And reality sets in. Again...

[LadyInTheRed]

Absolutely! To date we have had water heater replaced, transmission replacement in the car included in our bk, home a/c unit replaced, over $3,000 in medical co-pays. And numerous pop ups you can't budget for. Thank goodness for the emergency fund! It is a critical part of your plan and is destine to fail without one.

Yep. A good plan includes a large enough budget for home and auto maintenance to handle these emergencies. The key is to set money aside every month in which your expenses are less than budgeted. It's a good habit to get into. Before my Chap 13, I was not in the habit of saving. I just relied on the credit card for the emergencies I should have been prepared for. Never again!

Unfortunately, many attorneys aren't strong enough advocates for their clients to get them a good plan. And, in some courts, I think the trustees and judges are too anti-debtor to allow for a good plan, regardless of the efforts of the attorney. Debtors in those courts are going to have a harder time. But, they still have to figure out a way to put money away every month. It helps if you are in a state that allows you to exempt some cash so you can start out with a cash cushion.

On the topic of failure rates, keep in mind that those statistics include conversions and cases that might have been filed to give the debtor some breathing room with the intent from the beginning that they would not complete the plan. Statistics are meaningless to our individual cases. Even if 99% of Chap 13s failed, I would be confident mine won't.

[madms1]

andy158,
I hope you get thru the next nine months and the closing period (Michigan can take up to 20 weeks!) without any more problems. I did not have an emergency fund to use like you have. Just a mother-in-law that I have to pay back monthly for a new fridge and auto repairs. Trusties and the Courts do not spell out these pitfalls to there debtors very well. They could have told us that the old cars will need to be fix in the next 69 months. $25 dollars a month budgeted for car repairs won't cover a new engine, struts and brakes on one car let alone two. And I was a mechanic! Too bad the chapter 13 failure rates are so high, the bankruptcy law needs to protect the debtor more.