help with 13?

[tish]

I am filing 13, I found out last week that my employer is being investigated for labor law violations. The investigator in a meeting with all affected employee's and my employer informed us that our salery of 325.00 week is illeagle under the overtime labor laws. Since this is my employers second confirmed complaint they are making him go back 2 years and pay overtime to all affected employees. He can no longer pay us 325.00 week.All I know right now about my income from this day forward is that i will be paid by the hour, any plan my employer comes up with has to be approved by the state labor board. My check when it arrived this week was for gross 393.75 I get paid every 2 weeks. The pay according to the pay stub was calculated at 7.50 hour for 52.30 hours . my employer told me that that was just so he could pay me something until his plan is approved, he also said the over time he owes me will be brought to me in person so i can sign a receipt for the labor board. He also told us after the meeting with the labor board that after he pays us for the overtime that we may not receive any more money until jan.Then he may start paying us min wage. My question is will the trustee take my overtime pay? Other than my husbands income from which the 129.00 trustee payment will be taken we will have nothing to live off of until jan.

[lrprn]

I am filing 13, ... My question is will the trustee take my overtime pay?

Call your attorney immediately and make sure he/she knows about the coming large bonus pay. Find out how it's going to impact your case.

Discuss with your lawyer whether you should file BEFORE or AFTER the bonus pay arrives.

If you file AFTER it arrives, you'll have to wait up to six months to file to get the bonus out of your income calculation for the Means Test. However, you would get to keep the bonus and live on it and your other income for the six months you wait.

If you file BEFORE it arrives, ask your lawyer how the trustee will treat your bonus pay. Whether you'll get to keep it or not depends on your trustee and how your local court treats increased income after filing Ch 13.

Good luck - come back and let us know what you and your lawyer decide to do.

[CindyLou]

Tish, did I also read correctly that once you receive you overtime back pay that you will not receive another check until January? Do you have an estimate of how much your overtime check will be? If you can answer those two questions then we can help you further.

also, have you alread filed 13? has your plan alread been confirmed?

thanks

[tish]

Thank you guys so much , I have spoken to an attorney paid him 2900.00 so far he said let him know when I find out what I will be making. 1-My employer said if the "overtime pay turns out to be to much" I will not receive another check till jan and then it will be 5.85 hr.
2-I over heard the labor board woman and our payroll clerk saying it looked like .09 an hour so i am sure its not going to be much, I also think that my employer didnt say any thing about all the overtime i worked from oct till jan last year. She is just assuming we only work full time from jan til april. I know that she didnt actualy look at the payroll records while she was there. As for my bk when I first heard this last thursday I called my lawyer, we thought that it had already been filed but I was told that they had to correct some paper work and we had to resign them, we went to the lawyer wensday and told his asst the whole story he just laughed and said let him know as soon as employer told me my new pay. I can tell you that it will be less than I am making now also he said that in may he is selling my office and if I cant buy it I wont have a job. Sorry for the rambling but its nice to talk to people who care and not looking down on me.This place is a GOD SEND THANK YOU>

[rrockinggramma]

what type of job do you have? I guess it isn't my business but your employer sounds a little threatening, saying if you can't buy your office you won't be working anymore? If that were said to me, I'd be pounding the pavement for something else and when I found it I tell the employer to shove it! Good luck! wow I hope you are owed lots of overtime (and not to give to the trustee)

[tish]

what type of job do you have? I guess it isn't my business but your employer sounds a little threatening, saying if you can't buy your office you won't be working anymore? If that were said to me, I'd be pounding the pavement for something else and when I found it I tell the employer to shove it! Good luck! wow I hope you are owed lots of overtime (and not to give to the trustee)

I'm in the tax buisness,so their's not a lot of jobs out there.I have been looking for a long time now in our area if you have a job you hold on to it.I dont have a problem not geting paid over time as long as I dont lose my salery. Thanks for the response to my post.I still dont know what im making yet maybe when my employer gets back from Vegas i'll hear somthing this is holding up my bk filing and my nerves are shot.

[tish]

ok up date so far, I will be making half of what I was before I went to lawyer and filed. I got my notice in hte mail today saying my 341 will be dec 13TH I called my lawyers office and spoke to the receptionist told her I need an appointment to tell the lawyer about my new pay, she said it dosnt matter that my pay is less the plan payments will still be the same.
Is that true?She said the only way payments would be lowered is to give up secured property? I thought that payments were based on income after allowable expenses.I am realy confused and scared how can we complete the plan if we cant afford the payments? If someone could help me out with this question i would be forever grateful.

