Help. Need Advise Please-Filing in Maryland

[robertrk]

What is the name of your state? Maryland

I just signed papers with the atty yesterday. We will have to be in a Chapter 13 plan for 5 years. But let me ask you if I may; Did anyone have a 341 in Baltimore? If so, did you have the female or the male trustee and how was the trustee in your opinion? I am so afraid. My atty told me that he thinks we are offering a fair proposal but be ready because the trustee could object to some of the monthly expenses. The expenses he said the trustee might question is the food expense and my husband's term life insurance that I have to pay each month. The monthly life insurance expense is $128.05 a month. (Husband is 61 years old with a few health problems now so he would not qualify for new life insurance if I had to let go of this one). My food expense is $750.00 a month for 3 people. But in this food total includes not just actual food but also toiletries, food for 3 pets, paper towels, condiments, food prep. stuff, school lunches, work lunches, etc. If anyone attended a 341 in Maryland, did you happen to hear the trustee objecting to any of these type of things? Do these expenses I mention seem high to anyone else? I am so scared. Our atty said our hearing will most likely be the latter part of December. I just hope the trustee is ok with this. Our atty said the creditors can object to my food and insurance expense too. He said, even if the trustee doesn't question these expenses, the creditors could say we should not be allowed to keep the insurance and also to cut our food expense in half. If that is the case, I would not be able to do this. Then we would be in deep trouble.

Can you please shed some light on any of this and what you may have heard or experienced at your 341 mtg? It would certainly be a great help and would mean so much to me.

Thank you very much.

(PS: We have already cut our expenses back alot and we also excluded some expenses so that are expenses would be very low). Our atty said we needed to do this so that it shows the creditors and trustee we do not have any disposable income left as we will be putting it all of our disposal income to the 5 year plan) Can the creditors still object to our monthly food and insurance expense too?

[Ladynred]

Given the circumstances for the life insurance, I wonder if the trustee really would object.. its not unreasonable.

As for you food expense.. Keep copies of all your receipts until you get to your hearing. You might want to sit down and break out of that 750 what's actually FOOD and what is pet expense, household maintenance supplies, etc. That way, if the Trustee questions it, you can show how you arrived at that figure with the breakdown and also show actual receipts. If you lump it all in as 'food' it does sound very high for 3 people, but broken out as all those other types of expenses, the actual human edibles is probably far less.