Can I modify my expenses after 341 filed?

[kimba251]

Am I able to modify my expenses to include more things that I didn't before but that we actually have? (vet,dog food etc, medical co-pays)

THey are things we pay sporadically but we pay. I didn't include them because they are sporadic and change but DOJ is presuming abuse now. Would I be able to modify my expenses and income at this point to accurately reflect our situation more. Our lawyer made it seem like they wanted just the hardcore "real" bils and not the "real" expenses.

Is it too late? Once we see what she is objecting to in our finances would it look fraudulent on our part to include other expnese? We can provide documentation of these things.

Two examples would be:
Groceries have gone up 100 a month and oil has almost doubled. We were locked in at 2.65 which expired in April. We are now qouted 4.5o for oil right now but I am SURE that is going to rise too. I didn't put anything for clothing but obviously we buy things with two boys 2 and 5. I didn't put anything for house repairs but we obviously do things to house for upkeep etc. Jeez we really screwed ourselves didn't we? Since we were already 600 in the red without these things he didn't think it really mattered but look at us now with the 707 b.

[keepmine]

You can modify your schedules and will need to do so to rebut the presumption of abuse.
This looks like a really sloppy lawyer that didn't quizz you about all of these expenses.
The other real problem you have is, you filed bk prematurely. From your other post, you and your spouse are on WC's. You're facing additional surgery. You can't pay things like copays on time or, your mortgage. You should have waited and tried to get some stability in your financial life as well as, making sure debt you can't handle related to the medical bills gets discharged.
In fact, you may think about talking with your lawyer about the possibility of getting this thing dismissed and then filing when your income is below the median, all large medical procedures are done and you're able to support yourself.

[kimba251]

I just did my schedule over and saw a mistake and then entered some things that we didn't originally. THta is an additional 700 on top of the 558 already in a deficit. Our water bill is an average of 173 monthly but they put 18.

As for the medical bills they are all covered by work since I was hurt at work. THere will be no issue there thankfully.

We can make our bills now because we stopped 401 k contributions of 800 a month to meet that 558 deficit. I guess I know we have no extra money but need to show the trustee. By putting in all those little things that add up quick it's no wonder we have no extra money.

For instance, I put nothing for medical and dental expenses since we have insurance BUT I have paid over 150 in co-pays and prescriptions alone already since my little ones have allergies and asthma. My little one is on daily medication for asthma which adds up quick. I didn't add that to my expenses but will now. I guess I feel better because we'll be ok because I can document all the visits and prescriptions etc.

I can't wait to see what her objection is though. We reaffirmed the house after putting it into the BK at first so maybe she never got that memo? With the money form 401k coming in now we CAN afford it so we'll see what happens.....

[PaKettle]

Good luck!
I'd say any way you can prove you have more expenses than the petition shows is great and you should do it. I also agree that your attorney should have quizzed you about these expenses and made sure you had more realistic expenses. Have you seen your petition? are you sure he didn't put higher figures in there? Sometimes the attorneys just plug in figures that are near the max without asking...

[Phillymanhere]

Something I've learned form this forum and other forums: amending a legal document is not viewed by the courts the same way amending your statement to a spouse about where you were on Saturday night is viewed by a spouse. The law on some of this stuff isn't about good/bad intent so much as a good faith effort. The law with a spouse is all about good/bad intent!

Don't feel too bad: many of us facing this situation have problems calculating and remembering those sporadic expenses that are nevertheless real and predictable. My eye contacts cost like $30 a month. I would not have remembered that except that I started reading here and I thought about it. (I charged them and so paid at one time, but they were like $330 for the year.)

So don't beat yourself up. You're not the first person to underreport expenses. Yes, it would have been nice had your lawyer caught this, but that's past. Just use this experience to begin a better financial planning process that includes regular expenses like car repairs, clothes, shoes, cleaners, eye glasses, contacts, over-the-counter medicines, etc.

I can speak for myself in saying that I have really struggled to notice and anticipate those kinds of expenses. I think you'll be OK!