Questions about past spending and what trustee will look for...

[lalap123]

Will past spending on unnecessary items (ie, three to six months prior to filing) be an issue w/ the trustee? I'm not talking purchasing luxury goods or anything, but say we went out to eat too many times or bought the kids clothing at
Old Navy instead of the thrift store...will this be contested? In other words, do we need to wait to file until we can absolutely show nothing on our bank statement but bills, utilities, food, gas, and the like?

I thought they would assume that some people who file BK are doing so b/c they have lived over their means, so I wouldn't think they would hold it against you unless you were very frivilous...does anyone who has filed have experience w/ this?

[EricaCallaha]

They are looking for luxury things. As long as out to dinner isn't like over $100 bucks each time and you did it 8 times in 3 weeks...you should be fine. He know that you have to live, have birthdays, and that kids grow and need new clothes. You can't file for bankruptcy and live in Prada and Louis Vuitton, but Old Navy and Target are our friends.

Good luck.

[AngelinaCatHub]

I think you will be fine. Nothing over 600 bucks like a flat screen TV and such but remember, if asked, you did not plan to bk, it simply is the way it worked out. Clothing is an essential, food, utilities, etc. of this type are excused. So you went out to eat. You were working hard not to do bk, right? Therefore when do you have time to cook? Be concerned of course but not worried. Worry only digs a six foot hole one worry at a time. 'Hub

[TEW]

I don't think the courts give a damn what you spent your money on. It's the creditors that may object IF you bought something on a credit card with in the last 6 months. If you want a $100 dinner and can afford that the trustee is not going to even look for such a thing.
Don't pay any of your creditors unless it is secured credit more then $600 in 3 months
The trustee is looking for assets not how you managed your check book.

[TBW]

What about plane tickets and a hotel room on a debit card in Las Vegas? Family member getting married in Las Vegas and my wife and I are more than expected to go.

[Goat]

Is it true UST can look back 4 years on a self-employment CH7 case?!?

[jessegirl]

Will past spending on unnecessary items (ie, three to six months prior to filing) be an issue w/ the trustee? I'm not talking purchasing luxury goods or anything, but say we went out to eat too many times or bought the kids clothing at
Old Navy instead of the thrift store...will this be contested? In other words, do we need to wait to file until we can absolutely show nothing on our bank statement but bills, utilities, food, gas, and the like?

I thought they would assume that some people who file BK are doing so b/c they have lived over their means, so I wouldn't think they would hold it against you unless you were very frivilous...does anyone who has filed have experience w/ this?

You will be fine. What we did is take money out of the mac machine and then go out to dinner. But, I did use my debit card to go to dinner. We were never questioned about eating out. We eat out about 4 times a week and never had a problem. Just do not go an spend 100.00 bucks each clip. Again, take out the money to at times if you are nervous about it. My attorney allowed us 200.00 per month on the petition for clothes.

[AngelinaCatHub]

What about plane tickets and a hotel room on a debit card in Las Vegas? Family member getting married in Las Vegas and my wife and I are more than expected to go.

[banca rotta]

I don't think the courts give a damn what you spent your money on. It's the creditors that may object IF you bought something on a credit card with in the last 6 months. If you want a $100 dinner and can afford that the trustee is not going to even look for such a thing.
Don't pay any of your creditors unless it is secured credit more then $600 in 3 months
The trustee is looking for assets not how you managed your check book.

It's the US Trustee that may care. It's rare but some have even posted here that they have taken expensive vacations and when the UST looked back at the bank statements it was over. Here comes motion 707b!!!

$100 dinner one time won't matter but yes someone will check if they suspect the debtor is living a lavish lifestyle months before filing regardless of the means test results.

[TEW]

It's the US Trustee that may care. It's rare but some have even posted here that they have taken expensive vacations and when the UST looked back at the bank statements it was over. Here comes motion 707b!!!

$100 dinner one time won't matter but yes someone will check if they suspect the debtor is living a lavish lifestyle months before filing regardless of the means test results.

I guess we can find the exception to everything. of all the cases you have read about on here the ones that got in trouble there was THE REST OF THE STORY....

[SubPrimeME]

I have to tell you... There are a lot of ignorant people out there when it comes to what to do before a BK. My buddy recently told me that I should have bought 5 TV's before I filed, and he honestly thought you could do that?!? So I guess I am never surprised by what people think anymore. Anyways, I have no valid point to the thread other then to say 'educate thy self.'

[ready2puke]

I'm going to Vegas for two days for training on a new sales job. Havent been anywhere in 5 years (weekend). I will be paying cash for gas (cheaper than flying). Got a roomie that I dont even know and paying cash for my half of the room. Cash cash cash...

[SubPrimeME]

I'm going to Vegas for two days for training on a new sales job. Havent been anywhere in 5 years (weekend). I will be paying cash for gas (cheaper than flying). Got a roomie that I dont even know and paying cash for my half of the room. Cash cash cash...

OOh I hope your hotel room bed isn't like the one from 'Planes, Trains, and automobiles'......... Those aren't Pillows!!!

[TBW]

I have to tell you... There are a lot of ignorant people out there when it comes to what to do before a BK. My buddy recently told me that I should have bought 5 TV's before I filed, and he honestly thought you could do that?!? So I guess I am never surprised by what people think anymore. Anyways, I have no valid point to the thread other then to say 'educate thy self.'

Are you referring to my question about the family wedding in Las Vegas?

[welovedis]

Well, I guess I am the one out of the million that got singled out for living above our means and spending too much. The UST was involved in our case before our 341 and asked for bank statements & CC statements back 3 years. She specifically told our attorney that we went out to eat too much and spent too much on 2 vacations we took before we filed.

Well, before we filed, my DH was working lots of OT and that was taken away d/t to the economy. We didn't even plan on filing and didn't find this website until after we filed, believe me, if I had I wouldn't be heading down the CH 13 road. But then again, with our UST who knows?

The 2 vacations we took totaled less than $1K for BOTH of them. One was a family trip to Hersheypark and Washington DC where my FIL paid the majority of the expenses. The other was a weekend trip to NYC with my sister & her family where we took care of my mother's ashes from her cremation & we spent little there since we shared a hotel room and were extremely frugal. We stayed in NJ even! Because we used our debit card to pay for things, the UST could track everything we spent and used it against us.

The other issue she had a was a BT we made in June/July from one CC to our checking account. We then used that EXACT amt to pay off another CC with a higher interest rate. She questioned us (via our lawyer) about that repeatedly.

She was planning to file an objection when we decided to go ahead and convert to a CH 13 voluntarily. We showed $199 a month left over on our schedule J & that is exactly what we'll be paying back for the next 5 years (well a little less since we already started paying). My DH suffered a near nervous breakdown and had to be hospitalized on a psych unit because of the stress of the BK and the UST allegations.

We are just your average, normal people. I don't even own a Prada, Gucci or LV bag and never have. The most expensive purse I have is a Vera Bradley and that was less than $75! We don't spend more than $25-35 on dinners out, except for anniversaries and since we filed we have gone out to eat/gotten take out about 10 times. Since November.

I have talked to people in my area who are dealing with the same court (WNY district) and a good amount of them are running into the same issues. Most are being converted to CH 13 if they are showing anything over $100 remaining on their schedule J and are being accused of "overspending" in the eyes of the UST.

Anyway, I just want to say that sometimes bad things happen to good people and I think our case went that way. Others here will say that maybe we had something to hide (we didn't) or that we should have fought and fought our way thru the CH 7 (but my DH's health is more impt to me right now). All I can say is good luck & just be prepared in case of the worst.