Worried and not sure what to do now!

[Wantmypeace]

Thanks for all the help, everyone! A few questions/thoughts:

If we file now, we have to include my 3500/mo income for the last 6 months, and that will definitely force us into a Ch.13. Unless I'm missing something???

When you say you see a huge problem with the mortgage, do you mean in maintaining our budget long-term after the bk, or do you mean in terms of actually being able to get through a bk (as in the trustee will have a problem with it)??

Can they only allow a smaller amount for PG&E, even if I have payments for the last couple of years to PROVE that that is what it costs?

I DO see that my budget is "rosy" and will not stand in the long-term. This is why I don't want to reaffirm the mortgages and think that the odds are we'll have to walk away in the longrun. I'm counting on making it through the next 10 months without any major catastrophes, but who knows? I do know that if we file RIGHT NOW, we won't pass the means test. If we wait 6 months, we will...

[debee]

Thanks 'Hub. We're good.

[drowning123]

I was behind on my mortgage and my attorney advised me to use my mortgage payments for the means test. By the time I filed for BK, I was 4 months behind. At my 341, the trustee asked if I was current and I told him no. I even used my car payment and that was 2 months behind by the time I got to my 341 meeting. I'm surrendering the house and the car.

[Pandora]

Want -

You may be facing a Ch. 13 either way at this point given your husbands income - from what I can see in CA for a family of 5 the income limit is $86694 - that means a gross take home pay of about $7200 a month. You may be able to file CH. 7 being over the median, but you have to be able to show on your schedules that you are neg DMI after paying all bills, which you can obviously, however your mortgage payment is a red flag given its nearly 50% of your income and I dont know of any judge or trustee that will recommend staying or reaffirming such a huge income drainer. If you file Ch. 7 and let the house go - it very well may put you into a CH. 13 because you wont have the house payment. This is why I think its best to talk to a very well qualified and experienced attorney because in your situation, things get a bit muddled with the 2nd being more than the 1st, as well as your loss of income due to illness. Dont do this pro-se.

Your income from your job will have to be counted unless you wait and let it drop off of the 6 month look back. You cant get around it any other way - but in the same token, by waiting to file however many months to get that income to drop off, you face lawsuits and possible garnishments from the credit card companies. You need to look everything from every angle. You had mentioned going out on disability - are you talking about private disability insurance or social security disability? If private, that may be approved pretty quickly if you have coverage, so you'll have to include that and factor it it. If SSD, then it can take a while, but stranger things have happened and some have been approved the first try.

When you say you see a huge problem with the mortgage, do you mean in maintaining our budget long-term after the bk, or do you mean in terms of actually being able to get through a bk (as in the trustee will have a problem with it)??

I see a problem either way if you keep the house. If you file and reaffirm (or even do a retain and pay) you are still committing almost 50% of your income to a house payment, plus your $650 in just electric costs - thats almost 4K a month. At the current amounts you have listed using your husbands income - without changing anything - you're already -15 in the hole at the end of the money. You hadnt even counted the credit cards or car payment - thats $2K a month additional that you arent paying. Granted you probably paid those with your income when it was coming in. Again, I find it hard that the trustee is going to allow you $600 for gas when driving only 40 miles to work - thats very high for gas money and there are other areas that are low. If you're already in the red with your current numbers, then you need to look seriously at how you want your future to be.

Do you want to be saddled to a house that is upside down by nearly 200K? You'll never recoup it and you're throwing your money away.

[Wantmypeace]

Thank you SO MUCH for taking your time to help me work through this. You have no idea how helpful it is! I see exactly what you're saying, and I know we need to let the house go; I just don't know how my husband is going to take it. He has put SO much into our home...

In terms of waiting, if we wait AND let the house go, we can save that money in the meantime to pay the lawyer and buy a replacement car. I don't anticipate getting foreclosed on in 6 months time, but it is possible CRAPITAL ONE could get a judgement in 6 months. They are the only credit card company with whom we are not current. They are also the biggest pain in the @$$ I've ever experienced! ANYWAY, if we were to stop all payments in January (our first month with ONLY my husband's income) and file in June, we might be okay, IF WE CAN PASS THE MEANS TEST. That's the biggie. I'm going to play around with the calculator and see what it tells me....

[Pandora]

I know its hard to even think about letting a home go - but in reality, you need to do whats best for you and your family. Dont let what I wrote sway you one way or the other - in the end, it comes down to the decision you and your husband feel is best for your family.

I just want to ensure you look at everything from every single angle before you decide - its hard to remove the emotion out of it, but if you are able to look at this as a business decision, it will come to light much clearer and faster than if you dont.

BTW - come 1 Nov, the means test goes down for you to $85096 - so make sure you're aware of that. Also be sure when you calculate that you do it correctly - if paid 24 or 26 pay periods. It makes a difference.

Lots of hugs to you - I hope your dr. gets your lupus under control very soon and you get to feeling better

[Wantmypeace]

Thank you! I'm going to really think about what you've said about looking at it as a business decision. I appreciate that!

Why does our median go down to 85096? Did the census cause this? That is about 100/mo change, so that could mean passing or not. UGH!

Thanks!

[Pandora]

It changed because they did a review of all the states' medians. Some went up.. some went down.. some stayed the same. I dont know if the census caused it or if this is something that is done annually to reflect the economic times.

[debee]

The means test income figures change every November and March. There's a drop-down menu at the US Trustee program website: http://www.justice.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa/meanstesting.htm

[drowning123]

That is what I want to do. My preference is to be able to hire a lawyer; I'll figure out a way. I was just hoping someone could give me answers on the mortgage issues and whether missing a few payments on the third would cause problems if I stayed current on the 1st and 2nd.

As far as the co-pays, my youngest son has Tourette's Syndrome and is bi-polar, so we have therapy copays at 30.00/pop, plus med checks every month. 100/mo is a low estimate, actually.

Don't stay current on anything. Stop paying everything.