I just settled my WC claim and just informed my bankruptcy lawyer through vmail.Can my trustee take my settlement for chap.13?: My workmans comp lawyer just inform me that my bankruptcy needed to be contacted upon receiving my settlement.
Andrew’s answer:
I agree with many of the other answers. You need to speak to your bankruptcy attorney about amending your schedules to accurately reflect the WC claim and attempt to assert any exemptions you may have in the proceeds. There is also the issue one other attorney pointed out about the fees charged by the WC attorney if his employment was not authorized in advance by the bankruptcy court. Those fees may be subject to disgorgement (i.e. may need to be paid to the Trustee by the WC lawyer). He or she should be put on notice of this. Your lawyer may be able to seek a retroactive approval for that employment, but usually (at least in Massachusetts) that would only be the case if there were really extraordinary circumstances.
Good luck.
What do I do now?: I filed a chapter 13, pro-se, and received notice that the Trustee has filed a motion to dismiss since a few documents were unintentionally left out. Schedule G, Chapter 13 plan, and statement of financial affairs. Can I file these documents ahead of the Court date to dismiss on June 13th??
Andrew’s answer: I agree with the other responses that you should try to find a bankruptcy lawyer to represent you. Chapter 13 cases are complex even for lawyers who do not specialize in this area. I am not licensed in Illinois, but in Massachusetts bankruptcy courts, the practice would be to file both the missing documents and an objection to the Motion To Dismiss and a request for a hearing. The objection would need to be filed within whatever time is specified in the bankruptcy rules applicable to your case. If the documents were not filed due to inadvertence or some other excusable reason you should recite those reasons in your objection and explain that the missing documents have now been filed. You should certainly file any documents the Trustee has identified in the Motion To Dismiss along with the Objection. Again, you really do need to consult with a lawyer (you can speak to your local bar association for a referral) who handles these cases in your jurisdiction. Good Luck.
Can you file Chapter 7 if Chapter 13 was dismissed because of non payment?: I was terminated from my job because of disability. I have been waiting for a disability appeal since Oct 2015 which I am getting hearing in Aug. I lived on 401k and ran out of money so therefore I couldn't pay my bankruptcy Chapter 13 payments anymore. Now after being on a moratorium for two years with USDA (fmha loan) and having to start making payments again in June and that because my house has to be paid off by 2020. My payments are going to be more than when I worked making 16.00 an hour. With my 1000.00 disability I will not be able to make that high of payment. Can I file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy now? Will that help my payments be lowered if I do or at least give me time to get my SSDI back pay to pay down the loan so the payments are not that high?
Andrew’s answer:
If you have a lawyer, you need to ask your lawyer if a conversion or a new Chapter 7 case is appropriate for you under all of the circumstances, including consideration of the reasons that led you to file a Chapter 13 case rather than a Chapter 7 case in the first place. While a change in income may be one factor, there may have been other reasons (e.g. non-exempt assets) that prompted a Chapter 13 and which would make a Chapter 7 inadvisable. Whether you can file a Chapter 7 case after the dismissal of a Chapter 13 case (usually yes, but there are consequences to the prior filing including potential limitations on the length of the automatic stay) is a different question than whether you should. You really need to seek legal advice specific to your circumstances.
Good luck.