Expenses and Bank statements

[mankind]

Ok here is my problem. What is the deal with bank statements and expenses? I have read that they you are allowed to use expenses that you should reasonably have if you weren't scrimping to get by. Why then do they want to see your bank statements for 2 years?

My problem is this. I am current on all my cards but can't keep it up more than another few months before I will be falling behind. Actually I've been falling behind for about a year and a half. I had been using a cc that my mother gave me(on which I am only an AU). I ran this card up to $12,000.00 trying to stay current with my other cards and pay living expenses.

I can't quit paying this card ($200 monthly min.)as my mother can't afford to take over payments and it is my debt. Also we have been sending about $100-$150 monthly to my wife's elderly father to help him as he has no other support other than a small pension.

Even with these two items removed from expense list I would barley break even(with no health insurance and cutting other expenses) or be about $100-$200 in negative.

If the trustee requests my bank statements he will see these expenditures. Is this something that is going to cause me problems?

[Miyamoto]

I strangely didn't have to turn over that much information, at least so far (knock on wood). Other than tracking expenditures, it is probably a good way for them to check for other sources of income also. Your statements are never going to be a true indicator of expenses anyway unless you never pay cash for anything, which is why saving receipts is a good idea. If you haven't already been saving them, it would be smart to start now just in case they question anything. I usually paid cash for groceries, but after filing I started using my debit card most of the time or making sure I didn't throw any of the receipts away.

You don't have to be behind to file which is a good thing so you won't have any problems there. I was current on everything when I filed and hadn't even had a late since 7/99, but I saw the light and realized I couldn't keep it up much longer either.

It sounds like your expenses are still high enough even without those 2 items that you should still be safely in chapter 7 land so just be honest with the trustee if they ask. If you can manage it I'd try not to cut costs anymore as it would help to have documentation of your expenses at the current level instead of lowering it even more. From what I have heard it sounds like once you get to a hundred or more in the black is when it is a lot tougher to keep from being converted to a 13.