Filing Chapter 7..What bills are we "allowed" to pay ?

[Coldplay]

We are going to be filing Chapter 7. We are dragging our feet a bit because we are going to surrender the house in the BK and we want our kids to finish out the school year here.

My question is this....What bills are we allowed to pay ?

We are reaffirming the one car loan we have. So we are current on that loan.

Our mortgage is 5 months past due. Not paying that.

I have a bill from my doctor for a hospital visit in Dec 2009 for $400.

Can I pay this Dr. bill ?

[DeadManCrawling]

Do you WANT to pay the Dr?

You do not have to, but if you want to make sure you can still see the Dr. you probably should pay them.

Yes, you can pay them. If you go over a total of $600 (I think thats the limit) the trustee could avoid the transfer and take the money to spread among creditors. I think this is less likely with something like a medical bill.

[Coldplay]

Do you WANT to pay the Dr?

You do not have to, but if you want to make sure you can still see the Dr. you probably should pay them.

Yes, you can pay them. If you go over a total of $600 (I think thats the limit) the trustee could avoid the transfer and take the money to spread among creditors. I think this is less likely with something like a medical bill.

Thank you. Yes, I want to pay him. I also have a payment for my daughter's braces coming up. That payment is $1800 ! Due all at once. Her braces cost $6000 and this is what is left to pay.

Can I pay that as well ?

[MrBankruptcy]

It's important to keep any creditors current if you want to continue using them. Just because you're in bankruptcy it doesn't mean you're supposed to stop paying your bills. You don't want to transfer any property or large sums of money as a trustee will ask for those back. But all your living expenses, car payments, gas, electric, cable, etc. if you want to keep a happy relationship with these people you need to continue paying them. This includes doctors. I don't think a doctor would allow you to come back if you included him in your bankruptcy.

[Coldplay]

It's important to keep any creditors current if you want to continue using them. Just because you're in bankruptcy it doesn't mean you're supposed to stop paying your bills. You don't want to transfer any property or large sums of money as a trustee will ask for those back. But all your living expenses, car payments, gas, electric, cable, etc. if you want to keep a happy relationship with these people you need to continue paying them. This includes doctors. I don't think a doctor would allow you to come back if you included him in your bankruptcy.

Thank you. I was confused about possibly creating a bias as to which creditors I was paying. My lawyer had suggested adding everything to the petition but we don't want to. Just because we are filing doesn't mean we don't want to make good on what we owe.

Thanks again.

[keepmine]

You are required to list all of your creditors. You can't pick and choose.
However, you are allowed to pay anyone you please post bk.

[blessed]

The $400 should be okay to pay without problem. I'm not sure about the $1800 and you should ask your attorney about that.

[Coldplay]

You are required to list all of your creditors. You can't pick and choose.
However, you are allowed to pay anyone you please post bk.

We have listed all of our creditors. I didn't add the braces because we told our lawyer we were paying him. We don't have credit with the dentist. It's just an open bill. Would the trustee's find out ?

[keepmine]

For sure the trustee will find out if he takes a close look at your bank statements.
Doesn't matter what you call the financial relationship. Open bill,etc. -the dentist is a creditor and needs to be listed.
Also, if you pay him over $600 within 90 days of filing that'll create a preference issue and the trustee could sue the dentist for the return of the money.
I'd not take a chance. List the dentist and tell him that you're filing bk and as soon as the bk is discharged, you'll start payments again.

[Coldplay]

For sure the trustee will find out if he takes a close look at your bank statements.
Doesn't matter what you call the financial relationship. Open bill,etc. -the dentist is a creditor and needs to be listed.
Also, if you pay him over $600 within 90 days of filing that'll create a preference issue and the trustee could sue the dentist for the return of the money.
I'd not take a chance. List the dentist and tell him that you're filing bk and as soon as the bk is discharged, you'll start payments again.

Our lawyer said we didn't have to add him if we didn't want to. Ugh. We haven't officially filed. I think we need a new BK lawyer.

Thank you.

[Meatstick]

Coldplay I think your situation is being way over analyzed to the point it has you second guessing your attorney. Many people have posted on these forums about paying large sums for medical/dental expenses when they are about to file. I have yet to hear of anyone complaining that the TT got all bent and went after any dentist for payments on orthodontics. For what its worth I just shelled out $2400 for my sons braces last month. I did so after asking our lawyer and he stated that it was an allowable expense and not to worry. I would also add that my son has a heart transplant and we have ongoing medical bills. Do you think any trustee or human being is going to get all bent because I will have about a $8k co-pay for his annual next month ??? Trust your lawyer.....................

[momofthree]

I agree with Meatstick, if your attny has okay'd it, then I'm sure it's fine. It is a medical expense, after all.

[keepmine]

Two points here:
The Op didn't want to list the dentist as a creditor.
Secondly, since they already owe money to the dentist, you may have a preference issue if you pay over $600 within 90 days of filing.Who knows if a trustee will act on it or not but, they'd have that right. All the OP needs to do is just delay filing if they want to pay it off before they file.
In Meatsticks example, you're paying medical expenses as they're incured. You don't have a debtor/creditor relationship. And, I'd agree that orthodontics and an insurance copay are acceptable expenses.