Save for Lawyer vs. save Sched I receipts??

[Moneypenny]

Hi,

I am needing to file ch7 soon but dont have any money for a lawyer. In fact, I owe the IRS and CA over 2K starting april 15, and my home property tax 1700 on april 10.

Maybe i can save the 1500-2000 i will need (in my area) for a bk lawyer. not sure how. but if i do i certainly wont have any reciepts for personal expenses to prove my sched I expenses because i will not buy clothes, get haircut, heat the house, use electricity much, or eat anything but spaghetti to do it.

How does a broke person save up for a lawyer and still prove they have sched I expenses?

(or, if i can save a couple hundred bucks a month for a lawyer, then how do i qualify for ch7? I know i cant save like that forever, but it looks that way)

how do you pay for a lawyer anyway?

thanks so much, i am down and out right now. thank god february has 28 days only...

MP

[ApresMoi]

Be sure to shop around and interview different attorneys. Maybe ask for recommendations here? I was quoted 2K by several, and $1500 by another (not including filing fee of $299 here in California). Someone else quoted me even less. My attorney wanted a retainer before they would send me any paperwork, then the rest of their fee was due in 30 days or on the date of filing, whichever came first. No one I spoke to would file for me first, then allow payments in installments. Another way to go would be to work with a Legal Aid society in your area. Might be worth a call to see if they have anything to offer you. I wouldn't worry about not having expenses (receipts). Just save for the attorney (and start interviewing with different attorneys NOW so you can decide who to go with, what your fee will be, etc.. The rest will fall into place. They can advise you how to handle the expenses. I got lots of attorney suggestions for my area by asking in this forum, btw (one a very good suggestion, that, if I'd known about them sooner, would likely have gone with them). Good luck.

[Moneypenny]

yeah i can shop around and have done so but in my area (california) its 1500-2K for a good attorney that will not try to get you into a 13.

i am dumbfounded about how bankrupt people are supposed to file. What if you cant afford to file? i am not sure it will all fall into place. that the money to file will just fall in my lap.

so i thought i would need receipts to show my personal/family expenses. I dont need receipts?

i cant possibly have receipts because I am going to have to go way radical to get money for an attorney. and then i dont even know if i can do it.

[mtbc]

If you're comfortably below median and aren't pushing at IRS local standards for expenses then I'd be surprised if you needed receipts. Are you near or over median?

Remember that back tax payments -- payments on undischarged debt -- can often be counted as expenses that reduce your disposable monthly income on Schedule J. I have well over $16,000 of them to repay.

[Moneypenny]

I am near but not over the median, with unsecured debt reaching 2x yearly income, although it was only 1x when i stopped paying.

but, i have fairly low house payments due to a special first mortgage i have with my employer. So, sched J comes in right on the button, after including a few bills that i will need to cut back on to get lawyer fees, like life insurance, cell phones (i have kids to keep track of), newspaper periodicals, not to mention regular expenses like electric heat, food, clothing, haircuts, etc.

I do have some tax debt so maybe that helps, but i am curious about the reciepts thing because its often said that you "had better have reciepts if they question anything"

MP

[mtbc]

As mentioned elsewhere, including the tax debt depends on liens, etc.

With receipts, really, it depends how lucky you are, and what red flags you show. Most of us don't have to show any. But, seeing as you're pushing close, then they may indeed smell blood -- in which case, I'd be most careful about having receipts in the categories where you are pushing close to or over local standards. Basically, they can ask, but usually only have time to worry about the cases where there's a plausibility of you not being able to substantiate what you wrote.

[momofthree]

They most likely won't question any expense that falls under the IRS standards. It's when you're spending over the standards that they may request proof of the expense--for example our medical expenses are well over the standard, but we have an autistic son that requires treatments not covered by insurance. We have receipts and taxes (medical deduction) to back up the expense....

[Moneypenny]

what if my expenses are below standards, or at them, but i dont have any reciepts, is that a problem?