Self Employed?

[labgirl]

Hi All-

I've been reading this forum for quite a while and have gotten some excellent advice thus far. Does anyone know anything about self employment? My husband is currently a contracted employee doing sales. No income yet, commission only when it does arrive. I'm working two jobs to get us through until he gets established. He's kind of been waiting to really push some opportunities for fear of making "the big one" and putting us over the median income for Ch. 7. It looks like we'll be filing in late May or early June. We just don't know what to do. I nailed him a couple of excellent leads today and don't want them to pass him by. How is 1099 based income viewed by the court? Obviously nothing is guaranteed as to when/if arrival of funds. You can't really disclose the possibility of an income when you're not sure it will arrive. I'm pretty sure it would be frowned upon (or even fraud?) to not cash a check (should one arrive) until after discharge. What about asking for his payment to be delayed by the company? (Fraud too?) Any advice? Do we just have him go for it and sort it all out later? Our attorney doesn't seem to have any suggestion for this, I think he views my husband as a lazy guy who is just trying to get out of working.

Thanks in advance-
Labgirl

[FreshLikeADaisy]

Labgirl, if you're considerably under the median income for your area, incidental dips and rises in a non-salaried position are not something to be very concerned about. On the other hand, if you are already close to or over the median, and/or the potential income is substantial (in the thousands) and would change your financial picture substantially, then it's a justified concern.

Many people have filed with commision/sales/variable income, and it generally isn't an issue. However, you are right in thinking that efforts to evade the detection of income after filing could be considered fraud if discovered during the process. So without knowing more of the details, my initial reaction to your question is, if your atty isn't worried about it and you have discussed it thoroughly with him, go ahead and file.

The Nolo book is *excellent*; I used it myself to file pro se, so you have really good information at your fingertips to help explain and back up what your atty is saying to you. Good luck!!!