I am trying hard to make payment under chapter 13 bankruptcy

Hi

Welcome to the forums.

Do not miss your payments in chapter 13 bankruptcy at any cost. If by any reasons, you miss your payments, your case will be dismissed. This might result in taking legal actions against you by your creditors which can include foreclosure, repossession, garnishment, etc.

If you miss your payments consecutively for two months in the middle of the plan, the trustee will file a Motion to Dismiss which will give you a grace time of 30 days to arrange the missed payments. If you are still unable to make the payments within that time period, your case will be dismissed and this will allow the creditors to constitute legal actions.

Regards
Roxette

ok, can I sell my car for making the payments. It is secured by a debt and it is included in my plan.

You can sell your car but it will not be a practical move in order to be paid by the plan. You will have to make the fill payment to your creditor and the sale of car will not cover the complete amount. You can't pay the reduced amount to the creditor under the plan.

Alternatively, you can give the vehicle back to your creditor. In such circumstances, the plan can be modified. You won't have to make payment of the vehicle from the plan and the length or amount of the payment is also likely to be reduced.

Roxette, thanks for this great help. I think I will try in every possible way to complete my debt. I know I will have to go through tight situations in the future. I was told that I will have to complete at least 36 months before I can make any changes to my payment plan. Is this true?

Once again, your help is appreciated. Thanks

Yes, you can change your payment plan only on two occasions:

• If you are paying off 100% of your bills.
  
• On completion of your 36 months, you will be able to modify your plan.
  

I had a plan set up to pay 500 a month for 12 months and 730 for 48 months. Because of some repairs and medical bills I have missed 3 payments I asked my Lawyer to file to modify the plan to make ends meet I have had to try and due a couple of pay advances so now I am trying to pay them. She did not file the modification in time before the order to possible dismisall. I have a hearing on Dec 13. Any ideas

Hi Glen

At this point, I can suggest you two things. File a case against your attorney for malpractice and arrange a new lawyer or if you can handle the case on your own.

If you are filing a case against your lawyer, you will have to prove four things to the court.

• The attorney was not able to act properly.
  
  
• The attorney breached the duty. She did not perform her duty on what was agreed to.
  
  
• Due to her conduct, you have suffered damages.
  
  
• This has resulted financial losses.
  

is ther any way to stop a pending dismissal?

I think it depends upon the bench of juries. I would consult my lawyer with all the court papers.

It may be time to take a look at what you're attempting to protect under the Chapter 13. If it's a car, and you have the ability to get alternate transportation (even a reliable clunker will do), you may want to consider letting the car go and having your Chapter 13 converted into a Chapter 7 instead. If it's your house, and you don't have any or much equity (especially if you're upside down on the mortgage), consider doing a Chapter 7 as well if the home equity is exempt. Otherwise, if you're attempting to avoid foreclosure on a house in which you have a great deal of equity, start looking into options like having a renter, where you could offset some of the expenses. Look at what you're afraid to lose and what you could gain if you were able to walk away with a fresh start and see, objectively, what might your best option be. Bringing a Chapter 13 current is often the only way to protect yourself from dismissal. The other option is to submit a modification of your payment schedule, based on any change in your income and expenses.

I have been under chapter 13. Now I have to have surgery and will not be working for 6 weeks or more. Is there anything
I can do?

Talk to your attorney or the trustee.