Chapter 13's are high risk...77.5% of closed cases ended in dismissal

[karm43]

You can do the course right after filing? Still waiting for confirmation, I'm so nervous all the time! Here is a ? I am saving for winter heating bills will they check my bank account? cause my heat could acually be 500 dollars when its cold, just wondering.

[TheBajan]

We did the course after filing but before the 341 meeting.

[justbroke]

You can do the course right after filing? Still waiting for confirmation, I'm so nervous all the time! Here is a ? I am saving for winter heating bills will they check my bank account? cause my heat could acually be 500 dollars when its cold, just wondering.

No they will not. Chapter 13s work much differently than Chapter 7s. In a Chapter 13, they only check your bank statements upon filing and that's it. You can also do the course at any time after filing. In my District and much of Florida, the Chapter 13 Trustees offer a FREE financial management course on the day of the 341 Meeting!

You are learning the right things already... budgeting!

[woeisme]

This was a really great post/link. I'm in Ohio, where the completion rate is 45-48% depending on whether looking at the northern or southern district. I was looking at some of the California districts and other places like Florida, Nevada, Texas, etc where the housing market tanked and it looks like they are in the single digits, I wonder if it is because the Ohio trustees are so reasonable (something I've come to believe after hearing the horror stories on here, although I still wouldn't say it's "easy" by any means!) or if it's because in these markets people go into CH 13 thinking to save houses or lien-strip 2nd mortgages then realize that it's still not worth it due to how underwater their homes are?

[mountanddo]

I can see how many chapter 13's fail because of what the payment ends up being. My chapter 13 is the lowest payment possible. To not have filed I would of faced eviction as my wages were about to be garnished. About 1/3 done so far! Can't wait for it to be over with but it won't change my lifestyle much. No more credit cards and cash basis all the time. Never want to be in this position again.

[toojerm]

I often wonder if I'll set the guinness record for most paid back in a ch13, where the mortgage is not included. I'll finish at over $107,000. $86,400 paid so far, this will be done in May. Let's do this!

[Pandora]

Here is a ? I am saving for winter heating bills ...

Does your utility company offer budget billing so you know what your payment will be each month? If so, it may be worth looking into vs. having high heating bills in unknown amounts this winter.

[13inIN]

I often wonder if I'll set the guinness record for most paid back in a ch13, where the mortgage is not included. I'll finish at over $107,000. $86,400 paid so far, this will be done in May. Let's do this!

Sorry Toojerm... over $124k here without the mortgage inside.

[toojerm]

For once, I feel like I have a kinship with someone on this board. The size of the monthly is unfathomable to my friends. Did you file in May of 2009? I filed in July of 2008, but they stepped up the payment a couple of times, and my new employer withholds my extra payment twice a year, so I'll be done with the 100% a couple of months early.

[lillymarlene]

Wow, those statistics sure are scary. Mountanddo, I'm glad I had the same idea, to keep these payments as low as possible. When I found (before filing) that I had another creditor for 10K which would have bumped my payments to around $300, I opted for an additional year, to get them back to around $200.

So far, my plan seems doable, as long as I watch every little thing, thinking about every purchase, even small ones. I'm now 23/48 payments in. My biggest "splurge" on myself this year, has been a pair of $20 jeans at Walmart.

[flowerchild]

Thanks HHM. This is very interesting data for sure. It really brings home the fact that the overwhelmingly majority of cases don't make it to the end. I looked at my district and 57% fail due to non-payment and only 26% reach discharge. For my state the statistics are 20% dismissed for failure to pay and 34% reach discharge. Those statistics really suck. I am so happy to say that I am going to be a part of the statistics for 2012 that show discharged. This is not an easy thing to do but it is manageable if done correctly. And by that I mean a payment that is affordable so that you can meet your daily needs. If it is beyond that then you go into a plan behind the 8 ball. It is the courts objective to get as much money as possible but if it is to the detriment of the filer then the creditors will only get a portion of the monies owed anyway. So why they don't make more reasonable plans so that a person can make it through to the end? I don't mean that they should still be living a life of luxury, but not so much that people stop paying and then convert to a 7 or resort to refiling a case. Who wins in those cases? The attorneys and the court system wins because the debtor will have to pay both to accomplish either a 13 or 7. Of course I am sure that some people just file to bide some time so those people will always be statistics, but I still think that they need to pay more attention to these statistics, determine the real root cause and make a change so that more people can complete their cases.

[flowerchild]

Wow, those statistics sure are scary. Mountanddo, I'm glad I had the same idea, to keep these payments as low as possible. When I found (before filing) that I had another creditor for 10K which would have bumped my payments to around $300, I opted for an additional year, to get them back to around $200.

So far, my plan seems doable, as long as I watch every little thing, thinking about every purchase, even small ones. I'm now 23/48 payments in. My biggest "splurge" on myself this year, has been a pair of $20 jeans at Walmart.

Yes this is exactly what I mean in my post. You extended a year so that you can reasonably afford the plan rather than risk dismissal for non payment. Maybe some debtors just don't know that there are options to make plan modifications.

[Maximo]

Toojerm we have you beat.....$129,000 paid so far, balance is $13,250! 100% payback we will be done in May as well!!!!!

[justbroke]

My total plan payments would have been something like $400K+ over the 5 year life. What would really have driven me crazy? Knowing that I would pay $40K to the Trustee to write checks. Now you can see why I converted. Paying over $700/month in Trustee fees alone was interesting because my unsecured creditors were due to get nothing.

[sophieanne]

OK Justbroke...now i have to ask. How did you manage to switch from a 13 to a 7. I understand why you wanted to do it...but how did you make it happen? I thought if you could make the payments it would've been a 13.