Any solution to this??

[sainty333]

I am in the process of filing Ch. 7 and the paralegal calls me today and informs me of some bad news. The per capita (indian reservation distribution) that I receive every month is considered an asset and not income in Wisconsin. The $400 is deposited every month on a debit card for my use. Is there any way to exempt this or am I going to lose it for the 2 years stated by the paralegal??

Would this qualify under cash in deposit accounts??

[lrprn]

I am in the process of filing Ch. 7 and the paralegal calls me today and informs me of some bad news. The per capita (indian reservation distribution) that I receive every month is considered an asset and not income in Wisconsin. The $400 is deposited every month on a debit card for my use. Is there any way to exempt this or am I going to lose it for the 2 years stated by the paralegal??

Would this qualify under cash in deposit accounts??

I did a bit of quick research and unearthed the following 2002 Wisconsin bk case ruling that matches your circumstances very closely - based in Wisconsin, disbursement from the Ho-Chunk tribe, and a trustee who interpreted that the disbursement was an asset of the filer's bankruptcy estate, not just income. Here's the link to the actual court document with all its interpretations - http://www.wiwb.uscourts.gov/Decisio...wski%20(U).PDF

Unfortunately as you will read at the end where the ruling is noted, the bk judge in this case sided with the trustee. Chances are this is the case that your lawyer is using to make his interpretation about your tribal distribution is an asset of your bankruptcy estate, not income.

It's full of legalese, but in your case well worth a read to understand why this WI bk court judge ruled the way he did.

[sainty333]

Thanks for the response! This was some heavy reading but I do understand. My trustee is actually using this case as his basis and will be taking my per capita payments for 2 years. OUCH!!
I have been paying income tax on this, do I now have an argument against paying income tax since this is being deemed as an asset?? Or even better....since I have been paying taxes....can I argue it is income and not an asset???

[sainty333]

Interesting turn of events in my case...maybe. The trustee told us at the 341 that another judge in the state has declared this per capita payment to be income in another case. He said he would have to look into things further before making a decision on my per capita payments. Question....how long does he have to decide asset or no asset case??