[woeisme]

I think the situation might be that you are paying just the secured in your plan and not the unsecured? If that is the case, there is no way to change the plan, the secured debt MUST be paid in the plan, or else the assets that are securing the debt must be returned. If you are paying some amount back to unsecured, I don't think the lawyer is right, there is room for changing the payments in that case. Will the change in salary allow you to file CH7? Or is it the problem of the assets, not your salary that are keeping you in a 13?

[lrprn]

she said it dosnt matter that my pay is less the plan payments will still be the same. Is that true? She said the only way payments would be lowered is to give up secured property?

This is the reason that receptionists manning the front desk and answering the phones are NOT allowed to give legal advice (LOL! ). What she told you is ABSOLUTELY 100% WRONG!!! You haven't even had your 341 yet - your plan payment isn't even confirmed yet!

If your income is falling and you have verified proof that will be the case for the foreseeable future, then your lawyer can file an amended plan reflecting your new income. You DO NOT have to give up an asset to make this happen.

Now you may have to pay your lawyer more to file an amended plan, but it's a lot better than having your plan dismissed by the court for non-payment.

Call your lawyer's office and make an appointment to see your lawyer face to face or arrange a set time for a phone call. Don't let the clueless receptionist put you off or allow her to give you any more legal advice over the phone! If your state attorney's office knew she was doing that, your lawyer would be in a heap of trouble!

Hang in there - keep us posted on what happens. Hopefully everything will work out in your favor.

[tish]

Thanks for your reply. I think you are right,from what I can tell by reading my papers its only the secured thats getting paid.I think we qaulified for chapter 7 because the first meeting we had with the lawyer he handed us 2 pieses of paper they illustrated ch13 and 7 he left the room came back and asked us which 1 we wanted to file. Truethfuly all the info I have on this whole bk I learned on this forum all my lawyer told us was what paper work to bring back. We havent spoken to our attorney since that first day we see asst when we have appointments. After reading some of the info on this forum we are starting to wonder if maybe we should have filed 7. The only secured debts we are trying to keep are the 2 cars we drive to work. Our income per year is around 47000.00 but that is going down now.I dont know the requirements for a family of 4 for our state. I am going to ask wensday if we should just file 7 and keep our cars the payments would be less than what we would pay trustee any way and my car would be paid off next year and his car would be paid in 4. Of course we would have to come up with att fees and cach up 2 payments on cars but if we could we would still be better off I think.

[lrprn]

I am going to ask wensday if we should just file 7 and keep our cars the payments would be less than what we would pay trustee any way and my car would be paid off next year and his car would be paid in 4. Of course we would have to come up with att fees and cach up 2 payments on cars but if we could we would still be better off I think.

Agreed. In your circumstances it would be better to file Ch 7 if you can. Good luck - keep us posted!

[rrockinggramma]

Definitely go 7 if you can. Much less stress and hassle. Also if you are upside down with your cars, you might be able to do a 722 redemption on them as well to help you out. Ask your lawyer about that as well.

[JollyGG]

Would that payment with all your back pay be large enough to get caught up on your cars? Would that payment be enough to buy a couple thousand dollar car that can get your around until you get back on your feet?

I would catch up on the cars and file a chapter 7. Or surrender the cars, file a chapter 7 and get something different. You should qualify for financing on a car the day after discharge (though the rate would be insane 20-25%)

[tish]

Thanks for the replys,I will know what my back pay is friday.My 1 car is upside down and the other is worth more than I owe. When I was doing paper work for the value of the cars I used blue book values but now I think I was supposed to use the trade in value instead,I'll recheck and see but trade in is more than likly less.I hope when I see the lawyer next wensday he will tell me what we can, but if i see the asst instead im not sure he will explain this to me.I will let yall know what happens.

[tish]

up date

This is the update, I picked up my over-time check Friday.
It was 2200.00 before taxes 1547.00 after.Did not receive my regular check or find out what my pay is going to be they said call payroll monday for my new pay rate. Called Monday was told my pay rate is 5.85 through the end of the year.Went to my att office monday afternoon,spoke with his asst since he wasnt there. Asst said I can keep money since it is my pay. I told him what receptionist said when I called he said she is wrong. Could have passed out from relief. I asked him since my pay has greatly decreased could I get a lower trustee payment. He said he would like to see a couple of my check stubs first and that it is to close to 341. He said wait till after 341 and he would try to get it changed. I am so sorry to ask for help again but do yall think thats right. Should I wait till after plan is confirmed to change it. MY pay is not going up but in january until april I will have overtime that I wont have in the summer.