Has anyone had to turn in a budget to atty for the month of filed?

[TXFowlerfan]

Our attorney has requested this and I'm not sure what for. My concern is that the expenses I list will be the ones used for the means test. If this is the case, it may be a problem because my unemployment has run out and still no job. I won't even have the money to pay the IRS standard for food, much less make pay my car payment...Has anyone else had to do this?

[Recessionist]

Yes, it is normal to create a budget as part of the planning process. Ask your lawyer what he/she plans to use it for, specifically. In a Chapter 7 Case, it is quite normal for expenses to exceed income. Search for "expenses" in this board for all kinds of great additional information, including links to help you calculate correctly and thoroughly.

The more information your lawyer has, the better job he/she can do to help you. The biggest mistake in filing is omitting information - whether you meant to or not.

[TXFowlerfan]

thanks for the quick response...I guess I'm wondering if I should be listing expenses that I normally would spend (the max allowable IRS standard is pretty close to what we would spend monthly like clothing, eating out, entertainment, etc...) or be more realistic since we won't have the money for any of that anyway?? We are already about $1700 negative for the month as it is...Just worried that if I don't list them, they won't be included as expenses...and I did email attorney this, just haven't heard back yet...

[Recessionist]

I am not the best person to ask, but I will share some resources I have found through members of this board:

http://www.ca-bankruptcy-attorneys.c...alculator.html

http://askmethner.com/?p=109


Your attorney can tell you a great deal more about the trustees in your area and how they look at things. Some say Cable and Netflix are ok, others say they are luxuries - that kind of thing.

[TXFowlerfan]

just to let you know...heard back from the atty today...said she needed to know everything we would "normally" spend in on a monthly basis...not really specific to the month we actually file...so...that has put my mind at ease...thanks for the feedback...