How negative can I be with my expenses?

[so-beyond-broke]

Hello:

When you are figuring your monthly expenses for the purposes of the pre-bk counseling and on your schedules on the bk paperwork, how much of a negative balance can you have without drawing any red flags? Is for instance $-200 excessive? The point I am trying to make here is that I want the courts to see that I have absolutely no income left over to pay my creditors. Just by the courts looking at my declining gross income over the years should be an indicator that I am living on the edge of now poverty for a family my size and location.

How negative were you and were there any problems with your schedules?

Thanks

sbb

[aa06a47]

Hello:

When you are figuring your monthly expenses for the purposes of the pre-bk counseling and on your schedules on the bk paperwork, how much of a negative balance can you have without drawing any red flags? Is for instance $-200 excessive? The point I am trying to make here is that I want the courts to see that I have absolutely no income left over to pay my creditors. Just by the courts looking at my declining gross income over the years should be an indicator that I am living on the edge of now poverty for a family my size and location.

How negative were you and were there any problems with your schedules?

Thanks

sbb

My only advice, is be truthful. The means testing / ect / is where they will determine if your chapter 13 or chapter 7. Except some belt tightening during your BK if your forced into chapter 13.

If your are below the medium income, I believe you can still file a chapter 7 without a problem.

[Bronte]

I was -$75.00 and had no problems.

[SinkingFast]

It's really gonna depend on the area and the Court.

I haven't seen any negatives here at all. Attnys we had Consults with all "adjusted" our expenses to what they knew the Courts would expect to see. By the time they get done adjusting, We go from negative or near zero, to $100-$150/month.

Except the one attny we saw. Even tho he marked Ch 7 on the corner of our paperwork, he was actively working for us to be a 13.

I think, if you go in under the Median in income, attnys here still think the Court will decided if you're 7 or 13. One attny slashed our food budget from $1085/month that I'd written down to $700/month. He said we'd never get $1100/month passed the Court. According to the IRS schedules, a family of 5 is allowed $1084/month for food. With other expenses he cut as well, it was obvious he was trying to show some hugely inflated disposable income amount. I guess he was thinking if he couldn't take us in as a 13, the Court would make us convert to a 13 some way.

[djk]

i was unemployed at the time i filed and showed a negative of ~ $700 a month. i started a job shortly before the 341 and sent an email to the trustee with the new figures that showed me ~ $10 positive. the trustee in effect discharged my case the day of the 341 and pacer now shows waiting to be closed. i still need to send the court my final installment payment and the debt education certificate.