Income tax refund

[PolishMan]

I am planning on filing chapter 7 in the next 2-3 months. I just received my refund of $ 5000.00
I will be using it for necessities, extra house payment etc.
Do I have reason to be concerned with TT asking for it , if its already spent ?

[BobMango]

Not if you spend it on reasonable and allowable living expenses and not on paying back a family member or buying a new Rolex.

I'm sure others will have suggestions on how to protect that money.

[LookingAhead]

When we met with lawyers I asked 3 of them about this and they all said spend it and then file (we told them we were expecting between 3-4K, we hadn't had our taxes done yet, so weren't exactly sure). We were told to pay the lawyer with the money, get caught up on house, car, utilities, etc. Buy food, toilitries and things like that. Clothes for the family. I was excited to be able to do all of this, but now our 2nd car is needing new heat and brakes and we jsut put $550 into it already and it's a junker, so we are allowed to spend up to 3K on a new one before it causes problems and questions.

[forgotten]

When we met with lawyers I asked 3 of them about this and they all said spend it and then file (we told them we were expecting between 3-4K, we hadn't had our taxes done yet, so weren't exactly sure). We were told to pay the lawyer with the money, get caught up on house, car, utilities, etc. Buy food, toilitries and things like that. Clothes for the family. I was excited to be able to do all of this, but now our 2nd car is needing new heat and brakes and we jsut put $550 into it already and it's a junker, so we are allowed to spend up to 3K on a new one before it causes problems and questions.

Buying a new car is not a problem, just make sure you can exempt the value. Provided you have a job, need to take kids to school, or need to go to the doctor (some valid reason for a car), a $3000 car is not a luxury expense.