Filing this fall, how likely will trustee want receipts for tax refund purchases???

[lalap123]

Hi,
Filing later in the year - just got things worked out with my DH so that I can start the process and up to this point I was unsure if I would be filing at all. However, we got back a fairly large tax refund earlier in the year (around $4500) and did not save receipts for everything - mainly because nothing major was purchased, we were/are just using the money to pay for living expenses for the most part. Also b/c we weren't sure that I would be filing so it wasn't at the top of our list of things to do.

If I'm not filing until September how likely is the trustee to ask for receipts for what we used our tax refund for? I understand that he may ask how we spent it, and as long as the trustee/attorney can see this through our bank statements will we be okay? I mean, if I don't have all receipts for grocery store or clothing purchases what will happen? Could my case get dismissed just for this reason?

Thanks!

[JRScott]

If you file in the 3rd or 4th quarter of this year it is likely he'll not question the tax refund you got this year or where it went but be aware he will likely continue the case until after you receive your refund next year and then claim a portion of it if you can't exempt it.

Say for instance you expected a 1200 dollar refund next year. You filed Oct 1st of this year. That means 9 months of the refund belongs to the trustee, or approx 900 dollars.

[lalap123]

What if it is a joint refund but I'm filing individually?

I've read that in this case he can't touch my husband's portion and that he'll only get the portion of mine that isn't exempt (after it's pro-rated, I guess).

Also, don't some trustees NOT pursue the next year's tax refund? I've hardly worked at all this year so he should be able to see that the refund won't be as large as it has been in previous years...

[JRScott]

If it gets below a certain threshold determined by the Trustee (usually where he thinks it would take more time on his part than he'd get paid) then they surrender their interest in the tax refund.