Savings

[ssmdem]

Don't worry about money transferred from over from savings. There's a paper trail there - so that wouldn't counted as income. That's just an asset that was used - nothing wrong with that.

[doomed]

Thanks! I'm just worried they'll not like how it was used. We did act stupidly. We only made a fraction of our previous income and I was having to dip into savings VERY often and I wasn't always using it just for bills. I did stupid things

[ohiojewel]

Thanks! I'm just worried they'll not like how it was used. We did act stupidly. We only made a fraction of our previous income and I was having to dip into savings VERY often and I wasn't always using it just for bills. I did stupid things

Many people file bk due to unemployment, excessive medical bills or other unforeseen circumstances. Others file bk because they made unwise choices. I am in that second category. I got involved in online gaming/gambling which quickly spiraled out of control.

Even after filing, I still hadn't completely learned my lesson. I was still playing at a website where I was mostly just losing money or sometimes breaking even if lucky. I've since closed the account at the site and am one month completely gamble-free.

I once had credit scores in the high 700's. I can't change my past choices. I can only learn from my mistakes and work to not repeat them in the future.

Julie

[doomed]

Many people file bk due to unemployment, excessive medical bills or other unforeseen circumstances. Others file bk because they made stupid choices. Like you, I am in that second category. I got involved in online gaming/gambling which quickly spiraled out of control.

Even after filing, I still hadn't completely learned my lesson. I was still playing at a website where I was mostly just losing money or sometimes breaking even if lucky. I've since closed the account at the site and am one month completely gamble-free.

I once had credit scores in the high 700's. I can't change my past choices. I can only learn from my mistakes and work to not repeat them in the future.

Julie

Julie, thank you for sharing your story. I'm glad to hear that you are doing better! My score also was in the 700's before my job got cut.

We do have tons of medical bills and losing our house to file for, but I just lost my mind and was out of control with our spending when I should of been curbing it. I feel so dumb, but what can I do? Just hope the court doesn't punish me further by refusing to let me file.

[researchnerd]

Well I talked to a lawyer today and i'm confused. He's saying they won't even look at my bank statements.. wtf, why wouldn't they? And if not, how woudl they know I paid my in laws back (insider payment?)

My attorney said the same thing. We filed Ch13 in May and then a conversion to Ch7 last week, and so far nobody has requested anything other than last year's tax return and 60 days worth of pay statements. After reading stuff here, I asked my attorney specifically, on two separate occasions, whether there was anything I should or shouldn't be spending money on during the BK. He said no, and that the Trustee only "rarely" checks bank statements. I'm still trying to limit spending to reasonable necessities, just in case we are the rare case that gets audited, but my attorney seemed quite certain it wouldn't be an issue.

[tcreegan]

Thanks, I appreciate the answer. How far back in your bank statements do they usually look?

Also, will they deny your chapter 7 if they don't like your spending habits? With all thats been going on, I went through a long phase where I barely paid bills and blew money. Not because I knew we'd file bankruptcy, but because I lost control.. I've tried to get it together recently, but with the foreclosure.... yeah

I have read on the forum that trustees wanted to see bank statements from none to 2 yrs with 2-6 months being average.

They are not looking for spending habits, they are looking for large amounts and where they are going. The transfers from savings will not look like more income, the statement will show it was transferred. Your spending habits go on Schedule J, and they should reflect the reality now and looking into the future.

They can't "deny" a chap 7 unless you fail the means test or have enough income to do a chap 13 instead. If you are below the median income of your state, you are OK.

Take a deep breath.....

Tom in Colo

[doomed]

Thanks Tom! We blew through our savings after stopping paying several of our credit cards and our mortgage, and that's really my worry, but it sounds like they can't deny me anyway. For my mental health, I don't care if they take the rest of my savings. I am just suffocated with fear over all of this