Low payment on high income?

[SMinGA]

Using net or showing gross less paycheck deductions = same end result...

I'm not sure why you think you would lose your car in a ch. 7 Fallonedward? You're current, and have a car loan. The only reasons you might 'lose' your car is if you're behind and can't manage the payment after a ch. 7 OR if you have excessive equity beyond what you can exempt.

My best (non legal) advice is to do nothing regarding bankruptcy if you do not have a pressing need to move forward. Since you're not behind on your mortgage and not behind on your car, as long as no unsecured moves to file suit against you there is no rush.

a: you can't afford a ch 13. No room in your budget...
b: its my understanding that a 401k loan is NOT an allowed expense for 7, though it is for 13. So if you filed ch. 7 you would have a $600/mo expense you could not claim, yet you don't have the option of not paying the 401k loan. It would count in a ch. 13, but this takes you back to a... Talk to your attorney however, because this might be offset by the fact that part of your household income is unemployment? I don't know.

[momofthree]

b: its my understanding that a 401k loan is NOT an allowed expense for 7, though it is for 13. So if you filed ch. 7 you would have a $600/mo expense you could not claim, yet you don't have the option of not paying the 401k loan. It would count in a ch. 13, but this takes you back to a...

This should be a non-issue since the budget posted used figures well below IRS standards. Simply raising the medical, grocery, and clothing expenses up closer to IRS standards would easily put them far enough in the red for the 401k loan to make zero difference....

[Pandora]

Using net or showing gross less paycheck deductions = same end result...

Not necessarily - it depends on how many exemptions you're claiming / not claiming and can be adjusted by the trustee if they believe you're taking out more than you should to avoid having to pay more to your debts.

We had to adjust our withholdings so that we did not get a huge tax return at the end of the year; we were usually doing married at a single rate, no exemptions - but the trustee didnt like that as it took out more than what was needed.

[Fallonedward]

Using net or showing gross less paycheck deductions = same end result...

I'm not sure why you think you would lose your car in a ch. 7 Fallonedward? You're current, and have a car loan. The only reasons you might 'lose' your car is if you're behind and can't manage the payment after a ch. 7 OR if you have excessive equity beyond what you can exempt.

My best (non legal) advice is to do nothing regarding bankruptcy if you do not have a pressing need to move forward. Since you're not behind on your mortgage and not behind on your car, as long as no unsecured moves to file suit against you there is no rush.

a: you can't afford a ch 13. No room in your budget...
b: its my understanding that a 401k loan is NOT an allowed expense for 7, though it is for 13. So if you filed ch. 7 you would have a $600/mo expense you could not claim, yet you don't have the option of not paying the 401k loan. It would count in a ch. 13, but this takes you back to a... Talk to your attorney however, because this might be offset by the fact that part of your household income is unemployment? I don't know.

SM: thank you for this awesome info... Our first attorney that we were going to go with on a 13 (but pulled out before he filed) said that I would lose my car and a 13 was the only way to go for my family...I had this nagging doubt, thinking that he don't know what he was saying

[Fallonedward]

This should be a non-issue since the budget posted used figures well below IRS standards. Simply raising the medical, grocery, and clothing expenses up closer to IRS standards would easily put them far enough in the red for the 401k loan to make zero difference....

MoT: this is also good news, thanks so much for your help