Going in front of a judge...has anyone been at this point and won?

[mylife]

Thanks justbroke, we're hoping for the best!!!

Yes, sometimes you need to fight the Trustee and go before the judge. You will live or die by that decision. The Judge will want evidence that your income didn't go up, but you are talking about your commissions. Remember, Chapter 13 is more "forward" looking especially after the Lanning decision.

Best of luck to you.

[mylife]

The atty is going along with whatever the trustee is suggesting, why I don't know. The commission was included initially and has not changed since filing except by a few dollars, nothing significant. As for not including the commission and turning over anything in the future, I did not know that was an option.

We have not yet converted because our atty wanted to give it another try before we do. He also says that we will be in a better position financially at the the end of the 5 years if we remain with the 13. We have the lien strip, a car we crammed down and a past due mortgage balance.

I apologize if there are too many posts but I'm seeking answers to help us make the best decision for us and I'm not as knowledgable about this as some.

[despritfreya]

Why is your attorney not suggesting a compromise?

You state that the way your attny has calculated your Schedule I (income), he has included commissions thus increasing your average income by $800.00 per month. You state that those commissions are not guaranteed and fluctuate. Ok, so why don't you calculate your income without the commissions and agree to turnover any commission you receive in the future? This would keep your monthly payment at a level you can "afford" while providing your creditors with compensation should you get any windfalls that are not reflected in the budget. I have used this approach with my clients very successfully.

If this suggestion is not to your liking you are missing the point of a 13. You are required to turn over your disposable income and that is typically based upon your average earnings less your average “allowed” expenses. This necessarily includes commissions, bonuses, etc.

I see that you have numerous posts relating to the 7 so why have you not already converted? Is it due to the lien strip? Since it appears you have disposable income I have to wonder if you can convert.

Des.

[justbroke]

Yes, sometimes you need to fight the Trustee and go before the judge. You will live or die by that decision. The Judge will want evidence that your income didn't go up, but you are talking about your commissions. Remember, Chapter 13 is more "forward" looking especially after the Lanning decision.

Best of luck to you.

[mylife]

We are at the end of our rope and the last point before we decide whether to convert to a 7. Our Trustee has been difficult and keep asking for more and more, information and money and our attorney sees no problem with complying. Now we're at the point where we know we cannot afford the extra money and have said that we would like to go in front of a judge. We had proven that my husbands income decreased which the atty estimated at $600 a month but, he said mine increased by $800. I do not know how this figure was calculated but he included my commission which is not guaranteed and flucuates with the market. My ytd income is also the same now as it was a year ago. So instead of going with the increased payment as the atty suggested, we said no, we'll go in front of a judge. I don't know what else to do as I really don't want to convert to a 7. Was this a wise decision?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks