@Anonymous wrote:
In my mind, that translates to a bottom line of filing a BK 13 over roughly $23k which I'm not sure is totally worth it.
I think if you quit using your cards and really committed to a budget and paying them off (just pay extra on one at a time until it's gone, make minimum payments on the rest, then tackle a new card) you can do this.
Agreed...
@CH-7-Mission-Accomplished wrote:Two out of three Chapter13's wind up dismissed and very often converted to a 7. If anything happens during the plan to lower your income, the court will dismiss the 13.
If you have any way to reduce your income for six months to be under the income limits, a chapter 7 is vastly preferable to a 13. A 13 gives you all the damage of a BK, all the lenders that won't touch you, and you still have to repay the debt. It is a horrible situation.
since 2/3 of chapter 13's filed wind up dismissed and usually convereted to 7's, you would be much better off to get a 7 now and not waste money paying creditors who can be discharged.
The 7 does fall of your credit report at 7 years from filing rather than 10 years (as in a 7), but other than that, there is no other benefit.
Yeah but I still have my pride. 
So 2 of 3 Ch 13's fail and end up converting to a 7 eh? An interesting stat. Where'd you get it?
As far as "no other benefit" between a 13 and a 7 other than the 7 year removal of the derogs I don't totally agree. On paper that's correct but I can tell you from personal experience I had a BECU loan officer tell me face to face that she looks upon a Ch 13 more favorably than a Ch 7 due to the fact the debt was paid back... in whole or in part.
I know if I loaned money to someone and got burned.. .the guy who paid me back would most certainly have a much higher rating in my eyes than the guy who didn't pay me back.
I knew little about the BR system back in 2009... my attorney said Ch 13 due to the fact I wanted to keep my car. Looking back on it now I'm pretty sure I could have filed a 7... my income met the requirements I believe. Makes you wonder why my attorney steered me to a 13? It most certainly wasn't to line his pockets... he got his attorney fees spread out over many months of Ch 13 payments rather than up front with a 7. At any rate, he was one of the highest rated attorneys that specialized in BR so I didn't question him.
Water under the bridge now... I'm 98% done with the marathon... everything falls off in the next few months. I'm expecting to be around 750 across the board.
@TRC_WA wrote:
@CH-7-Mission-Accomplished wrote:Two out of three Chapter13's wind up dismissed and very often converted to a 7. If anything happens during the plan to lower your income, the court will dismiss the 13.
If you have any way to reduce your income for six months to be under the income limits, a chapter 7 is vastly preferable to a 13. A 13 gives you all the damage of a BK, all the lenders that won't touch you, and you still have to repay the debt. It is a horrible situation.
since 2/3 of chapter 13's filed wind up dismissed and usually convereted to 7's, you would be much better off to get a 7 now and not waste money paying creditors who can be discharged.
The 7 does fall of your credit report at 7 years from filing rather than 10 years (as in a 7), but other than that, there is no other benefit.
Yeah but I still have my pride.
So 2 of 3 Ch 13's fail and end up converting to a 7 eh? An interesting stat. Where'd you get it?
As far as "no other benefit" between a 13 and a 7 other than the 7 year removal of the derogs I don't totally agree. On paper that's correct but I can tell you from personal experience I had a BECU loan officer tell me face to face that she looks upon a Ch 13 more favorably than a Ch 7 due to the fact the debt was paid back... in whole or in part.
I know if I loaned money to someone and got burned.. .the guy who paid me back would most certainly have a much higher rating in my eyes than the guy who didn't pay me back.
I knew little about the BR system back in 2009... my attorney said Ch 13 due to the fact I wanted to keep my car. Looking back on it now I'm pretty sure I could have filed a 7... my income met the requirements I believe. Makes you wonder why my attorney steered me to a 13? It most certainly wasn't to line his pockets... he got his attorney fees spread out over many months of Ch 13 payments rather than up front with a 7. At any rate, he was one of the highest rated attorneys that specialized in BR so I didn't question him.
Water under the bridge now... I'm 98% done with the marathon... everything falls off in the next few months. I'm expecting to be around 750 across the board.
TRC, I'm not in any way putting you down. I think it's honerable that you feel this way and a great accompishment to have completd your Ch 13.
This is the data on the two-thirds fail rate for Chapter 13:
"While the concept of a repayment plan is valuable, the actual implementation of the Chapter 13 program could be improved on several fronts. The high non-completion rate of Chapter 13 plans is cause for substantial concern. For more than a decade, two-thirds of all Chapter 13 plans have failed before the debtor completes payments, and sometimes before unsecured creditors have received anything at all"
http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/nbrc/report/08consum.html
In terms of a person who feels morally compelled to repay all or a portion of their bankruptcy debts, I still think people should get a chapter 7 if at all possible. There is nothing whatsoever preventing you from repaying your creditors after your chapter 7 is discharged. You won't pay lawyer fees or trustee fees and if your finances get tight you can suspend payments and then pick up again where you left off.
So the fact that a chapter 13 forces you to repay your creditors does not mean that a chapter 7 filer can't clear his or her own conscience if they feel compelled.
In my opinion, if you can get a 7, take it and run. Then if you want to pay the money back, nothing is stopping you. Not having a court order over your head would really test the depth of your integrity vis-a-vis your debts!
Also, I filed a 7 and got a BECU 5K Visa 12 months after filing. It was an automatic online approval with no verifications.
I think it is bad to advise anyone to opt for a 13 if they can qualify for a 7.