re: Out of State Trips - Will trustee say NO!

[simon2020]

Hi All, Does anyone know if I filed a Chapter 13 - there is a pretty good chance I have to fly out of state to see a relative or due to a death in the family. If I am paying all my income to the plan, can I still take a vacation or emergency trip? Will I have to bow down to the trustee and beg for mercy to let me go because I need to go to a funeral? I'm asking this because my mother is turning 80 and there is a good chance in my 5 years of paying into the plan, I may have to fly out and see her. Your input would be most appreciated.

Thanks!

[filingin08]

I'm in a similar situation. Knocking on wood nothing happens to my parents. Anyhow. We have wiggle room in our plan. Not a lot, but enough that we're able to set some aside each pay for emergencies. If it comes to it, that's the fund we'll use. I seriously doubt any trustee is going to look over our shoulders seeing how we spent every dime.

[simon2020]

Hi filiingin08 -- did you file your bk yet? And if not what is holding your back from signing the petition? And thanks, I knew I was not the only one thinking about this.

[filingin08]

We filed on 9/26. My husband's ex-wife had taken us to court because he failed to live up to his end of the division of property. So although we started paying our atty in January 2008, we only got around to doing it when a contempt action (and possible jail time!) was inevitable if we didn't. Looking back, I wish we would have done this earlier in the year. We wouldn't have been rushed at the end to get all the i's dotted and t's crossed. Turns out we missed a couple of creditors. And at least two numbers on our forms are incorrect (atty added some things together she shouldn't have). It won't affect the overall, but still...

I feel like we have a good atty who is looking out for us. Their firm does exclusively BK and while occassionally surprised, can usually spot the weird things before they become issues. They were helpful in what expenses were allowed and reasonable.

After we filed, she told us to bank as usual. We've really cut back on eating out (our weakness) and we don't throw everything into the cart at the store anymore.

My husband and I are now on the same page financially. We even managed to fix our leaky roof - a $825 expense - and still feel like we could breath moneywise. Now we're saving for our real estate taxes and hope to have a solid emergency fund in the next few months. I'm looking forward to confirmation and hope from then on to fly under the radar for the next 58.5 months.

Good luck to you.

[Flamingo]

Hi All, Does anyone know if I filed a Chapter 13 - there is a pretty good chance I have to fly out of state to see a relative or due to a death in the family. If I am paying all my income to the plan, can I still take a vacation or emergency trip? Will I have to bow down to the trustee and beg for mercy to let me go because I need to go to a funeral? I'm asking this because my mother is turning 80 and there is a good chance in my 5 years of paying into the plan, I may have to fly out and see her. Your input would be most appreciated.

Thanks!

A Chapter 13 cannot be based on events that have not yet occurred. When/if there should be a situation as you describe, or you anticipate it as you have stated, you need to save what you can to pay for the trip or if you incur a bill to fly there or have to borrow the money from a friend or relative, all bills incurred after your filing are your responsibility. I would suggest saving what you can for any possible airfare/expenses. We too had a five year plan and you just do the best you can as things arise...I had an ill mother in a nursing home for 3 years of our plan and my father in law died 1 1/2 years after we filed. We managed extra stuff by saving what we could and just doing without/shopping discount, etc.

[simon2020]

Flamingo and filingin08 THANK YOU SO MUCH for your encouragement. I don't feel so alone when I go through the process. I have accepted the fact that I will have to budget big time when I am in the bk plan, but I always wondered how people who are in bk-13 managed to deal with unexpected expenses. Now, I know, I need to save as soon as the plan starts and hope for the best.