Hi all,
My attorney called us today to tell us that we failed the chapter 7 means test by approx $1250 a month, which is basically my income. It was suggested that I quit work for a few months (which is totally possible as my kids will be out of school for the Summer, so I will need to be home to take care of them) and then we could reassess our means test to see if we qualify for 7 (as the option for 13 gives us an exorbitant monthly trustee payment which is greater than even the disposable income calculated from our means test - makes no sense to me). The problem is, while my job will allow me the time off - we are dependent on my income to contribute to the family expenses.
Here is the catch. My husband recently took a side job position as a subcontractor with a company half way across the US. He has only had 2 jobs with them so far, with payouts of $750 and another expected payment of $3300 in the next few weeks. The question is, this is new income that has not been reported anywhere based on our paycheck stubs and tax returns. We have not deposited the checks - and no taxes have been taken out. My assumption is that there will be no record of any payments being made to him until the end of the year when the company files and provides him a 1099. As of now, the company says they would like to continue sending him work - but there is no guarantee that this opportunity will be ongoing.....
I'm just not sure what to do - should we go ahead and disclose this amount and further jeopardize our chances to qualify for 7, or should we just hold on to the checks and only cash them in dire emergency during the period I am not working? We absolutely do not live lavishly - but we do have expenses that are not covered through the means test, like our kids sports and even our student loan payments. I'm just not sure which risk is worse. Does anyone know when and how the trustees evaluate income, if they continue to evaluate income, and how they do it other than the 2 years of tax returns and the 6 months worth of paycheck stubs we submit with our filing paperwork?
Does anyone know from the business side if when providing checks from subcontractors, if any of that is reported before the end of the year before providing 1099s, and when the time comes to do so - is the time and amount of those checks itemized for the government, or is it a blanket amount provided to both the subcontractor and the government?
I hate sounding so shady, but we are weighing our options and trying to figure out how we can do this in the most manageable way possible. Thanks for the help.
My attorney called us today to tell us that we failed the chapter 7 means test by approx $1250 a month, which is basically my income. It was suggested that I quit work for a few months (which is totally possible as my kids will be out of school for the Summer, so I will need to be home to take care of them) and then we could reassess our means test to see if we qualify for 7 (as the option for 13 gives us an exorbitant monthly trustee payment which is greater than even the disposable income calculated from our means test - makes no sense to me). The problem is, while my job will allow me the time off - we are dependent on my income to contribute to the family expenses.
Here is the catch. My husband recently took a side job position as a subcontractor with a company half way across the US. He has only had 2 jobs with them so far, with payouts of $750 and another expected payment of $3300 in the next few weeks. The question is, this is new income that has not been reported anywhere based on our paycheck stubs and tax returns. We have not deposited the checks - and no taxes have been taken out. My assumption is that there will be no record of any payments being made to him until the end of the year when the company files and provides him a 1099. As of now, the company says they would like to continue sending him work - but there is no guarantee that this opportunity will be ongoing.....
I'm just not sure what to do - should we go ahead and disclose this amount and further jeopardize our chances to qualify for 7, or should we just hold on to the checks and only cash them in dire emergency during the period I am not working? We absolutely do not live lavishly - but we do have expenses that are not covered through the means test, like our kids sports and even our student loan payments. I'm just not sure which risk is worse. Does anyone know when and how the trustees evaluate income, if they continue to evaluate income, and how they do it other than the 2 years of tax returns and the 6 months worth of paycheck stubs we submit with our filing paperwork?
Does anyone know from the business side if when providing checks from subcontractors, if any of that is reported before the end of the year before providing 1099s, and when the time comes to do so - is the time and amount of those checks itemized for the government, or is it a blanket amount provided to both the subcontractor and the government?
I hate sounding so shady, but we are weighing our options and trying to figure out how we can do this in the most manageable way possible. Thanks for the help.
Comment