Stressing, first meeting with our attorney tomorrow!

[JasonK94Z]

Sat down last night to get everything together. I also did our monthly budget online http://www.ca-bankruptcy-attorneys.com/

Our first and second mortgage and car payment is up to date. After doing a reasonable budget, we only have a little over $100 left over every month. That does not include my student loan payment that will start back up in january for $211/month. I am $7k/year over the median income for Alabama.
I just can't see how they can come up with anything to pay back a Chapt 13, but i guess we'll have to see what happens. From what I have read, they like to trim the fat everywhere in the budget to get money. I hope this attorney is good, she came highly recommended for this. I got a headache trying to complete the means test, so I just quit and decided to wait on the attorney to do it. That online means test confused the heck out of me.

We're nervous as heck! Friday 9:30am is when our appt is. I hope all goes well.

[goingout]

Good luck!

[Lindsay]

I hope everything goes okay and you can do a Chapter 7. Good luck with your appointment today and please give us an update.

[lrprn]

Hang in there, JasonK. Sunnier times are ahead for you and your family!

On Monday give your lawyer all the accurate income and expenses information you have and above all, leave nothing out when you explain your current financials. I'm betting you'll feel much better after the meeting!

[JasonK94Z]

I have everything down on paper for our budget.

I have all of my pay stubs for last 6 months, but one is missing! It is always the same pay anyways, so i hope it isn't a problem that its missing.

I have a list of all of our debt, who, where, and how much. Both secured and unsecured.

I also have copies of our credit reports.

I have a copy of our home appraisal taken 18 months ago. Just got the home valuation statement from the city for my property tax too. There is no equity in the house due to the second mortgage we took out.

And finally, the last 4 yrs of tax returns.

The attorney only asked for the paystubs and list of debts, but I'm going there tomorrow prepared and ahead of the game.

[lrprn]

The attorney only asked for the paystubs and list of debts, but I'm going there tomorrow prepared and ahead of the game.

This lawyer will appreciate that you've taken the time to learn about bankruptcy and know what to bring along before the first consultation, JasonK - good for you!

I have all of my pay stubs for last 6 months, but one is missing! It is always the same pay anyways, so i hope it isn't a problem that its missing.

It won't be a problem for tomorrow but you may have to find it before you file. The lawyer can tell you tomorrow how it is in your district, but in our district, our trustee expected our lawyer to have every single pay stub on file. My husband had the same situation as yours - no difference between paychecks - but he still had to go ask his HR dept for printouts for several of his pay stubs he couldn't find before we could file.

Many companies now have online payroll accounting that you can access over the internet. Can you print out the missing paystub that way?

[JasonK94Z]

They don't do online paystubs here, so I can't print it out.

Looking back though, the missing one is in February. So by the end of August, i won't need it anyways?

[Christine]

Good luck to you! My best advice is to really scrutinize that paperwork that the atty drawls up for you. This will be after you do a BUNCH of homework (schedule J, this that and the other). My attorney was also highly recommended (the trustee even commented that I have a great attorney) and he made a few errors on my paperwork that ended up making my CH13 pmts look okay so I proceded... but then they trustee's atty found those errors and my payment is more than DOUBLE what the attorney said it would be. I'm STRUGGLING with it big time. Some things to consider... have you had any commissions or bonuses in the last 6 months that will inflate your income during the means test 6 month look back? This does have huge impact. Also, are your cars paid off? How many do you have, etc. All of these things impact that test. I hope that your experience goes better than mine. My payback is 91% of what I owe and I've seen others on here that are 100% payback.

[lrprn]

Looking back though, the missing one is in February. So by the end of August, i won't need it anyways?

To not use Feb paystubs, you will have to file Sept 1 or later.

The six-month lookback is for full calendar months. That means if you file anytime during August 1-30, then the look-back period is Feb 1-July 31. If you file anytime during Sept 1-30, then the look-back period is Mar 1-Aug 30. (Weird, I know, but that's how the law is written.)

[JasonK94Z]

That sounds right to me. I may have to wait it out a month anyways. I need to scrape up some cash for a quick plumbing repair before I go through with this if its gonna be a ch 13 bk. As long as I can hold off my creditors, I'll wait it out.