Does anyone know what to expect in Bankruptcy Ch 13 in the state of California ? I’m scared need advise”?
admin | Oct 08, 2010 | Comments 1
my property has too much Equity, my attorney filed a Bankruptcy The boards 7, & later on after filing for ch 7 our attorney realized that our equity is high so then he questioned me & my husband 2 convert 2 Bankruptcy CH 13, this alarmed us, We are so comfused & frightened more than ever, We are current with our primary Mortgage & 1st & 2nd Loan with our Bank that is tied up with our property, our balance is $ 129,000.00 & our Appraisal is for $295,000.00 & we are current with our Property Taxes/Homeowners Insurance. & we are current with our car payment & auto insurance. Our reason 2 File for Bankruptcy in the 1st house was because of personal credit card debts, we were told from our attorney that we do be eligible for CH 7, Now our attorney tells us we do not be eligible for ch 7 so we have to convert to CH 13, but he says our home is not secured with the $100,000.00 Home Exemption. our children are all Adults, even even if they live with us, & we support them financially the court does not reconize my college children as our dependents under the law and because 2 of them file for thier own tariff-return for years now so I only have one adult needy age 18 who is still a full-time student in High School. another thing the lawyer said 2 us when after we signed the forms for ch 13, last week friday. that we be eligible for a 100% Pay Back Plot. not cut-rate like they do for Consolidation, & not even once did the lawyer mention anything about consolidation so I am really comfused, I even questioned an attorney at the Pro-Bono work shop @the Santa Ana Bankruptcy Court Household 2 weeks ago & I questioned if its safe to convert my case to a ch 13 to keep my property & personal property safe they said yes, & that I would have to pay what I could only afford a month from my husbands income for a 5 year plot”so I thought ok, this is excellent” But, when I saw my lawyer last week 2 sign 4 the convertion to a CH 13, she said my smallest payment would be around $1,000.00 a month 2 pay back my creditors & that’s the lowest payment the court would offer according to our attorney 2 initiation with & it will go higher in a link of months “We can’t afford this” what should we do? this attorney is confusing us, my English is fluent but, the legal terminology is very confusing” if you have been through a touch like this before (or) if you know someone that had gone thru this in CA we would really appreciate any feedback you may offer, I tried 2 call my attorney again & she does not return calls I am frightened for me & my family tree. Thankfulness 4 listening hope 2 hear from someone that would have knowledge to give us feedback that is right no matter how terrible it ism we want to know what to expect & what we should do.
Mary:
Orange County, CA, USA
Popularity: 1% [?]
Filed Under: Bankruptcy
There is a touch about your tale that is troublesome. It sounds like either you have a very inexperienced bankruptcy attorney, or there is more to this than what you have told in your question.
Your adult children who are in college should file amended FAFSA forms and make appointments o talk with their college financial bolster officers. Your Ch 13 may reduce the “expected family tree contribution” which may boost their eligibility for financial bolster.
Why will your Ch 13 payment boost in a link of months? YOU (or your attorney, on your behalf) write your Ch 13 repayment plot and present it to the court for confirmation. The court does NOT write your Ch 13 repayment plot. YOU do. There are constraints, all of which must be met. But if you do not want a Plot that calls for an boost “in a link of months” then do not submit a Plot that proposes this. In detail, that is honestly unusual. Most Ch 13 Plans call for equal payments over the life of the Plot. I do not know, and am having distress guessing, why your attorney would write a Plot that proposes this. Most Ch 13 Plans do not.
I also wonder whether your bankruptcy attorney is experienced enough to perform the Means Test correctly using Form 22c which is the Long Form of the Ch 13 Means Test. Many inexperiencd attorneys only use the fleeting form of the means test, which can be a disadvantage to the debtor.
Usually if you have a 100% repayment Plot, it is because you have equity that you could not protect in a Ch 7 with the available exemptions. That is why you are converting your Ch 7 to a Ch 13 — because your equity in the home exceeds the available $100,000 exemption. It is somehow troublesome that your attorney did not realize this before filing the Ch 7, unless the appraisal was done after the Ch 7 was filed or unless you tried claiming your adult children as dependents and that was disallowed after you filed. Was the appraisal done recently or are you using an ancient appraisal figure? If it is ancient, you might want to make a newer appraisal since property values have dropped in many areas. Your appraisal would need to come in under about $235,000 in order for you not to have an excess equity issue.
If I were you, I would make an appointment with a second bankruptcy attorney for a exact review of the case and a second opinion. You will need to pay for this, but it might be worth while to make a second, experienced, pair of legal eyes taking a detailed look at the case.