Setting up a payment plan with the trustee if he wants money back.

[HoldOnBStrg]

I hope someone can please help me out with this. I have about $1900 in my checking account. I am planning to file for Chapter 7 within the next 30 days.

My lawyer told me to spend it down to below $400 before he files. Im so paranoid that if I do this they will look at my bank statements and want the money back.

I can think of legitimate reasons to spend the money on my car needs repairs that i have been putting off and my daughters birthday is next week and i plan on taking her shopping.

My question is in the rare case the trustee sees i have spent $1500 in one month that I usually dont, my question is if he wants the money back can i set up a payment plan with him for 6 months to a year and if so what happens to my case in the meantime does it get discharged and closed or would i have to wait until i pay him back in full before i get discharged and closed.

I would just wait a couple of months and gradually draw the money down but I have put this off long enough and this whole situation is driving me crazy.



Thanks for any answers.

[AngelinaCat]

If you have car repairs that you need to make, but have been putting off, get the car repaired. They don't generally heal themselves! That is a legitimate expense, and you need the car to go back and forth to work and for the family. The trustee is not going to question that, nor will he be concerned with the daughter's birthday present.

Another option for the money is purchase storable goods that you will be using anyway: storable food, paper products such as paper towels and toilet paper, shampoos, toothpaste, laundry soap, etc. My 'Hub and I each carry a $100.00 bill hidden in our wallets to be used for dire emergencies ONLY--not for anything else. An example would be when the car you have been putting off repairing, breaks down in the middle of nowhere, and you desperately need a tow, and the tow truck driver does NOT take plastic....

Good luck to you!

[LSUTiger32]

I kind of worried about this as well, but as long as there are not huge ridiculous charges or debits, they will just chalk it up to living expenses for the most part. I paid a bunch of stuff the day of filing and he used the balance at the end of the day with the paperwork I provided.

[JoeBankrupt33]

Another thing to consider is that you need to make sure that those items have cashed, so that the actual bank balance is under $400. When I filed, I had to spend down my account to near $0. This meant that I paid bills and rent with a money order.

Now, in my case, there were a few other assets, including a tax return and unpaid wages that the trustee wanted. I turned over the tax return as soon as I got it, and set up a payment plan for the remaining money, which amounted to about $430 and he took it in 4 payments. The discharge happened in a timely manner, about 60 days after 341, but the case hasn't closed yet since the trustee hasn't paid the creditors yet. I don't think your case will go this way, but in case it does, I hope this answers some questions.

[frogger]

Should not be any problems, but make sure you keep them receipts!

[aljohnson007]

Don't forget to take "cash back" on every purchase you make at the grocery store, gas station, etc. and you don't need to keep all these receipts.

[HakunaMatata]

The insurance option exists as well. If you pay your auto/home insurance monthly, you apply the funds toward insurance and pay off the remaining balance (freeing you from monthly charges and applying funds toward a necessity).