Planned expenses and Schedule J

[rjmwx81]

I'm looking over my draft of schedule J and have a quick question. Currently, I do not have health insurance. Obviously I plan to get it very soon, but probably not until after I file. I already know exactly which insurance plan I'll be getting, the costs, etc.

My question is, do I list that on Schedule J in the health insurance area, or am I only able to mention it in the "expected changes in expenses" area? The reason I ask is, without that expense I have a DMI that might catch the trustee's attention, and I already feel like I'm writing a novel in the "expected changes" area. (Divorce payments ending, but rent going up, car insurance likely to jump once I file, likely to have a tax liability...you get the idea.)

So, for simplicity's sake, can I just add that on the appropriate expense line? Or do I have to actually buy the insurance before I do that? I would ask my lawyer, but I'm pro-se.

[ccsjoe]

Do you know your insurance start date? If it begins the month after your filing date, you are pretty safe to put it in J-Health Insurance with a footnote as to the beginning date. If after the discharge, then expected change is the way to go.

[rjmwx81]

Ok thanks. At this rate I'm going to have more "expected changes" than actual expenses but that's what happens when you live like a pauper for years at a time, I guess.

[tcreegan]

Hi rjmwx81,

Remember that I & J are forward looking, what will be happening post-BK Put the health insurance on the appropiate line, cut down the novel under "expected"

Amazing all the things you forget about on the downward spiral.....

Tom in Colo

[rjmwx81]

Thanks Tom. That's kind of what I was thinking. I just wasn't sure how far "forward looking" I could go. I plan on getting the insurance within a month or two of filing. The other "expected changes" won't be until the middle of next year...I have an alimony payment going away (uh-oh, more DMI!) but my rent will also be going up and I plan to increase my car insurance since I have kind of a high deductible. So my hope is that I'll show a very low, maybe negative DMI on the actual schedule, and then the expected changes will show that while the alimony is ending, I have other things I've been neglecting that I'll need to take care of so I still can't fund a 13.

That's assuming the UST looks all that closely at my I & J anyway...depending on how the median income changes in this next update, I should still be about $5-6K below the median, so I may just breeze on through. Still, the risk of being forced into a 13 has led to many sleepless nights!