Motion for Extension of Time

[Brokeaswell]

Have you ever seen this? US Trustee never filed a Motion to Dismiss. On the 10th day from our 341 they noted a Presumption of Abuse only. We were asked for more information and gathered over 300 pages together and we had 10 days to get it back to them. Then the Trustee filed a Stipulation that pushed our discharge date out by 14 days beyond the 60th day. On the 60th day they filed a Motion for Extension of Time to File a Motion to Dismiss and now are asking for a additional 8 weeks! I have been searching Pacer and see cases where this has happened 3 or 4 times and then the Presumption is removed.

My question is this. Has anyone else had this happen to them? If we are held to deadlines why do they have the right to keep draggin us along w/o asking for anything more??

Only reason given is that they need additional time. I saw one case filed in 12/08 that had 4 extensions and didn't get their discharge till 8/08
This is nuts!
We have been through too much and the stress is killing us.

[lrprn]

My question is this. Has anyone else had this happen to them?

Yes, we've had other members post about this happening to them. You might try a search for "extension" to see if you can unearth any of those threads and posts.

If we are held to deadlines why do they have the right to keep draggin us along w/o asking for anything more??

You also had the right to ask your lawyer to request more time from the court if you needed it. This is allowed by the bk law, and either side - debtor or trustee - can request extensions if they need it.

We have been through too much and the stress is killing us.

Yes, this is very difficult and I'm sorry to hear that you are so stressed about it. However, court procedures are not set up for our convenience - they are set up to meet the letter of the law. The law all too often moves along a glacial pace, and unfortunately in this case you have no power to change that.

Since you can't change the delay, better to flip all that negative worry into something positive. If you haven't already, work on the family budget that's going to keep you out of this place again. Search out money-saving coupons and other bargains to reduce your expenditures and free up some cash for an emergency fund. The list is endless....

Hang in there - this too shall pass, even though the process is not going to happen as quickly as you want it to. This is the risk of filing a borderline case - you are just going to have to ride it out.

[music12]

doesn't the OP have the right to object to the extension? it's just a motion, not a court order. the OP can say it's too much of an extension and too burdensome. 8 weeks is just insane. at least the OP can object to the length of the extension.

[lrprn]

doesn't the OP have the right to object to the extension? it's just a motion, not a court order. the OP can say it's too much of an extension and too burdensome. 8 weeks is just insane. at least the OP can object to the length of the extension.

Yes, the OP can object to the motion, but they have to have a legitimate reason to do so. "The extension is making me worry and stress too much" is not a reason the court is likely to accept. And I'm willing to bet the OP's trustee can prove to the court they really do need more time given the increased number of bk filings due to the economy tanking to handle with the same number of staff. So the OP pays his/her lawyer extra to file an objection to the extension and ends up right where they were before anyway.

In this case unless there is a really compelling reason to challenge the extension (or the OP left something important from what they've shared so far), letting things take their course is going to be the better option in the long run.

[music12]

given that bk is about giving a person a fresh start, i think it is reasonable for a debtor to say it's stressing them out and prolonging the process. i think the OP's lawyer doesn't necessarily need to object officially but make a phone call to the trustee and say look, you are looking for 8 weeks, that's too stressful for my client. how about 2 or 3 weeks instead? then the trustee would have to explain why 3 weeks is not enough for him.

of course there is a risk involved, which is that the trustee might be used to getting their way, and if the OP objects the trustee could get annoyed and be more prone to file an actual motion to dismiss.

[AngelinaCatHub]

given that bk is about giving a person a fresh start, i think it is reasonable for a debtor to say it's stressing them out and prolonging the process. i think the OP's lawyer doesn't necessarily need to object officially but make a phone call to the trustee and say look, you are looking for 8 weeks, that's too stressful for my client. how about 2 or 3 weeks instead? then the trustee would have to explain why 3 weeks is not enough for him.

of course there is a risk involved, which is that the trustee might be used to getting their way, and if the OP objects the trustee could get annoyed and be more prone to file an actual motion to dismiss.

Yes, but knowing all the facts, the Trustee has to have a provable reason. the OP has not mentioned any reason for this anomaly, and my heart goes out to them.

We of all folks being as ignorant as we were certainly were candidates for a dismissal. We did everything wrong including an expensive lesson on inside payments. We had a good Trustee who worked with us. Yes it still cost extra for his hiring an outside 2004 lawyer.

We got through and as of the 13th this month, it has been a year and still not closed. So, we wait. We are living our new life and are happy and that is all that counts.

This Forum means so much to us, as we are loving and helping people and for what we have learned, it is free and entertaining to pass it on in love. AND it costs nothing but our time. 'Hub and Mrs. C.

[music12]

and, cat and 'hub, we love you for it!

and in your case, we will have to come up with a special dance for closing of your case, when it finally happens.

[shabam]

Wow your case has been going on for a while Brokeaswell.

How much approximately do you guys owe?

Why is the UST filing a motion or interested in your case?

We need more info to be able to offer any meaningful assistance.

[Brokeaswell]

To answer some of these questions. We started in a Chapter 13. We were 15 months into it with a different attorney and 3 X's the Trustee raised our monthly payment. That is when I discovered this web site and Pacer. After checking Pacer I found a number of document filings I was not made aware of. The atttorney was lowering our monthly expenses when they are actually increasing. I personally fired the attorney and took the case on ProSe and objected to the Trustee raising our payments. When we went before the Federal Judge I quickly found out that I truely had not fired the attorney because that is something he has to do releasing him from our case. It was not a pleasant experience, believe me! We did win speaking against him and recovered over $3600 in atttorney fees. We were given time to find another attorney. Long story short no one wanted to touch the case. When I finally found a attorney my husband had lost his job and there was no way we could keep funding the case. We got a dismissal w/o predjudice. We then waited months until our new attorney felt the time was right to do the Chapter 7. After filing is when my story above started. There was a error on one form that did not list child support but it was disclosed on other forms. My attorney said it was a software glitch and he had it straightened out. That's when the US Trustee noted Presumed abuse and asked for a bunch more documents.
This is a no asset case, above income earners, unsecured less than 50 grand. Even though asked to reaffirm all secured not one reaffirmation was filed within the 60 days. Payments still current. No reason given other than need more time. Checking this district cases note that this is happening alot and some cases are dragging out for months with repeated extensions. Not sure if my attorney would file objection, at least if a Motion for Dismissal was issued we would of had our day in court by now. Just plain wore out. Lost faith in the entire process and legal system.
One thing to mention is if you get tied up in a bad Chapter 13 like we did the unsecured sold our debt of to debt buyers. After the dismissal they were hounding us, not for monthly payments but wanted payment in full. We felt forced into a 7 just to get them off our our back. We were initially forced into a 13 because of Credit cards raising rates and monthly payments that made it impossible to keep current.
My main question seems like this is not happening all that often we just are one of the unfortunate ones.