Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Texas

Re: disposable income

It sounds like you are considering filing a chapter 13 without an attorney. I WOULD STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS. If you were filing a routine chapter 7 filing it can be done with some difficulty. However, in terms of filing and completing a chapter 13 case, my experience tells me you will almost assuredly fail on your own. A good attorney will work with you on strategies that you are not aware of. She or He will proposed a plan of repayment on your behalf for all your debts. The key test in terms of your specific situation will be gauging your monthly income and comparing this to your monthly expenses. A required part of any bankruptcy filing under Chapter 7 or 13 is a detailed list of your necessary monthly living expenses. This is an estimate however it should be relatively accurate. This monthly list would include such items as rent, car payments, food, utilities, etc. You would not include any payments of unsecured debts.

Basically, after subtracting your monthly expenses from your monthly net income your attorney can estimate your "disposable income" and from this he/she will have a good idea of the amount of money you have leftover to pay unsecured debts (i.e. credit cards). The Bankruptcy Code requires that essentially all unsecured debts must be treated equally. Therefore the percentage each credit card will receive in the proposed plan will be the same. As an example all unsecured creditors might received 5% or maybe 20%. My experience tells me that the majority of Chapter 13 cases PAY 0% TO UNSECURED CREDITORS. This is because most filers have very little if any disposable income. Ph. (214) 979-7330 or (800) 303-0720