Salary Question

[loonzilla]

Here is my scenerio:

I plan to file in July so my bonus in Dec 06 is not formulated for income. I have a yearly salary getting paid bi-weekly. In July, can I use my yearly salary as my income factor (yearly salary divided by 12), or do I need my last 6 months paystubs? Reason I ask is two months have 3 payweeks in them, making my yearly salary seem higher than what it actually is.

Also, should I factor in a bonus that I could receive this December? I usually receive a bonus every year so I was wondering if trustee would want to take that into account.

Am I thinking to much into this? Just trying to plan accordingly...Thanks.

[loonzilla]

Forget the 3 payweeks question I submitted...took some time to search and found the answer (they'll average yearly salary). However, still couldn't find any search material on whether they will want to factor in a bonus for the end of this year....so please comment on that. Thanks!!!

[SinkingFast]

The Court does acct for people getting paid every 2 weeks and works it out on a monthly basis.

Even with you filing in July, they kinda actually go back 7 months. You file in July, the Court will want paystubs from June, May, April, March, February, and January. So you'll just eek out not having to report the bonus from December.

Where the bonus may get caught is on your previous 2 years of income taxes. The Trustee may note the difference and ask where it comes from.

[loonzilla]

Thanks for the feedback...I'll factor it in my planning just to be safe.

[amino99]

What about the 341 hearing? Our trustee asked each person who went up if they would be coming into any large sums of money or if they were going to be receiving any large sums in the near future....what about the bonus?

I'm not trying to throw cold water on this as much as help ensure you don't get kicked when you're down.

[loonzilla]

That's why I'm going to factor it into my numbers when planning. If lawyer advises leaving it out and trustee doesn't ask, I'll consider myself lucky. But yes, I'll disclose since last thing I want to do is hide any potential income. Here's a question though...what should I factor in? My bonuses vary over the years depending how the company performs financially. Would averaging last three years bonuses be in good faith or go with last years number?

[SinkingFast]

Hubby got asked the same question. Was he a candidate to receive bonuses?? Nope. But, even he had been, the company is in financial trouble. They've hired a BK Consultant to perhaps keep them from filing Ch 11 Reorganization.

Typically, the company gives pay raises effective Dec 1 every year. No raises this year. Which was good for us from a BK perspective. The income was, for the entire year, what we said it was when we filed. But not so good in the wallet.

My point is,............ Just because the company has historically given bonuses does not mean you'll necessarily get one this year. As you've said, the bonus is dependent on company performance and the company may not meet or exceed goals/expectations this year. It's not a "you have it written in your contract you will be paid X% bonus every year" type of deal.

If you get asked about bonuses, tell the Trustee the truth. That bonuses are dependent on company performance. You have received bonuses in the past, but do not know if you will this year or not.