Mandatory Bankruptcy Counseling

Steelers, did I read your post right - you're completing your Ch. 13 soon? If so, congrats!

I am so broke I cant even afford to file for chapter 13...not to mention I have no disposable income anymore

I just did my counseling earlier this week and it was a waste of money. I did my counseling over the phone which took about an hour and 15 minutes, but I am relieved to know that my Ch 13 will be filed tomorrow morning(May 21)

Congradulations Brownsugar I know this has been a long time in the making. You will feel such a relief to have it all over with. KYSIDE38

Yes Suebee, I will be completing my chpt. 13 REAL SOON! YIPEEEEEEEEE! And in that time I have made significant improvements to prevent that situation repeating itself. Unfortunately, my chpt. 13 was due to an exorbitant amount of medical debts (well over $200,000 for my son). Congratulations Brownsugar, you are going to be feeling a huge burden lifted soon, well, tomorrow to be exact! And congratulations also on returning to school you will do well!

That's great news Steelers, congrats again!

Brownsugar - things will soon be looking better for you - hang in there! I'm glad you were able to get everything taken care of and will be filing soon. Sometimes it's the only way.

Myself, I'm almost one year into my Ch. 13 - and because so few of my creditors actually bothered to file claims for payment, I've looked into refinancing out of the Ch. 13 this summer. Hopefully, if all goes well, I will be able to do that. I've already spoken to a loan officer at a respected bank, referred by my BK attorney, who works mainly with refi's out of Ch. 13 filings. I've also been hammering away at my credit reports, getting the inaccuracies off there and the proper reporting updated. It's working - don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise! I've seen even judgement items get deleted from my reports because the creditor didn't file a claim for the Ch. 13 repayment plan.

Oh, and I have to add this - if it weren't for these forums and the wonderful people here (both old and new), I wouldn't have had the knowledge or the courage to attack some of these issues - I've fought off the payday lenders merely by standing up for my rights, I've started correcting my credit reports, and have been able to help others with what I've learned here and my own life experience - OH WHAT A FEELING!

Sue, explain something for me - "Refinancing out of Ch. 13". What is this? I never knew this was even a possibility. So after being in the repayment plan for only one year, you have the potential option of refinancing the debt, or ???? What do they base the amount that is refinanced on, the total payments that would be collected? What if you are able to refinace out of Ch. 13. Can the remaining debtors come after you for any recompence? I would like to learn more about this. What resources did you read up on to find out about it? Is it only available if you've been a payment plan for a year or more.

Interesting ...

One way to refinance out of a chpt. 13 is if you have the equity in your home to refinance and then you pay off the chpt. 13, with the courts approval. And if it is done this way, no the creditors can not come after you. That is one way I know of to refinance out of chpt. 13. And the amount to pay is the balance owed on the debts listed in your chpt. 13

Thanks, Steelers, I wasn't on much last night to answer this one.

Tricam - what I'm doing is refinancing my home out of the Chapter 13 - there are several lending programs that will do this, and almost all of them require that you've been in the Ch. 13 plan for at least a year, with all payments made on time.

I had about 25 creditors included in my CH. 13 filing, and out of the 25, only about 9 of them actually filed claims for payment. That dropped my debt load considerably. The main reason for filing Ch. 13 was to save my house, so once I'm in the program for a year, I should be able to refinance and pay off the remaining debt, which will take me out of the Ch. 13. There are several things it hinges on, however - I have to clear up my credit report (several creditors were still reporting as collection accounts when they hadn't filed for repayment under the Ch. 13 and will be discharged), and my home has to appraise at a certain level in order for this to happen. If the appraisal doesn't come back at the level we need it to, then it won't fly.

In the meantime, to supplement my drastically lowered income from the Ch. 13 plan payments, I've started working on the side to help make extra money - I figure if the refinance doesn't work out, at least I have that.

As far as I know, once you refinance out of the Ch. 13, the case is discharged as it would be if you had completed the entire plan, and it shows on your credit as a completed Ch. 13.

I see, it can only be done if there is enough equity in the house to do a refinance. Unfortunately, I have a 1st and 2nd mortgage already and there is no equity to draw from. I guess I'm stuck with the plan.

Thanks for the information.

My case was filed last Tues(May 22) I already feel relief b/c my phone is not ringing off the hook
Congrats Steelers on almost being done with your BK

I know how relived you are Brownsugar! Especially to get checksmart off your back!

I've had my first meeting with the trustee. I think things are going to go pretty smoothly at the next meeting. The only problem is that I am scheduled to be out of town on the date of the court meeting. My lawyer tells me that he has done this second meeting without his clients and I don't really need to be there. Has anyone heard of this before? It is possible for me to make it back in town for the meeting, but it will come at an expense to me. If I don't have to be here, I'm going to try not to. Any suggestions or recommendations?

As your legal representative, your lawyer can speak, write, and appear on your behalf with your consent. If your lawyer was there with you on your first meeting with the trustee, then he would know as to how to proceed further. Update him as to what he should be discussing to make the job easier for you in the next meeting.

I think you should be there with your lawyer at the meeting. Hey, I'm not saying that your lawyer wont be able to handle your case skillfully but you are the best person to answer the questions related to your assets and liabilities.

I would suggest you should inform the trustee that your lawyer would be representing you in the next meeting and seek his permission if he is comfortable in dealing with him.