Filing Pro Se Ch 7 Complicated questions - Please Help!

[amplifie]

Situation: I am divorced as of 2008 and have been living with my girlfriend in CA Central District for about 1 year now and share a checking account. We are NOT married. Her checks get direct deposited into the account. We also have a leased apartment together and expenses are shared. I am currently making 1900 per month on unemployment income and share physical custody of 2 childeren w/ my ex-wife.

Questions:
- Do I need to list my girlfriend's income as well in the means test and statement of financial affairs or can I get away w/ only listing my own?

- Is her money and belongings at risk?

-Will I be required to show copies of banks statements to the trustee?

- Am I able to list my 2 childeren as members of household?

- Am I able to completely disregard listing any information regarding my girlfriend since we are not married and could technically say we are roomates?

- Also, I have a vehicle worth 12000 and only owe 6700 on it. I believe its covered under CA system 2 Wildcard (unused homestead - I dont own a home). Will my financing company most likely try to take it and sell it even though Im making payments on it? What steps should I take to ensure its kept?

Wow - I thank anybody in advance for taking the time to help me! Its very appreciated!

[newbie2]

Situation: I am divorced as of 2008 and have been living with my girlfriend in CA Central District for about 1 year now and share a checking account. We are NOT married. Her checks get direct deposited into the account. We also have a leased apartment together and expenses are shared. I am currently making 1900 per month on unemployment income and share physical custody of 2 childeren w/ my ex-wife.

Questions:
- Do I need to list my girlfriend's income as well in the means test and statement of financial affairs or can I get away w/ only listing my own?

- Is her money and belongings at risk?

-Will I be required to show copies of banks statements to the trustee?

- Am I able to list my 2 childeren as members of household?

- Am I able to completely disregard listing any information regarding my girlfriend since we are not married and could technically say we are roomates?

- Also, I have a vehicle worth 12000 and only owe 6700 on it. I believe its covered under CA system 2 Wildcard (unused homestead - I dont own a home). Will my financing company most likely try to take it and sell it even though Im making payments on it? What steps should I take to ensure its kept?

Wow - I thank anybody in advance for taking the time to help me! Its very appreciated!

"Filing pro se" and "complicated" in the same sentence probably means you may want to consider hiring an attorney. There is also a pro se side to this board, so you may want to spend some time there reading about what others have done and gone through.

As far as your girlfriends income, my understanding is that "all household income" must be included. (I would think especially since you share a bank account that this isn't a typical tenant / roommate situation).

When you include your girlfriends income you can also back out what she does not contribute to the household.

As far as your children, do you claim them as dependants on your tax return? I'm not sure if that is a requirement or not, perhaps others will be able to chime in on it.

And yes, most trustees will want to see the most recent bank statements. It varies in districts, but expect to show your attorney and trustee at least one if not many months of bank statements.

[momofthree]

I'm also in the eastern district of CA and bank statements have never been requested of me.

As far as the car, you CAN exempt it, and the bank will not want to take it as long as you stay current on the payments.

[amplifie]

Thank you

Thanks for the input. She is switching over her direct deposit to another bank account and taking her name off mine. On the means test, I just put my half of the household expenses, along with my income. Even if we did combine our income, I would still qualify for ch 7. I figure however, we legally arent married and shouldnt be considered as one household. I mean if the trustee asks about it, I could just tell him "uh yeah, we broke up last month, so now were not a household, were just roomates." Right?

[music12]

first, don't make up stories for the trustee, they'll see right through it.

but you don't need to worry. if you can honestly state that your expenses are separate - say, you pay half the rent and she pays the other half - then you can just report half the rent as your rent and ignore the other half. even if you can't separate that clearly, the only portion of her income that you need to report is the portion she uses to cover household expenses. say she makes $2000 a month and pays $1500 in expenses (rent plus food plus utilities, say). then you only need to report the $1500 as household income. the other $500 don't appear on your petition.

[tdawg]

- Am I able to list my 2 childeren as members of household?

My attorney told me you can list both children regardless of the custody arrangement.

[amplifie]

Thank you

first, don't make up stories for the trustee, they'll see right through it.

but you don't need to worry. if you can honestly state that your expenses are separate - say, you pay half the rent and she pays the other half - then you can just report half the rent as your rent and ignore the other half. even if you can't separate that clearly, the only portion of her income that you need to report is the portion she uses to cover household expenses. say she makes $2000 a month and pays $1500 in expenses (rent plus food plus utilities, say). then you only need to report the $1500 as household income. the other $500 don't appear on your petition.

THank you for the answer. So if I am including a portion of her income as household, would I also include her and her son as members of the household as well?

[music12]

oh, that's more complicated. i don't know the answer. if you'll be under the median without including them as members of the household, then it wouldn't matter. however, if including them makes you under median when not including them makes you over the median, then it does matter. hopefully someone else here will help.