Great News (and then not such great news)

[FishersMike]

Well great news is my Chapter 13 was officially filed today. I am finally able to create a signature showing a date

Well the not such great news - definitely what you would call a "buzz killer" is I logged onto PACER to view my filing and noticed the following problems:

1) There is a few creditors that were not included on my creditor matrix. The thing that pisses me off is these for all faxed to attorney's office - they were missed on my rough draft - so when I went in for signing appointment I was assured they would all be added. They were not - like AT&T and HSN.

2) When I went in for my signing appointment I brought the attorney actual forms of Schedules I, J, and 22C that I calculated and they were pretty much spot on - only minor tweaks of moving expenses here to there, etc. Well, the attorney did the Schedule I & J correct based off my input and showed my net remaining income was approximately $700.00 a month.

Then I look at the 22c "Means Test"

It was COMPLETELY wrong. All the attorney did was put my gross monthly wages correct but basically did nothing else. It showed my DMI as -$210.00 a month. This would be great if I wanted a Chapter 7 - but I have about $650.00 of secured debt I need to pay

So examined it much closer.... found out he was using the County his office is located in - so for Rent it was $740.00 a month. My County gets Rent allowance of $1149.00 a month - huge error! Then utility allowance shorted me like $30.00 a month.

So this you think would make my negative DMI much worse. Well the idiot attorney did not put my LINE 7 (Contributions paid by others - Roommate) income of $600.00 a month.

Also he did not accurately put in the correct figures for taxes, insurance, 401k, charity, etc.

So I completely filled out a BLANK 22c form and my DMI is $9.00!(after the $650 in secured debt, which makes the $700.00 figure off Schedule J accurate)

I emailed the corrected 22c to his office with a not very nice response. I requested (not asked) that they amend the 22c using the exact figures line by line as they are accurate and not guesses. I also told them they need to amend the creditors.

Of course I also advised they can pay any amending fees, as I refuse to on principal alone. I know they can add these costs in my plan and take away from the 9 bucks my unsecured creditors will get -- but not going to happen.

I will also make sure I bring all this documentation to the 341 so if they do not have the forms corrected I will show the Trustee I requested it and let the Trustee chew them out. However I doubt this will have to happen as I will be checking PACER for the amended copies religiously and will be on their butts.

Oh goodness I just needed to vent -- problem with going with the big firms is they do so many of these that they really do not take their time. It does not bother me to much as I will continue to check all their work.

Thanks for listening!

[lrprn]

There's a painful lesson here - never sign your filing forms until they represent the accurate state of your income, assets, and expenses. Don't accept "I'll change it later." That's how filers find themselves in this unfortunate situation.

FM, you should definitely make your lawyer add the missing creditors, and make sure he/she corrects your income and exemptions because your trustee will very likely catch these during his/her (or more likely his/her staff's) review of your forms against verifiable outside documents like your tax forms and paycheck stubs.

Also keep in mind that your trustee is not there to help you fight your lawyer.He/she is there to represent and protect your creditors. Resolve these problems with your attorney that you voluntarily chose to retain, or fire this lawyer and find one who does a better job of representing you. Just be ready to spend more if that becomes necessary to get your forms amended to an acceptable level.

Be persistent and get your forms amended. Just keep in mind that good Ch 13 attorneys slightly "fudge" living expenses to reasonable levels so you have a chance to survive 3-5 years of Ch 13. Be careful what you demand here or you could end up biting off your nose to spite your face Good luck and keep us posted about how the amendment process is going.

[FishersMike]

Yes I did learn a very painful lesson -- I guess I had too much trust my attorney would not be lazy.

Yeah I agree Trustee would go ballistic when seeing the $600.00 income on my Schedule I from roommate and it not being included on my 22C. I am not going to be one of these folks that get stuck with large payment to unsecured due to attorney's incompetence.

I will make sure all amendments do get done - I will email them constantly. Good thing is I have a paper-trail to show I have been trying to get these corrected. I am sure they will not object too much, especially since I am doing the hard work. All they will have to do is type in a few figures and click the upload button LoL.

Well got all the figures exactly as they need to be -- Schedule I & J already correct as he took my figures and updated that during the signing appointment - he just never went to the 22C while I was there to make the same corrections. The DMI is less than 10.00 a month to unsecured so I cannot ask for anything better than that - I am getting what I need - my car paid in plan and all my taxes

So basically my expenses and income -- I have a safe padding built in where I will have money left over to save for emergencies. I will be by no-means poor - as ironic as that sounds.

I will definitely keep everyone posted once I hear of the amendments being done. Thanks for your advice.

[kornellred]

It is hard to believe that BK attorneys can make such significant and obvious mistakes in a Chapter 13 filing. I think I have asked this before: why in heaven's name is your room mate's contribution to household upkeep even mentioned at all on any of your schedules? It is not income. No one needs to know that you even have a room mate.

[newbie2]

It is hard to believe that BK attorneys can make such significant and obvious mistakes in a Chapter 13 filing. I think I have asked this before: why in heaven's name is your room mate's contribution to household upkeep even mentioned at all on any of your schedules? It is not income. No one needs to know that you even have a room mate.

Perhaps in your district it isn't income, but in most it is income. "All household income". If the roommate moves out then the OP can amend the plan. It's just the way it is. There is quite a bit about the BK code that doesn't make sense or seem fair, but to suggest that people "not mention" income is irresponsible.

[FishersMike]

Yeah it is required to list. I was not going to hide it as I deposit his cash into my checking the Friday opposite of my work payroll. I am sure when reviews of bank statement were done they would ask about all these $300 deposits..... and I was not about to lie and go to jail and be Bubba's sex slave LOL. Anyways the extra income helps being able to get amount of income to pay all my secured. The important thing is my DMI after my secured is only 9 bux a month..... not shabby

[lrprn]

Kornellred, a roommate's income is added to your income because it's in the bankruptcy law.

In the law's eyes, you both live in and financially support the same household. The roommate's income is added to your income, THEN LATER in the Means Test, any income that the roommate doesn't regularly contribute to the running of the household is subtracted back out.

The bk law is written this way to prevent a filer who has a roommate from claiming expenses that the roommate is paying and hiding disposable income that is actually there. Not saying it's logical, but it is the law.