Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Illinois

Re: charpter 13

Without knowing all the details of the situation it is difficult to answer your question, but this is what a chapter 13 attorney is going to look at in determining what your plan payment needs to be: Current Mortgage Payment, Mortgage Arrears, Car Loans, taxes, child support, and unsecured debt as well as your equity (if any) and income and expenses. Assuming your mortgage is included in that 819 biweekly payment (which you don't indicate that that's the case but I'm guessing given your income that that is the case), that payment has to pay ALL your arrearages on top of that, plus the entirety of your car loans, taxes and any other secured debts, plus your attorney's fee and the trustee's fee. Without knowing what your arrearages and other secured debts are, there's no way to tell you whether that payment is right. I doubt your attorney picked that number out of thin air. If you don't think you can afford it, you probably need to consider giving up the house. I know you don't want to, but chapter 13 helps you get caught up, it doesn't make your mortgage easier to pay, it just makes it easier to catch up on the mortgage arrears. If you can't live off of what is left over, then you need to think hard about whether you can afford to keep the house.