My Illinois Chapter 13 Journey

[Lawns1]

My 341 meeting is in the morning and I’m wide awake staring at the ceiling.

I’m beyond nervous that something will go wrong but I couldn’t have been more honest if I tried so I’m hoping things will be uneventful. I’m 100% repayment with an over $200,000 income so I’m hoping that helps.

I’m thankful for the opportunity to have a reset on life. It’s going to be a long 5 years with just over $2,000 per month in payments to the trustee but I could have lost my house but I didn’t.

Deep breath.....

[FireMedic1]

I cant speak on Chapt 13's. But out of all of this and what lies ahead. The biggest investment in life you'll get to keep and still own it and call it yours. Once its all done. You'll still be a homeowner and the present will be a distant memory. Good Luck on your MOC. Happy Holidays!

[coreyb80]

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@Lawns1 wrote:
My 341 meeting is in the morning and I’m wide awake staring at the ceiling.

I’m beyond nervous that something will go wrong but I couldn’t have been more honest if I tried so I’m hoping things will be uneventful. I’m 100% repayment with an over $200,000 income so I’m hoping that helps.

I’m thankful for the opportunity to have a reset on life. It’s going to be a long 5 years with just over $2,000 per month in payments to the trustee but I could have lost my house but I didn’t.

Deep breath.....

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At times it may seem long, but it's all for the betterment of you and your family.  It's been 3.5 years for me in 13 and that light at the end of the tunnel is slowly getting brighter and brighter.

[Lawns1]

Thanks for the support everybody!

It went great, we were in there for maybe 5-10 minutes. Simple yes and no questions and the trustee was VERY nice. Our lawyer did a great job prepping us.

We were told we could get a secured credit today and approved for 2 cars when the leases expire.

What a relief....

[coreyb80]

Good to hear things went well!

[Lawns1]

Well we had a horrible past 2 weeks and I’m completely confused. I was let go from my part time job that I’ve been at for over 10 years making $60,000 a year. My confirmation is Monday and my attorney said there’s nothing we can do until that’s done and I get a new part time job.

1. What happens if my income drops because my new part time job doesn’t pay as much? Can I have my plan readjusted for the drop in income? We need to keep our house so the 13 is where we will have to stay.
Current payment is $2,025 a month. Brought home $3,500 a month from the part time job.

We are beyond scared.

[Anonymous]

Talk to your attorney. If your income changes significantly, they need to know and they may send changes in your income and expenses to the court which might lower your payments or change other aspects of your plan. 

Good luck!

[Lawns1]

Hope everyone is doing well.  

We are one year into our payments, everything 100% current which is great and a huge relief.  I picked up a new part time job and was a contractor for a while and now getting transitioned into an employee.  It will be about $2,000 less a month than we originally planned for when we filed and we have some increased daycare expenses due to COVID-19.  

Whats everyones thoughts on going in and attempting to get our payment adjusted?  We are 100%, $2,025 a month for 5 years so we have a lot to go!  Our attorney didnt seem super thrilled origanlly but that that was 9 months ago, not sure if there is some wiggle room in the courts with COVID?

[jmw1]

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@Lawns1 wrote:

Hope everyone is doing well.  

We are one year into our payments, everything 100% current which is great and a huge relief.  I picked up a new part time job and was a contractor for a while and now getting transitioned into an employee.  It will be about $2,000 less a month than we originally planned for when we filed and we have some increased daycare expenses due to COVID-19.  

Whats everyones thoughts on going in and attempting to get our payment adjusted?  We are 100%, $2,025 a month for 5 years so we have a lot to go!  Our attorney didnt seem super thrilled origanlly but that that was 9 months ago, not sure if there is some wiggle room in the courts with COVID?

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Less than 100% payback will draw a lot more scrutiny from the trustee. Your budget will be gone through with a fine tooth comb and you will need to produce receipts for budget items that are more than the bare minimum. For example, why do you need any daycare if you work from home or one spouse has no job (this is just a fictional example).  You may have to give most or all of your tax refunds to the trustee and those refunds won't count towards paying off your plan base. It's a ton more work for the lawyer with a sub 100% plan so he won't like it.  You could extend your repayment if your disposable income was reduced due to COVID related reasons to help put less pressure on your budget.

A lot of us were way less than 100% payback going in and it went fine after the nitpicky budget work between the lawyer and the trustee. So don't let the greatly increased scrutiny scare you. But know it will be different if you try to pay less than 100%.