Do current student loan disbursements go to schedule I for income?

[pippen2012]

Do current student loan disbursements go to schedule I for income? I am currently a nontraditional part time student preparing to file bankruptcy in the next few weeks. My question is whether Department of Education loan disbursements go onto schedule I for income. I am told that they do not go to the means test calculation and that the means test does not need to match schedule I. If I leave them off of schedule I then schedule j line 20 will show a balance of apx -$700 per month.

I fear that I may end up with a dismissal if I put this down wrong. Also I cannot afford an attourney and do not believe that my constitutional right to file bankruptcy should be infringed upon by the nature of my economic situation. It seems absurd that a person could be too poor to file bankruptcy.

[HHM]

I can't resist "nontraditional part time student" = Slacker

Student loans are not income.

But you need to disclose them, the loan proceeds go on Schedule B as an asset. But here is the problem, if you get an aggressive trustee, they may try to take advantage of you if you file without an attorney.

If you actually have income, you CAN afford an attorney. The problem is, most attorneys in your likely price range aren't prepared to handle any sort of fight.

[pippen2012]

The disbursment is already spent and is no longer an asset.

I think that the federal college loan disbursement cannot be an asset as it is already spent.

Also, not putting them to income on I would leave me with a negative (-) $700 per month balance on schedule J. Putting it as income on I would mean that income on I does not match income on the means test.

The proceeds of the department of education loan were disbursed in early february and spent on appropriate bills and living expenses. If I file in April I will have only overpaid two two weeks of rent for early May. A $1,538 tax return was recieved in late Feb and spent towards a $2250 2001 Kia Rio in early March. The clutch in my 1991 Toyota Corolla was failing. It needed a list of repairs that far exceeded its value. I sold it in early March for $600 which is less than half of its market value. I have also purchased $850 in Kayak Equipment as tools of the trade. I am legitimately an outdoor guide and kayak instructor in the Summer. The timing of purchases is college loans spent on rent, food stock, and summer work equipment;tax return spent toward reliable transportation. Current expenses are met by unemployment.

Colorado does not have generous exemptions and I can expect the trustee to salivate over my tax return. I am willing to risk losing the amount of the tax return. I am leary of getting a dismissal for filing crucial items incorrectly or for the vague notion of "excessive bankruptcy preplanning".


Being an outdoor guide is hard demanding work. There is very little time off. It is hard, demanding, highly enjoyable work. In fact, I would say that at times it is excruciatingly fun. People who work in a cubicle every day- they are who I have respect for. Mundane tasks. Bitter office politics. Preassure. You office dwellers, you are the real heroes....

-Slacker

[HHM]

am leary of getting a dismissal for filing crucial items incorrectly or for the vague notion of "excessive bankruptcy preplanning".

There is very little time off. It is hard, demanding,

That means you need to hire an attorney.

The thing is, you need to disclose the student loans somehow. I can't really coach you on how "specifically" this works, student loans (loan proceeds in general) are NOT income, but the student loans go on schedule B.

[pippen2012]

HHM,

I am unable to afford an atourney. Do I have your permission to repost this item in the Pro Se thread? I think that it could be more appropriate in that place.

Pippen

[HHM]

You may if you want, but doing so won't really change anything. This is more of a student loan issue than a pro se issue.

[dumpinmydebt]

We filed pro se and listed our disbursements as "cash assets."

BTW, we are BOTH nontraditional part time students. My husband works 50 hours a week and goes to school part time (which involves 16+ hours in labs per week). I work part time and volunteer, and go to school part time. We both have high GPA's. In no way are we "slackers." We just can't afford to quit work and go to school full time (nor would we want to.) To say we are slackers is just plain ignorant.

[stratos]

Loans aren't income; they're debts. If you've spent the loan proceeds, they aren't assets either. It sounds like you have negative income, so your schedule would reflect that. If you took out a $500 loan on a credit card to pay for school (or anything else), you wouldn't list that as income, right?

[pippen2012]

Thank you both for each of your response. I think so as well. It looks as though I will clearly list the few dollars remaining from my Dept of Ed account as a cash asset on B and then end up with negative income on line 20 of schedule J. It just looked odd to have an apx negative $700 earnings on the balance sheet portion. I am looking for a place to list the amount of disbursement somewhere else in the packet. I may have some luck in obtaining help from Colorado Legal Services but if not I think you are right. This is the way to list that item.

As far as the term slacker goes I have unrevealed thoughts about it. I have never been a slacker. The senator for my home state shot down a proposal that would offer pell grants to nontraditional students disaffected by economic change. I would be a full time student if possible. Being a science major with good grades at a major university is by no means slacking. I work exceedingly hard at improving my circumstances so that I will have more to offer others in the science/med /psych disciplines. I do support the verbage of slacking. If a person worked fifty hours a week with great effort and spends the rest of his or her time with family and self is this person a slacker? I think that the sociatally normalized cunsumer addiction of my ex as well as my support in it, the need to keep up with the Joneses and the credit trap itself are all part of a design to rob us of our free will. Like an African monkey trap- the monkey will not release the nut to free his hand even on pain of death.

So I support the verbage of "slacking" because for me it represents a lost ideal. I want to make my cake and then eat it. What is the cake there for? To look at? Or to be eaten?

Once my situation is better and education is in hand I will be living a well balanced life again.

[pippen2012]

Congratulations

Also congratulations on your discharge dumpinmydebt!!!!!