questions about purchase history

[justmehere]

I'm going to do Chapter 7.

Do you have to account for two years or six months of purchases?

Do you have to list every single item???

What do I do - just print out all my credit card statements AND bank statements and make notes in the margins of what I bought?



Thanks in advance.

[HHM]

Actually, you don't supply any PURCHASE history as part of a normal BK filing. You may be asked to turnover 6 months worth of bank statements but the purpose of which is to verify your income. Unless by purchases, you mean "monthly expenses". But again, the BK trustee normally takes a debtors monthly expenses at face value unless they seem out of whack. Because the BK petition is a document that is certified under oath by you, you should be "prepared" to justify the expenses you list (i.e. with bank statements, receipts, and yes, the typical timeframe is about 6 months).

Granted, if your BK filing is suspicious, they could demand that you turnover 2 years or more worth of financial records.

Also, if there are suspicious purchases on a credit card or large balance transfers, the individual creditors so affected may show up in your case, at which point you may be asked to explain certain purchases.

But in a run of the mill BK, you typically do not have to document your expenses or purchases.

[justmehere]

Thanks. That's exactly what I needed to know. Aside from obvious things like charging a car or charging a whole trip to your card, particularly right before you file, I never am sure what could be construed as suspicious or out of whack. Most of my debt comes from student loans which I'm stuck with until I die, I guess, and the bulk of my credit card debt is business expense, but I have plenty of the other, too. How many hundreds of dollars SHOULD you spend per month or per year on groceries? On clothes? And, above all, on that which is regarded as FRIVOLOUS (in my case books, movies, dog supplies)?

[keepmine]

How many hundreds of dollars SHOULD you spend per month or per year on groceries? On clothes? And, above all, on that which is regarded as FRIVOLOUS (in my case books, movies, dog supplies)?

Your lawyer can tell you what trustees in your district accept as reasonable monthly expenses. One size doesn't fit all. You're dealing with living expenses in different areas of the country and well as family size. All situations are a bit different.