should we decrease income

[frustrated7]

My husband and I are having all sorts of problems with getting Chapter 7 BK. We miss the median by a couple thousand dollars (mainly due to my pension payout of $2500 I received in December) and according to our attorney we cannot file Chapter 7 and after telling us yesterday and filling out all paperwork to file this upcoming week, he called us and told us we would have to go with a Chapter 13. We seriously don't want this. My husband's income is highly erratic, and his overtime isn't guaranteed, and neither is his regular 40 hour work week. It all depends on how the factory is doing as to how many hours he gets each week.

Here's the thing: I recently started a new job a week and a half ago. I drive two hours roundtrip to work each day and don't make much money, especially for that amount of driving. But I do make money, which increases our income, so we likely won't fall below median in the near future. However, after finding out yesterday about how close we are to the median, I started wondering if it would be smarter to quit my job until our income drops enough and then find something else once this is over. At the latest, we would be able to file the start of July and should be well below the median income by then. We could probably make do on my husband's salary if I put my student loans on hold and he get keep some steady hours for a few months. It would be tight, but we might be able to make it, especially since I wouldn't have the cost of driving two hours a day, which eats up gas like crazy. My husband is really pushing for us to take this direction, because he (like me) does not want to end up in a Chapter 13 and he thinks it would be better for the long-term for me to not work for a few months and us to have a few more really rough months and then have no problem with the Chapter 7 than to have to pay into a Chapter 13 plan for the next five years. I'm not crazy about my new job, but I'm uncomfortable just quitting, especially so soon after starting and I'm worried about making it financially for a few months.

Has anyone ever done anything like this before and how did it work out for them? Will the Trustee question why I quit my job? Our attorney hasn't called us back yet, but I don't think he would be happy about this idea. Of course, he gets a lot more money for us to file Chapter 13. We already paid the entire amount for the Chapter 7 (including filing fee) because he told us we were all set and could sign our paperwork on Monday and then a couple hours later called to tell us he had made a mistake. I don't want to just lose the money we already paid to him. This whole thing is giving me such a headache. My husband thinks we have somehow managed to fall into BK limbo, since we don't have enough money to fund a Chapter 13 and we barely are over median. Anyone?

[fltoo]

You quit the job with the two hour commute. If anyone asks, it was too much of a drive, which is true.

Wait until the income drops off and then file your 7.

There is nothing wrong with pre-planning your BK. Pre-planning allows you to file when the time is right.

[Over our heads]

Yes quit the job, and have you looked at the new median income numbers?

http://www.usdoj.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/20090315/bci_data/median_income_table.htm

These new numbers have made a huge difference for us!

[CatsInTrouble]

Well, I took less contracts in December, because my children were home out of school a lot in December. But, it sure did help with our numbers!

[frustrated7]

Thanks everyone for your responses. The supportive and informative nature of this board is such a blessing.

We will still be over median even with the new numbers. Stupid pension distribution. I didn't even ask for it, they just gave it to me, from a place I worked several years ago.

I talked with the attorney, who said that if I stopped working and we lived on my husband's income we would likely file in a month, maybe two, depending on how much he makes (his income varies a lot). I talked to my husband and we are both on the same page with this. While I don't like the idea of quitting after only being there a week and a half, the pay is crap, the benefits are nonexistent, and I drive over two hours roundtrip each day for it. I think this is the best long-term decision for us, and then I will find a new job after this is all over with.

Now I just have to tell my employer that I'm leaving. At some point I will have to tell my family, and that won't go well at all. I think that will have to be a separate post.

Thanks again to everyone for your support.

[frustrated7]

ARGH! I talked to my employer less than an hour ago and told them I was quitting. Then my attorney contacts me again to tell me not to actually quit until he talks to another attorney in the office to be sure there will not be a problem with filing BK after quitting my job. This after he told me earlier today that it wouldn't be a problem.

I am thinking that all of you are right in this and he is just being overly careful by talking to another attorney. Of course, it would have been swell had he mentioned this earlier today when he said it wouldn't be a problem! Since I only worked at this company for one and a half weeks and the pay was low and the drive was over 2 hours every day, I wouldn't think that the Trustee would make a big deal out of me quitting. Not to mention that there was cigarette smoke all through the building and it makes me sick.

I am going to scream at the top of my lungs tomorrow if my attorney turns around and tells me NOT to quit because it would be considered fraud or the Trustee would deny us BK.

[CatsInTrouble]

One possible reason he told you not to quit is cause the new law made him MORE liable for his clients- ie if you do something "fraudulent," then he is more likely to have to answer for it.

[frustrated7]

He actually at first told me it was a good idea and that is something we should seriously consider. After I told him we had decided to do it and then I did, he then later let me know not to do anything until he talked to another attorney about it. I get the impression he is really new at all this and so runs everything by someone else. It doesn't matter now...it's already been done, there is no undoing it. I just hope this works, we can make ends meet, and then file in a month or two and have no problems.

[fltoo]

The trustee is looking for assets. He does not care if you quit a job with low pay with a two hour commute! This is not fraud.

[frustrated7]

I wouldn't think the trustee would care, but because part of the reason I quit was so we could avoid being forced into a Chapter 13 I was concerned with how it might be viewed. Our attorney at first thought it a great idea, but then hesitated and told us to wait until he talked to another attorney. He works at a firm with multiple attorneys (some of which do BK too) and he is pretty new at the BK thing. It just worried me when he later told me that I should wait to quit after I already did. It's too late now. I don't expect it to be a problem. Around this area, a 2 hour roundtrip drive is considered insane.

[OhioFiler]

I wouldn't think the trustee would care, but because part of the reason I quit was so we could avoid being forced into a Chapter 13 I was concerned with how it might be viewed. Our attorney at first thought it a great idea, but then hesitated and told us to wait until he talked to another attorney. He works at a firm with multiple attorneys (some of which do BK too) and he is pretty new at the BK thing. It just worried me when he later told me that I should wait to quit after I already did. It's too late now. I don't expect it to be a problem. Around this area, a 2 hour roundtrip drive is considered insane.

I hope you got a great deal on his fees!

[HHM]

I wouldn't quite a job, in this economy, just to file BK.

[OhioFiler]

I wouldn't quite a job, in this economy, just to file BK.

Given the 2 hour each way commute and the implied low pay I would consider it. Lower paying jobs are plentiful even in this economy. If one is looking for a paycheck that will support a family it would be a lot tougher right now.

[fltoo]

And no benefits.

[HHM]

It's a financial decision, if you can afford ALL your living expenses on the 1 source of income, then quite. If not, you can't. Based on your thread, there are too many "if only's" to make quiting the job a safe option.