Will they look down on us tithing?

[thewife]

I am wondering, when I filled out the paperwork, it asked me to write down if we donate money and yes we do. We are in alot of financial trouble, but God has also blessed us in many ways and we tithe to our church regularly, and when we tithe he DOES bless us.

We give 10 % of our bring home money, unless it is an extremely hard week and some weeks we just cannot do it. I am worried that when they do the means test, and look at how much we are giving to our church ( not alot, we make under $35,000 a year ) that I will be told that we cannot go through with the chapter 7. Afterall, if I can afford to give money to our church, than why not my creditors? I have the same questions, and I know that it was my foolishness that brought me to the huge mess that my husband and I are in right now. Anyone else tithe and not have problems because of it?

Thoughts?

p.s. I promise not to delete this post

[freshstart06]

My trustee did not mention anything about our tithes, I don't think they have a problem with it. I never seen any post where a person had problems with tithes.

[CSAW6589]

NO. When I was at the BK hearing the couple before us had allocated $140 a month to the church listed as donations. The judge verified it was a donation and that was it.

[thewife]

Thank you, that's good to know

[SinkingFast]

Tithing is perfectly acceptable. Within reason, I believe. As in 10% is normal and acceptable, but if you give way more than that, you might have some issues.

Tithing was not specifically addressed when the New Law was first written. Congress has since amended the Code to allow for Tithes by Debtor/Filers.

You should be OK.

One suggestion tho,........... Hopefully you Tithe in a way that your Church normally gives you an annual contribution statement. If you don't have those records, be sure to contact your Church or place of worship and get records if you can.

[JRScott]

As stated above a tithing of 10% is generally an allowable expense.

[Boscoe]

Like most everything else, if you have records to support this then you should be fine. Religious contributions are certainly not abusive.

[$$only4ever]

When I went to my 341 meeting, the trustee was satisfied as long as there was proof that you actually made the contribution.


I am glad that you gave us a second chance

[jec]

tithing

you are allowed by law to give up to 15% of your income to charitable contributions. You can list this on the means test. But
in case you are audited be prepared to back it up with documentation. I believe it has to be an established practice.

[lrprn]

From Bankruptcy Law Network at http://www.************************/...ng-bankruptcy/

"So that there is no doubt about the ability to tithe during bankruptcy, the Senate and House of Representatives enacted the “Religious Liberty and Charitable Donation Clarification Act of 2006 (S. 4044). What S. 4044 does is to make clear that money given by a debtor to a charitable organization, including tithing to a church, is not to be included when considering the funds available to be paid to a creditor in bankruptcy. So, can you tithe during bankruptcy? The answer is Yes."

This law considers tithing to be 10% of your take-home income before paying any bills or creditors. Hope this clarifies!