Chapter 7 trustee questionnaire

[cnumb1979]

I filed Chapter 7 in the Western District of Missouri (Kansas City) on August 28, as I lived there for 24 years before moving to NM in June. Shortly after filing I received a 17-page questionnaire from the trustee assigned to my case. I found it to be very confusing and tricky, but that's somewhat beside the point. The questionnaire asked the following question:

"Are you or may you be entitled to a tax refund for the years 2018-2022 or any prior year? Yes or No? (If yes, give specifics)."

I received MO, KS and Federal refunds for 2021, so I wrote "Yes" and entered the amounts there. Today I receive an email from my attorney with the following:

"You put on your trustee questionnaire that you did not receive your 2021 income tax refunds but we told the court in your August 2022 case that you had already received those refunds.

Can you help me understand what is going on with that?"

Note: (I had a previous Chapter 13 that we dismissed in August when I became eligible to file Chapter 7).

I replied to my attorney that I misunderstood the question:

"Is this referring to question 30(a)? I guess I misunderstood the question. It asked if I was entitled to a refund for 2021 and I put yes; it didn't ask if I had received it yet or not. I found the questionnaire to be very confusing and tricky. So yes, I did receive those refunds already several years ago. I did not understand the question. Does this resolve the issue?"

I also attached a copy of the bank statement showing that I did indeed receive those refunds, in early 2022.

My concerns are: am I now in trouble with the Trustee because I misunderstood his question? Is the question unclear to anyone else?

I wanted to review the questionnaire with my attorney before he sent it to the Trustee, but I was told "Please just answer the questions to the best of your ability. The purpose of the questionnaire is to have you answer the questions WITHOUT the attorney giving you the answers. If you really want to review each question with me, you are asking for services outside the scope of the flat fee that will cost $400/hr."

I want to scream to my attorney "THIS WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU HAD REVIEWED WITH ME THE QUESTIONS I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND."

Ugh!!

[justbroke]

Yes, just answer to the best of your ability. The question was confusing but only you can answer the question. I would say that the Trustee was trying to ask if you were entitled to a refund and you have not yet received the refund. "Entitled to" means that you didn't receive. it but are owed that money. Otherwise they would have use "Have you received a refund." I agree that they chose a poor choice of wording.

Remember, that the questions asked you to explain if you were "entitled to." I would have written "I was entitled to a refund, did receive that refund, and spent the proceeds back in 2023..." or something similar.

For some questionnaires the attorney may think they are interrogatories and won't help you answer them without paying their consultation fee. If you filed a "no look" Chapter 7 with low fees then that explains that your scope of representation doesn't include answering interrogatories. I don't know if the Chapter 7 Trustee's questions are an interrogatory, but the attorney is saying they are and they are outside the scope of your no look fee.

[cnumb1979]

So am I in any trouble here?

[justbroke]

So am I in any trouble here?

Absolutely not. That's why the Trustee's office asked for a clarification.

As to your attorney, it appears you went through a firm which does streamlined Chapter 7s where you pay a fixed price rather than paying hourly or fixed price with an hourly fee agreement. Most people opt for that streamlined fixed-priced Chapter 7 so they pay the minimum. If you were to pay the hourly fee at $250-400/hour it would be very expensive. That's why the scope of representation for these streamlined (fixed-price) Chapter 7s is highly restricted. As such many attorneys that do Chapter 7s at rockbottom prices ($1,200-$2,500) will restrict communications outside basic representation.

You are not in any trouble.

[cnumb1979]

Thanks, justbroke My attorney responded yesterday morning that the issue is resolved. I gave him a bank statement from 2022 showing the tax refunds received. All is well (unless the trustee finds anything else amiss)!

341 meeting is 10/1 at 10 AM Mountain Time via Zoom.

[cnumb1979]

Well, it appears I am on my way to receiving my discharge. 341 meeting was on 10/1. Trustee filed initial 341 report, report of no distribution, and "Trustee services rendered pursuant to 33o(e)."

This may seem like a dumb question, but once again I can't get a straight answer (or really any answer) from my attorney. I am NOT a regular gambler, but my family and friends like to go to Las Vegas, and I'm assuming my BK affects the timing of our trips, so I need to know when I'm allowed to go. My lawyer's secretary just says "You can't gamble during bankruptcy." Ok, fine. How about after the discharge? "No, not until the case is closed." When is that? "Sometime after the discharge."

To me these are really non-answers. Is gambling post-filing Chapter 7 part of my "bankruptcy estate" and is there some rule or law that says a person cannot gamble after filing a Chapter 7?

Again, I'm not asking because I'm itching to go gamble, just trying to figure out timing for planning purposes. The only answers I can find online relates to purchasing lottery tickets before filing. The only thing I can find in the law about what the trustee could possibly claw back post-filing is an inheritance or life insurance payout.

So what is the "official" answer here?

[cnumb1979]

Got a reply from my attorney. His secretary was wrong.

1. The court doesn't have authority to limit your gambling, vacation, etc, at this point. As long as you are spending money earned after filing and you aren't spending money the trustee has asked for or money you didn't previously disclosed, you're fine.