Conflicting Dates on UST Statement of Presumed Abuse

[researchnerd]

We converted our Ch13 case to a Ch7 in July, and had our 341 at the end of August. The UST was not present. On 9/3, my attorney told me the UST had requested (via email) some additional information, including pay statements, bank statements, documentation of monthly expenses, and a letter explaining the circumstances of our conversion. I provided all of these to my attorney on 9/9.

I checked PACER this morning and found that a UST Statement of Presumed Abuse was filed on 9/7. It was in the system on that date and is date-stamped across the top. However, the text of the document reads:

Clerk's Notice Re: United States Trustee's Statement of Presumed Abuse
You are hereby notified that:
The United States Trustee has reviewed all materials filed by the debtor and has determined
that the debtor's case is presumed to be an abuse under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(2).
Dated: September 27, 2010

As I understand it, the UST has 30 days from the date of the statement of abuse to withdraw or file a motion to dismiss. But which date is the date of the statement? 9/7 or 9/27?

I don't know if this matters, but the original conversion documents specifically say there is no presumption of abuse, and we have also received the Ch7 Trustee's Report of No Distribution and an Order that this case is not subject to dismissal under 521(i)(1).

I am not terribly surprised by the fact that we received this - we are about $50k over median, but we do pass the means test in part 3. Since the Statement of Presumed Abuse was actually filed on 9/7, before they had received my documentation, is it maybe just an automatic response to our being so far over median? Is there any way to tell why the UST filed it, and address these reasons? I looked up 11 U.S.C. § 707(b) but there are a million sub-paragraphs so it's not much help.

[tcreegan]

Hi researchnerd,

Remember that what shows on PACER was entered by a court human person.

The UST wouldn't be doing their job if they didn't look into a filing 50K over median.

If you, your lawyer, and trustee don't have any problems with your filing, the UST presumption is probably just a formality.

You can call the court clerk about the discrepancy in dates, or have your atty look into it.

Hopefully this is just a hiccup on your road to a fresh start!

Tom in Colo

[backtoschool]

We converted our Ch13 case to a Ch7 in July, and had our 341 at the end of August. The UST was not present. On 9/3, my attorney told me the UST had requested (via email) some additional information, including pay statements, bank statements, documentation of monthly expenses, and a letter explaining the circumstances of our conversion. I provided all of these to my attorney on 9/9.

I checked PACER this morning and found that a UST Statement of Presumed Abuse was filed on 9/7. It was in the system on that date and is date-stamped across the top. However, the text of the document reads:

Clerk's Notice Re: United States Trustee's Statement of Presumed Abuse
You are hereby notified that:
The United States Trustee has reviewed all materials filed by the debtor and has determined
that the debtor's case is presumed to be an abuse under 11 U.S.C. § 707(b)(2).
Dated: September 27, 2010

As I understand it, the UST has 30 days from the date of the statement of abuse to withdraw or file a motion to dismiss. But which date is the date of the statement? 9/7 or 9/27?

I don't know if this matters, but the original conversion documents specifically say there is no presumption of abuse, and we have also received the Ch7 Trustee's Report of No Distribution and an Order that this case is not subject to dismissal under 521(i)(1).

I am not terribly surprised by the fact that we received this - we are about $50k over median, but we do pass the means test in part 3. Since the Statement of Presumed Abuse was actually filed on 9/7, before they had received my documentation, is it maybe just an automatic response to our being so far over median? Is there any way to tell why the UST filed it, and address these reasons? I looked up 11 U.S.C. § 707(b) but there are a million sub-paragraphs so it's not much help.

The trustee's report of no distribution is completely separate from the US trustees filing of presumption of abuse. They operate separately. If you are 50k over the median, and it only takes about $150 to fund a chapter 13, and you are trying to convert your chapter 13, then abuse would be presumed until the US Trustee delves more deeply into your paperwork and your special circumstances. The date that the US trustee first filed the statement of presumed abuse is the countdown date regarding the 30 days, although the US trustee, can still claim "totality of circumstances" right up until day 60.