Need advice...here's my story

[BrokeinMa]

Good morning!

I have been lurking on these boards for a few weeks now and the info I have gathered has been invaluable! I do have some questions though and I was wondering if I could get some feedback\opinions. I have talked to a few different lawyers, and one in particular actually ran some numbers for me (means test\schedules I & J) without requiring a retainers fee.

According to the lawyer who ran the numbers, if we were to file today we would pass the means test and our schedules would be $-10. However, since she ran those numbers I have taken on a car payment of $240 (I had no choice, my car with 180k miles finally gave out). Also, at the time she had only calculated half of my car insurance payment (my auto insurance is auto-deducted from my check bi-weekly and at the time I had just switched, so she only had one check that showed the insurance deduction). So in total I have an addition ~$300 of expenses not calculated in the schedules she ran a few weeks ago.

My dilemma is this....On Feb 6 I took a cash advance of $3500 on a CC, and on March 6th I took another cash advance of $3200 from the same card. My lawyer advised we wait 90 days or so (or at least make a few payments) before filing to avoid any issues with that CC. I also have a direct charge to my Visa card of $780 on March 10 for car repairs (from my old car).

I have since discovered that I will be getting a 5% raise at work (which with my income amounts to around $300 a month gross). However, that will not actually appear in my check until the 2nd week in July. It also appears from what I just read this morning that the stimulus rebate check may be included as income. According to the IRS site, our rebate check (which will be $2100, 5 of us in our family) will be considered as income.

Originally we had planned on filing in early to mid June. However, given how close we are on the means test, and given the situation with my raise and stimulus payment, both of these could push us into a Chapter 13.

If I understand correctly, as long as I wait at least 70 days since the cash advances, worst case that CC would object and I may have to work out settlement with them ( or pay the entire $3200 cash advance). My parents have offered to assist if that CC objects and we need to settle with them (would my parents assisting us cause any issues?). I am assuming too that although technically you are supposed to wait 90 days for charges, because my last charge was for car repairs, those shouldn't be an issue (please correct if I am wrong).

So my two big questions are:

- Would it be in my best interest to file earlier than planned, say mid to late May, in order to make sure that the raise and rebate check is not calculated as income?

-If a creditor objects and we have to pay the cash advance back, can a relative assist with the payoff (does it matter where the money comes from, as long as you pay the creditor who objects)?

I haven't run any of this by my attorney, I hope to talk to her this week.

I apologize for the long email Thanks for your feedback!

[diviaruba]

Good morning!

I have been lurking on these boards for a few weeks now and the info I have gathered has been invaluable! I do have some questions though and I was wondering if I could get some feedback\opinions. I have talked to a few different lawyers, and one in particular actually ran some numbers for me (means test\schedules I & J) without requiring a retainers fee.

According to the lawyer who ran the numbers, if we were to file today we would pass the means test and our schedules would be $-10. However, since she ran those numbers I have taken on a car payment of $240 (I had no choice, my car with 180k miles finally gave out). Also, at the time she had only calculated half of my car insurance payment (my auto insurance is auto-deducted from my check bi-weekly and at the time I had just switched, so she only had one check that showed the insurance deduction). So in total I have an addition ~$300 of expenses not calculated in the schedules she ran a few weeks ago.

My dilemma is this....On Feb 6 I took a cash advance of $3500 on a CC, and on March 6th I took another cash advance of $3200 from the same card. My lawyer advised we wait 90 days or so (or at least make a few payments) before filing to avoid any issues with that CC. I also have a direct charge to my Visa card of $780 on March 10 for car repairs (from my old car).

I have since discovered that I will be getting a 5% raise at work (which with my income amounts to around $300 a month gross). However, that will not actually appear in my check until the 2nd week in July. It also appears from what I just read this morning that the stimulus rebate check may be included as income. According to the IRS site, our rebate check (which will be $2100, 5 of us in our family) will be considered as income.

Originally we had planned on filing in early to mid June. However, given how close we are on the means test, and given the situation with my raise and stimulus payment, both of these could push us into a Chapter 13.

If I understand correctly, as long as I wait at least 70 days since the cash advances, worst case that CC would object and I may have to work out settlement with them ( or pay the entire $3200 cash advance). My parents have offered to assist if that CC objects and we need to settle with them (would my parents assisting us cause any issues?). I am assuming too that although technically you are supposed to wait 90 days for charges, because my last charge was for car repairs, those shouldn't be an issue (please correct if I am wrong).

So my two big questions are:

- Would it be in my best interest to file earlier than planned, say mid to late May, in order to make sure that the raise and rebate check is not calculated as income?

-If a creditor objects and we have to pay the cash advance back, can a relative assist with the payoff (does it matter where the money comes from, as long as you pay the creditor who objects)?

I haven't run any of this by my attorney, I hope to talk to her this week.

I apologize for the long email Thanks for your feedback!

Sean - changing your name is not going to change the advice you get. Don't rely on the presumption of non-dischargability to assume you won't get creditor objections. Having seen an attorney, you are vulnerable to objections even outside the 70/90 day windows. Pay those cards AND wait the time, the longer the better. As far as your parents paying them if they object, what happens post-petition, and especially post-discharge, even if those debts survive, is little of the trustee's concern.

You're on the bubble, and while the raise won't be fully included in the six month look-back on the means test if you file after July 1, it would need to be shown on the Schedule I as projected monthly income. It could raise issues under totality of the circumstances that might prompt a dismissal/conversion request from the UST, especially if you are that close.

One other thing on the car payment - you can't necessarily include the monthly payment amount on the B22A. Remember that you have to multiply the payment amount by the remaining number of payments and then divide by 60 to arrive at the Line 47 figure.