bankrupt_again]

Okay so I filed chapter 13 pro se (please don't flame me it's already done) now I received a notice from the trustee objecting to my plan stating that I do not pay all of my disposable income into the plan. What she says that I am leaving out is my child support. I thought that my child support was exempt to my plan payment. I don't even get it like I should my ex-husband only works half of the time. So if this has to be included into my plan payment where does the money come from when he does not pay which he does not more than he does.

I guess on the bright side that is all that she has objected to this time but this makes my payment go up by 242.00 per month. Then I decided to let my van go because I am not able to cram it down and I was just going to change my plan and not include all of the adoption subsidy because I thought that was exempt as well so my payment started off at 209.00 per month and then went to 300.00 without my student loans now she wants it to be 542.00 and my van that I have now decided to let go back is 491.00 a month and my insurance is 100.00 for the van so now my payment will be 1133.00 per month to the trustee and I think I could scream any advice or suggestions would be great.

[newbie2]

Okay so I filed chapter 13 pro se (please don't flame me it's already done) now I received a notice from the trustee objecting to my plan stating that I do not pay all of my disposable income into the plan. What she says that I am leaving out is my child support. I thought that my child support was exempt to my plan payment. I don't even get it like I should my ex-husband only works half of the time. So if this has to be included into my plan payment where does the money come from when he does not pay which he does not more than he does.

I guess on the bright side that is all that she has objected to this time but this makes my payment go up by 242.00 per month. Then I decided to let my van go because I am not able to cram it down and I was just going to change my plan and not include all of the adoption subsidy because I thought that was exempt as well so my payment started off at 209.00 per month and then went to 300.00 without my student loans now she wants it to be 542.00 and my van that I have now decided to let go back is 491.00 a month and my insurance is 100.00 for the van so now my payment will be 1133.00 per month to the trustee and I think I could scream any advice or suggestions would be great.

You're a brave person trying for a 13 on your own. (That wasn't a flame, but a "you're braver than I!")

From my understanding, if you are claiming your children as part of your household for expenses, you also have to claim the support you receive. If it isn't "regular" you still have to add it all up, then divide by 6 months to get your monthly average.

I'm having a difficult time following your train of thought in your second paragraph because it isn't broken apart into sentences. Perhaps if you re-post as a list (line itemized) then we'd be able to help you a bit through that.

[lrprn]

...any advice or suggestions would be great.

So sorry to hear you are having such troubles after filing, BA.

Here are my two suggestions....either go find a good bankruptcy lawyer right now and pay him or her twice what you would have in the first place to help you salvage what can be saved out of this mess, or consider requesting to the court that your case be dismissed voluntarily and in six months find a good bankruptcy lawyer and try to file your Ch 13 case again.

I don't know what you could do on your own without legal counsel at this point without potentially digging yourself in even deeper. The lawyers for your creditors and your trustee are circling you like sharks scenting blood in the water.

[HHM]

Well, at least you recognize now that filing a chapter 13 pro se was probably not the best idea you had.

Any particular reason you need to be in a chapter 13 in the 1st place, is your income over the median.

As for your issues you are having with income (even a free consultation with an attorney could have told you this), even if the income is "exempt" as an asset, the amount still gets calculated for the purposes of determining your disposable income. Thus, ALL sources of income (i.e child support, SSD, even though they are exempt as assets), still go to determine how much disposable income you have. This issue is relatively easy to fix, it is an opportunity for you to negotiate with the trustee. If you can prove to the trustee that the Child Support payments are inconsistent, then you might be able to arrive a monthly payment somewhere in the middle of what you original sought and what the trustee wants (keep your head-up, this is actually only a minor issue, it is very common, i.e. 95%, that the trustee will object to something, but you need to make the initiative to try to resolve the issue with the trustee).

As for the rest of issues (1) the same answer above applies just as much to the adoption subsidy. (2) Letting the van go (again, a simple free consult with a lawyer could have told you that you can no longer do cram downs). I don't have any advice on that issue. You are allowed reasonable transportation expenses and I think the trustee is trying to take advantage of you here becuase you are pro se.

The good news is if you cannot get this resolved, you CAN voluntarily dismiss this case. The major remification of which is that you cannot refile for 6 months.

Moreover, and this is for others reading this thread...there is almost NO reason to file chapter 13 pro se. The BULK of your attorney fees get paid through the chapter 13 plan. Granted, you will have to come out of pocket for filing fees, and usually some money down (but it depends on the attorney). But if you are too broke to afford an attorney for a chapter 13, odds are you a too broke to file chapter 13 in the first place.