Question about jobs/background checks during/after filing Ch 7

[music12]

lol, ok you are right music12, I am just trying to err on the conservative side.

But since the money won't affect the means test, I am not sure of the benefit out outright lying about it. Of course if the question is never asked by the trustee, there is no reason to offer the information up.....

i agree with both you and the person's lawyer, even though one says to say yes and the other says to say no.

oh, i wish it were friday, my brain is fried!

[bankruptsee]

This is what happened to a person at my 341

Trustee asked, "Do you agree or affirm that the information provided on your petition is true to the best of you knowledge. And has anything changed since filing?"

Person said, "no, I started to recieve a pension"

Trustee asked, "Did your income go up or down?"

Person: "Up, $2600/month"

Trustee: "Ok, your expenses show that you don't need that much to live on... ok"

Now I don't know what happened with that but I suspect that the Trustee had issues with him retiriing while in bk. Since he said he was just "unemployed" at the time of filing.

I suspect a ch13 in his future

[backtoschool]

This is what happened to a person at my 341

Trustee asked, "Do you agree or affirm that the information provided on your petition is true to the best of you knowledge. And has anything changed since filing?"

Person said, "no, I started to recieve a pension"

Trustee asked, "Did your income go up or down?"

Person: "Up, $2600/month"

Trustee: "Ok, your expenses show that you don't need that much to live on... ok"

Now I don't know what happened with that but I suspect that the Trustee had issues with him retiriing while in bk. Since he said he was just "unemployed" at the time of filing.

I suspect a ch13 in his future

a $2600 a month increase in income is quite a bit, but I am not sure how much of that income would count against the exemptions and the means test, since it started after he filed.

Of course the filer probably knew when he would be getting a pension when he filed, so there seems to be a presumption of abuse that would not be there when a person lands a job that they applied for (a job is not guaranteed, a pension is....)

I am not sure what the filer could have done in this situation. Not answering the question is withholding significant financial information which is fraud and answering the question pissed off the trustee.

Not sure why the filer's lawyer didn't advise him to start collecting his pension AFTER discharge.

Interesting case... I still would have answered the question honestly, but that is just me. I would rather be pushed into a 13 then go to prison for bankruptcy fraud or have my petition dismissed.

Again, just my opinion.....

[jribe]

yes, but perjury can be a relative term if the person answering the question understands its meaning differently, especially if they understand it based on what their lawyer told them. following your lawyer's advice cannot be held against you.

also, you are under oath at the 341, but what if the trustee asks "how are you"? do you tell the truth???? i don't think so! i think my trustee asked me that question. my answer was "fine." but hey, that was an outright lie. so, sue me!

that's really not correct. it is every person's responsibility to the laws. If you lie under oath, you can't just say "but my lawyer told me"... and it will be alright. The judge will still hold the person liable.

[lalap123]

Okay, a clarification and another question

Why do the trustees ask this question if they are not going to consider future changes of income as part of the equation?? I don't know if I'm willing to go to my 341 and tell the trustee that, although it looks like I can't pay my bills right now in the next month I will be getting another $5000 a month! I'm sure that there's a way that they could maybe work someone into a chapter 13 with that information...

But, if you all are correct then the only thing I should worry about is if for some reason my case gets delayed or dismissed for some reason outside of my control (ie, attorney didn't get paperwork in on time or the calculations are somehow screwed up or something). If that happens, then I could see why it would have been better to wait to take a job (especially a good paying one) until after or very close to discharge!

[metz999]

From my understanding, more and more companies are checking credit when it comes to jobs. A year ago I applied for a job in socal that I was perfectly qualified for and was rejected due to my bad credit file. This was even before my BK showed up. They even sent me a copy of the credit report. My inteview went very well and I believe they would have hired me if it wasn't for my credit issues. The job had nothing to do with handling money and was not a govt job. Then I was able to get a similiar job from a company that did not check credit. So I guess the best thing to do is seek out employers who do not use credit issues to disqualify an applicant.

As a sidenote, I just found out I am losing the best job of my life in 1 month (about the same time my BK is discharged) and will join the millions looking for work. I don't think it's right that credit can have such a profound effect on your life but sometimes you just have to roll with it. I still consider myself extremely fortunate and will make it one way or another.

[backtoschool]

From my understanding, more and more companies are checking credit when it comes to jobs. A year ago I applied for a job in socal that I was perfectly qualified for and was rejected due to my bad credit file. This was even before my BK showed up. They even sent me a copy of the credit report. My inteview went very well and I believe they would have hired me if it wasn't for my credit issues. The job had nothing to do with handling money and was not a govt job. Then I was able to get a similiar job from a company that did not check credit. So I guess the best thing to do is seek out employers who do not use credit issues to disqualify an applicant.

As a sidenote, I just found out I am losing the best job of my life in 1 month (about the same time my BK is discharged) and will join the millions looking for work. I don't think it's right that credit can have such a profound effect on your life but sometimes you just have to roll with it. I still consider myself extremely fortunate and will make it one way or another.

That's horrible about losing the job to the credit check. I have never had this happen and I worked for some conservative companies. I guess there are even MORE conservative companies out there which sucks. It's definitely a matter of corporate culture, and I would not want to work for a company that uses credit as a criteria for non money related jobs.

Also, remember, employers don't always give you the real reason you are not hired. Have you checked your references, and all your background info to make sure it is coming out the way you think it is?

I am sorry you are about to lose a good job. This economy sucks.

[music12]

that's really not correct. it is every person's responsibility to the laws. If you lie under oath, you can't just say "but my lawyer told me"... and it will be alright. The judge will still hold the person liable.

i actually agree, but then what on earth are these lawyers doing advising people this way??

[Flamingo]

I'm hoping to file chapter 7 by November 1. Right now I'm barely working but have been looking around at jobs getting ready to start seriously applying in the next few weeks.

First off, I know that anything that happens after the filing date cannot be counted in your petition. However, what worries me is that the trustee asks that question at the 341 about your financial situation changing in the near future. What if, by that point, I've accepted a job making $50K a year...would that potentially change my situation and would I then be thrown into a chapter 13? I don't know why they would ask that question unless that was the intention.

Also, the job that I'm hoping to apply for requires a background check. Does anyone know for sure what percentage of the time a background check includes a credit check? (It's a government job.) If so, does HR just pull your credit score or do they pull and look over your entire report?

Thanks so much.

As to your last paragraph, when you fill out an employment application, the paragraph above your signature on the form will indicate if they will run a background check and/or credit check (both are now almost always done by all employers). When you sign, you agree to allow them to do that. The same for drug testing as that will also be mentioned or you will also be advised by the interviewer. It's best just to assume they are going to run both. When they pull your credit reports, they review the entire credit report, not just your credit score.

[aljohnson007]

If this is your first Gov't job, they will pull your CR and do a background check. Even the military checks your credit during the pre-qualification stage. If the job requires a security clearance (most do) it may have some weight but each case is decided on it's own merit.