Employer Stock Purchase Plans

[BKdinOhio]

Who knows how Employer Stock Purchase Plans or Stock Options are treated in BK?

I have $902.88 in purchased stocks. Currently there is $303.76 saved from payroll deductions, then at the end of every 6 month period those accumulated funds are used to purchase employer company stock.

How would these be treated? are they protected? if not I assume I could cash out and use towards an atty ?

[pa308]

Is it considered a qualified plan under ERISA?

[uofaguy]

I don't believe Employer SPP funds are protected (i.e. I'm pretty confident they would have to be turned over to your BK estate/trustee). My company has an SPP to which I was contributing. Before filing BK7, I stopped the contributions (and my company refunded my current period's contribution at that point) and used the proceeds to pay an attorney. I would just be certain to be able to account for how you spent the funds in case there are any questions by the Trustee.

[Flamingo]

Employer Stock Option Purchase Plans are just a benefit to employees who can utilize payroll deductions to have a selected portion of their pay put toward the purchase of company stock. All you are doing is purchasing company stock conveniently through your employer as a perk instead of coming up with full share price and purchasing through a broker. That stock is held in your name (may be put in an ETrade or similar account which is available online) and you can sell it at any time unless the window to do so is closed for employees owning stock to sell or buy. Therefore, it is an asset to you. As uofaguy states, if you decide to use the amount in yours to pay for your attorney, ensure that amount is documented that it was applied for that purpose and make sure your attorney knows all about it.

[wtu]

There is a qualified Employer Stock Option Plan ("ESOP") that is governed by ERISA and might not be includable. You should check with your employer regarding what kind of plan they have set up. A qualified ESOP would not accept employee contributions, it would be an annual allocation of employer stock or cash. The rules are complicated.

[BKdinOhio]

There is a qualified Employer Stock Option Plan ("ESOP") that is governed by ERISA and might not be includable. You should check with your employer regarding what kind of plan they have set up. A qualified ESOP would not accept employee contributions, it would be an annual allocation of employer stock or cash. The rules are complicated.

Okay, I have to contribute to our plan to buy the stock on a semi-annual basis.

It's no big deal for me. I'll probably use it to either help pay for an atty or towards a house/apartment 1st months rent and security deposit prior to filing; since we plan on surrendering the house.

[AngelinaCat]

We were asked if we owned any stocks or bonds at our 341.