US Trustee #'s/IRS #s

[Gingerdc9]

Hi. I'm new here and searched for an answer to this and didn't find it.

Does anyone have a link to the #'s that are used for allowable expenses in a Chapter 13? In other words, I know they have some IRS computations they look at. If it makes any difference, we live in Virginia Beach, VA. I know that they compute things locally.

I hope this made sense.

And someone said in another post that if you file a 13 you'll be paying back 95% of your debt! Is that really true??? It makes me wonder what the point of BK is then.

[flyinbroke]

No one said that...they may have said they were paying 95 percent of their debt. It will all depend on income minus allowable expenses over 60 months. You could pay back 5 percent, you could get stuck paying 100 percent. You may get to pay 100 percent if some of your creditors don't file proof of claim in the 90 days after the 341.

For me, lawyer number 1 has me on about a 95 percent payback. Am making appt with another one.

[justbroke]

You use the UST's Allowable Expense guidelines that are published every so often (based on your case filing date). They are based on the IRS Standards.

You can find them at:

http://www.justice.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/meanstesting.htm

[tigergem]

No one said that...they may have said they were paying 95 percent of their debt. It will all depend on income minus allowable expenses over 60 months. You could pay back 5 percent, you could get stuck paying 100 percent. You may get to pay 100 percent if some of your creditors don't file proof of claim in the 90 days after the 341.

For me, lawyer number 1 has me on about a 95 percent payback. Am making appt with another one.

Right, my payback is less than 1% of my total unsecured debt amount, but only 5 creditors so far have filed proof of claim, so those 5 might actually get something more than 1% of what I owe each of them. There is a sticky about this somewhere.

[Gingerdc9]

Well, I guess it won't be 100% since we're up to paying $2800+ in just minimum CC payments. Of course, we can't afford that much, that's why the BK.

[klandsb]

I am in a 40% payback to unsecured in my plan. It started at 71% and after the 341 they amended the plan .. YAHOO... 71% left me basically with not much to live on .. I went to 3 different attorney and got 3 different amounts on the free consults. I found it to be very stressful not knowing what the outcome would eventually be and made 3 pmts for the 71% amount before it got reduced.
I think part of it is luck . Meaning what the trustee goes along with in your district and whether or not they have some flexibility. From reading on here some are very strict and others arent and I guess thats why I said some of it is luck... I called my attorney about my tax refund and he said the trustee in my area doesnt want them so that is also luck on my side... Hoping to build a little cushion for emergencies that right now would tank me

[Gingerdc9]

Wow! Is there any way to find out info. about your trustee in advance? Do they always serve the same area? TIA.

[tigergem]

I have a different trustee now for my confirmation hearing than I had when I filed. And on the date of my 341 I was a little bit in limbo because my first trustee was on the way out that day (he moved to California! just in time to miss the snow here!) and the new trustee was on the way in. Attorneys that deal with the trustee all the time will be able to tell you what you are dealing with, but in the case of a brand new trustee, maybe not so much. And if you are pro se, unless you want to spend a fortune on PACER, you really can't know too much what to expect. You could go sit in on some 341s if they are publicly open in your district. They weren't here, because the room was too small to accommodate observers, so everyone had to wait in the hallway. All you could hear through the closed door was much whining and gnashing of teeth. You don't really get a choice, anyway, so it's really not worth sweating. You just open that box of chocolates when it comes to you, and hope you get the one with the soft gooey center.

[momofthree]

We're in a 0% payback to unsecured, of course, we haven't actually had our 341 yet, but I don't see it changing.

[forgotten]

I am at about 20%. Our district doesn't really seem to look at percentage too much, the local plan form does not list the percentage and the trutsee did not populate the percentage in to 13datacenter.

Keep in mind, when you file your interest stops. Even a 100% plan can save you a ton because of that. At default interest rates you could pay your balance 2 times over and still owe the same in five years!