Can I keep my windfall?

[Pinktiger]

Until you are discharged, you can still amend your petition. My advice is to call the bankruptcy court clerk and tell them you need to amend your petition and need assistance doing so; then amend the petition. Another thing you could do is contact your trustee directly and tell them the facts and that you didn't think you were getting anything and forgot to put down the information.
They will be more lenient since you didn't have a lawyer. Don't let them scare you, and since the amount is exempt anyway, you are fine. You indicate you aren't sitting on a pile of money and assets; this will not hurt you.

[bkfiler]

a bk attorney charging $500 by the hour eh? wow. and $1500 up front. wow. sounds like a injury attorney fee schedule. glad you didnt pick him lol.

you got an attorney at that time? what happened to that attorney?

i wouldnt worry worry over this. we are just trying to let you know the problems you migh thave created. nothing at all might happen and for that amount they will probably just make you pay some of it back if anything at all anways, worst case. its too small amount for them to worry about as well.

how can he find out about it? who knows, we dont all know how records are kept. audits are done for them and who knows what records they colelct looking for fraud.

the chances of anything happening is slim imo. if you want then go amend your schedules while you case is still open to cover the exemption. you can explain what happened and see what they say, if they ask.

[bkfiler]

They will be more lenient since you didn't have a lawyer.

Don't let them scare you

i disagree, trustees are bigger bastards when you dont have an attorney to protect you. they take advantage of you in general. in this case like i said you havae the exemptions available so cant take it imo. and doubt he's gonna file fraud charges fo rthis since you would be bringing it to his attention. thats my opinion anyway. $2K is not enough to make you a $500K crook trying to hide cash.

who is doing the scaring in your comment? i hope you mean thet trustee and not us. we are trying to help her understand whats going on. im pretty sure you meant the trustee.

[StaciMM]

I was talking about the bk attorneys, and they do charge by the hour. The fees I was quoted were way out of my budget.

They may have resorted to this due to the high demand before the new laws went into effect.

Hey, I never meant to break the law, and am terrified at this point of opening a nasty can of worms.

You lied on your bankruptcy petition, where it specifically asks about suits pending. You may have meant no harm, but fraud in bankruptcy is not always a question of good or bad intentions.

How could the trustee find out about this, if he were to dig?

The odds are probably in your favor, but nothing is absolute.


In the end, you're the one that has to live with your decision. Amending should be pretty simple-would require you to re-do 3 forms most likely-the bk court clerk can tell you if you need to do anything else. Or you can keep quiet, hope for the best, and wonder & worry for the next year +. (I added the plus as the clock doesn't start until the case is closed.)

[Pinktiger]

My point was.....

I was talking about the courts being scary, not the forum. My point is she should come clean about it and it will stop her from worrying. Also, there is much to be gained by taking care of this before discharge.

The part about leniency? If you talk to the trustee about the issue (most likely their clerks, in truth) they will have to help you. I have seen the trustees get really down on folks who don't have attorneys, but in truth they do not go after them more, at least not around here (Western Missouri). My trustee is a jerk, but he can only do what the law allows.

[bkfiler]

I was talking about the courts being scary, not the forum. My point is she should come clean about it and it will stop her from worrying. Also, there is much to be gained by taking care of this before discharge.

The part about leniency? If you talk to the trustee about the issue (most likely their clerks, in truth) they will have to help you. I have seen the trustees get really down on folks who don't have attorneys, but in truth they do not go after them more, at least not around here (Western Missouri). My trustee is a jerk, but he can only do what the law allows.

i agree with you and staci about changing the forms now maybe instead of later if she is going to worry about it.

i do undertand what you mean about the trustee/staff 'helping' part. let me add to it like this: if the trustee sees money to be gained then the bastard aint gonna help at all, or lot less likley to help you out of it, and if you had an attorney then they are less likely to come get stuff from you that is kinda marginal to some degree. in this case howeer, she can exempt it so imo nothing to worry about maybe.

[Callie]

Thanks for the advice and heads-up. This is a lot to think about, and I think I need to sleep on it.

Believe me, the bk process is embarassing enough without having to get caught in inadvertent fraud.

[Callie]

Worst case scenario, I can cash the check at a check cashing place, and put it away in case I need bail money. LOL

[bkfiler]

i wouldnt be embarrased about filing a bk.

if you decide to amend the forms let us know how it turns out.

you aint going to need bail money. i can almost guarantee that.

[Pinktiger]

While you aren't likely to get caught cashing the check and putting it in your account ($3,000 is the common tipping point for alerting the feds, but $5000 or $10,000 more likely), it would be a good idea to start thinking about being more responsible for your own destiny now. This is the way I have tried to look at it, now that I'm bankrupt. I'm trying to change my patterns so this doesn't happen to me again. Lying to myself about money issues was one of my patterns, and not taking care of problems when they were small enough to deal with was another.

[SinkingFast]

I was talking about the bk attorneys, and they do charge by the hour. The fees I was quoted were way out of my budget.

That's kinda what we are running into here. The attnys have a contract for the BK. It lays out exactly what they will do for the basic fees they charge associated with filing the BK. Then they cite examples of "specific, but not limited to" situations that may arise during the course of your case. The attny will gladly handle those as well, but you must contract for them for additional charges. And then they quote their hourly rate.

[JimH]

I personally wouldn't inform the trustee about this until talking with an atty. Even if it was forgotten by you when you filed (not very believable), he will use it to his advantage. If it truly is exempt, then you should have nothing to worry about and should amend your filing.

[Callie]

You all have been so wonderful. Thank you for all of the great advice!

[Callie]

Lying to myself about money issues was one of my patterns, and not taking care of problems when they were small enough to deal with was another.

I hear you loud and clear! Ignoring the problems when they were small was what got me into this financial mess. I have definitely learned my lesson!

Oh, last week, I got an ad in the mail from a car dealership. "Since your bankruptcy has not discharged yet, it's not too late for you to get a $25,000 car loan". I couldn't help but laugh all the way to the trash can

[StaciMM]

I get car offers almost every day in the mail. And I'm not exagerating! Today, one came from a dealership in 'Ducktown, TN'. Is there such a place? And why would I go there to buy a vehicle, I'm in GA! The funniest part is it was a Dodge/Chrysler dealership and we surrendered a Dodge vehicle that was financed thru Chrysler.