Is there a minimum dmi need to file chapter 13?

[gpolly123]

We will our be filing our chapter 13 this week, after filling out schedules I and J we show an amount of $101.00 left. These are our figures:

Income: Social Security Disability: 1503 (husband)
My daughter gets 800
My daycare income Gross:2300
Net: 1500 (after food and gas for school trans.)
I have seperate receipts for income and expenses.

Expenses: Mortgage 1ST 1050
2nd 130 (interest only)
Utilities 480
Home Maint 50
Food 600
Clothing 200
Medical 90(includes my daughter health ins.
Rec 30/Ymca 40/daughters activites (she is homeschooled)
car payment 266
maint/gas for 2 vehicles 500
car ins 177
should total 3699.00

Do these figures seem okay, I am scared to death and want to end as quickly as possible, thanks for reading if you got this far.

[lillymarlene]

Hi, other more experienced people here may have a better answer, but it's probably O.K. as long as you have something left, to pay back into a plan. I'm also below the median income for my state and filed a chap 13 last Fall. Maybe ask your attorney, if you have one.

[Billssuck]

Not 100 percent certain, but I think you have to have like $125 or so. I had $146 dmi and hence my ch13 payment of $125. But...your attorney can change something like your food by $24 if need be to qualify. Like I said...it's been awhile so I'm not sure on the dmi exact amount but it's something like that...btw...10 months left for us till discharge. Count down has started! Do you want a ch13 or a ch7? We had a few cars that were non-exempt assets and at the time of filing, we wanted to keep the house.

[LadyInTheRed]

gpolly123, I don't think there is a specified minimum DMI, but you need to be able to show enough DMI to fund a feasible plan. Add your mortgage arrears and any other secured and priority debts that will be paid thru the trustee, attorney fees included in your plan, and 10% for the trustee fee. Divide that by the number of months in the plan and that will give you the minimum DMI you need to fund the plan.

I was reading through your other posts and can't figure out why you are filing a Chap 13. Since you have no equity in your home, you can use California's System 2 for exemptions. From the info you've provided in other threads, you should be able to exempt all of your assets. It sounds like you won't be able to strip your 2nd mortgage. As long as your sister makes payments on the mobile home, your daughter makes her car payments, and you make your mortgage payments, those assets should be safe. Maybe I'm missing something. You said a month ago that you have only talked to a paralegal. Have you sat down with an attorney to review your situation and your options? Don't go forward with a BK filing until you do.

ETA: I just realized that you may have mortgage arrears, which would be a reason to file 13. Have you caught up on your mortgage? If not, you might want to talk to your attorney about the possibility of filing a Chap 13 until you get the mortgage arrears paid off and then converting to a 7.

[gpolly123]

Thanks for all of the replies, we are filing chapter 13 on the advice of our bankruptcy attorney he thought we could strip our 2nd, but I don't see how, in the past year I have gone back to school and am now a licensed realtor, I have done the cma's for my home and it seems to be work about 120,000 and we currently owe 107,000 on the first, I dont' think can get the 2nd stripped. We do not have equity in anything, we own a 2004 Dodge Ram that we still owe 7,000, my daughter owes 11,000 on her car which we have never made a payment on and do not insure it. Our other vehicles are a 1997 minivan used for daycare with 199,000 miles on it and I think it is need of some major work, we have a 1980 Toyota pick-up that has a non-op filed on it and my son is saving to fix this (neither one of these have a loan). It was my understanding that Toyota could come and get my daughter's car since I am the buyer and she is the co-signer therefore the reason for the 13. The property I own with my sister we owe 33,000 on and is probably worth 30,000, she makes all of the payments.

[LadyInTheRed]

If your daughter is making the payments on the car, Toyota is not going to come get it. They'd rather have payments than the car. IMHO, the car is not a good enough reason to file a 13. If your attorney is recommending a 13 knowing what you know about the value of your home, I suggest you consult with a couple more attorneys.

You were probably typing while I was editing my prior response. Are you current on your mortgage payments?

[gpolly123]

Thanks for the reply, we are current on everthing, it has taken us 1 year to catch up on our mortgage and utilities. We sent our final payment to our attorney this last week. I faxed over all of our needed income information this morning. I am hoping to hear from them this next week, we need to file as soon as possible as I had a summons served this past month on of all things my smallest store credit card.

Just found out that my daughter is refinancing her house and paying off her car. So maybe after all we can file a chapter 7 which might be better since daycare income is not consistant at all.

[lillymarlene]

Do you possibly have any other assets used for your daycare, that are not covered by exemptions?

[gpolly123]

The only assests that daycare has is my minivan (1997 with 199,000 miles on it), and my laptop that we bought 4 years ago, everything else is mainly toys. It is just a small daycare run out of my home.

[LadyInTheRed]

Since you don't need the homestead exemption, you will have a $23,250 wildcard exemption to use on any property. You also have a $3,250 exemption that can be used towards one vehicle and a $2,200 tools of trade exemption.

For more info on California exemptions, see my blog entry: http://www.bkforum.com/entry.php?336...tcy-Exemptions