Unexpected Tax Refund

[charmd]

We filed our 2008 and 2009 tax return in October 2010 and did not think I was getting a refund, but the IRS informed us we would be getting a refund on our 2008 return since we lost money in a business and calculated incorrectly. We filed Chapter 13 April 2010 and the plan was confirmed October 2010. I thought the refund would go to the Trustee, but we received a check in November for the full amount.
Should I contact the Trustee regarding the refund? I don't know if the IRS will report the amount to the Trustee's office. When we submitted our prior tax returns to the Trustee they had not been filed just completed and we were showing no refund.
Thanks for any insight.

[justbroke]

You should contact your attorney about what to do with the Refund. It is likely that it's not property of the estate since it wasn't earned during the period that you filed, but that's a legal distinction and argument. However, I'd still disclose it to your attorney.

[RunningMan]

I am in a simlar situation. I just received a small unexpected tax refund from the state for 2008. We filed our return late also. We filed our chapter 13 a month ago, and haven't been confirmed yet. I spoke to my attorney today. He asked what year it was for and said we could keep it. Your state or trustee may have different rules, so I would follow Justbroke's advice and talk to your attorney.

[charmd]

Thanks for both of your responses. I am in California too so maybe I can keep mine but will ask my attorney. Unfortunately, now that my case has been confirmed he is quite a bit harder to get a hold of and I leave messages with the receptionist and email, but I have not had a response yet.
I have the money saved and will just keep on trying to contact him. I just did not want the trustee to dismiss my case or something like that because he thinks I am hiding money? Don't know if that would even happen but I am a worrier!

[justbroke]

Worse case is the Trustee would demand that you turn it over. Anyhow, call the attorney's office everyday until they respond. If they are close by, just go their office and sit and wait for them. They are usually in court in the morning, so the afternoon usually works best.

[charmd]

Will do - Thanks!
I have been on a few other threads where you have given good advice- I understand you are not an attorney, but I posed another thread today regarding need advice for a request to remove stay- if you have a chance can you see if you have any advice for me?

[justbroke]

[QUOTE=charmd;486807I posed another thread today regarding need advice for a request to remove stay- if you have a chance can you see if you have any advice for me?[/QUOTE]I already did.

[1dayatatime]

Whenever we receive an unexpected decrease in expense or increase in income we immediately put the difference in savings. This insures that the money is available in case the attorney, whenever he gets back to us, tells us we have to pay it or surrender it. In the meantime our safety net has just gotten bigger and better. It usually works out in our favor, and the sense of security goes up immensely. Good luck!

[charmd]

Thanks-I have the tax return in savings right now and am just waiting to hear back- from what I can see in my paperwork the Trustee is not asking to see my future tax returns, but I thought from other postings that I have read the Trustee automatically gets notification from the IRS on everything with your SS# on it. I am waiting to hear back, but unfortunately I get the feeling that once your case is confirmed you are an after thought with your attorney.

[justbroke]

but unfortunately I get the feeling that once your case is confirmed you are an after thought with your attorney.

This is true, but you pay for case monitoring "in the plan", and a recent decision, at least here on the East Coast, has confirmed that they are your attorney and must address you so long as the case is active or they have asked to be removed from the case, whichever comes first.

Call them twice a day everyday until they get tired of all the messages, and finally call you back.

[charmd]

Will do- I am also keeping a copy of all my emails saved to a file and a log of my phone calls.