US trustee wants to base payment amount

[Ruthanned1]

on "future earnings" we r a family of four with a seven month old and a two year old. can i list all of our projected expenses? ie..tires for my car, car insurance premium, maintenance, gas, we will bw needing carseats soon. then i need to have my tubes tied !! just wondering if anyone knows ....also r there any special exclusins for the ages of our children ? ie..daycare is 1000 a month which is already accounted for . but there are lots of other misc expenses..ie formula, diapers , baby food...etc?

[momofthree]

As a family of 4, you are permitted $1371/mo for food, clothing, and "other expenses." The expenses you listed would count in either food (for food/formula) or the "other" category.

You are allowed to apply for an additional 5% for food/clothing if you can prove the expense, which would only be an additional $50 per month--enough to cover diapers/wipes at least.

I posted this in the other reply to you, but I'll post it again for others who are reading it: http://www.justice.gov/ust/eo/bapcpa..._standards.htm

[lrprn]

can i list all of our projected expenses?

Unfortunately you aren't allowed to list anticipated expenses, no matter how positive you are they will be in your family's future.

To claim some of the expense examples you listed, the expenses or loan payments would have to be ongoing and already be in place on filing day.

also r there any special exclusins for the ages of our children ? ie..daycare is 1000 a month which is already accounted for . but there are lots of other misc expenses..ie formula, diapers , baby food...etc?

Anything that is a regular purchase before you file can be counted as an expense up to what's allowed in your local court. Now as your children age, some trustees may make a note to come back and check on your expenses again. Luckily the expenses for children tend to shift, not disappear, as they grow older and overall expense levels tend to remain somewhat constant.

If you haven't had your 3-4 free initial consultations with experienced bk lawyers in your area yet, it's time to make those appointments. Bring along all the questions you've asked here along with any others you are wondering about. You'll get a good idea of what's going to be possible to do when you file, and what you can't. Keep us posted about what you find out, ok? Good luck!

[jenbow]

Thanks for this infor.. and can I ask that the link you sent says that a household for 2 has about $1000 for food and other expenses.. so does this include items such as cell phones, house alarm, basic cable, entertainment costs, etc??

[krielly]

We were allowed to budget for a new roof that we knew we would need during our 5 year plan. We took the estimated cost and divided it up into months and put this under home maintenance.

We also were able to do the same for new tires, oil changes, etc. (Live in VT, so we need to buy both winter and summer tires)

The trustee did not question this at all. I think it all depends on your trustee, but I wouldn't assume that it won't be allowed. Your attorney should be able to advise you.

K

[MSbklawyer]

I respectfully disagree with the posters below. In most circuits you are allowed to budget for reasonably certain future expenses -- just as you are required to budget for reasonably certain increases in your income. Quoting the 5th Circuit in In Re Nowlin, 576 F.3d 258 (2009)


The tricky part, of course, is getting any two lawyers -- your lawyer, the trustee, the judge -- to agree on which future events are reasonably certain.