Regarding the SoFA and non-employment income...?

[sscott4775]

Hello everyone,

I'm finally working on the very last form before I file my paperwork and I'm stumped yet once again! lol
On question number 2 of the Statement of Financial Affairs, it asks about income received other than from employment over the previous two years before the case's commencement. Well, I'm out of school right now, but I was in school for the fall and spring semesters of 2008-2009, and the fall and spring of 2009-2010. Now, I received residual aid that I used for living expenses but my concern is whether this would be considered income and if any of you think the trustee might be interested in this, because I don't have any documentation of the expenses. The only thing I could tell him/her is that it was for bills and groceries. At the time I had the money, I wasn't contemplating bankruptcy, so I never thought to keep records of the expenses.

Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone has any input and I would be most grateful for advise!

Thanks everybody!

[justbroke]

This is a legal question that depends a lot on your District. YOu sayd "residual aid" but I don't know what that means. Does it mean leftover money from a student loan? Does it mean leftover money from a "grant"? Does it mean money leftover from a Bar Study loan?

Depending on what it is and what District you are in, it may be considered income.

If it's processed from a "loan" it is not income. If it's proceeds from a "grant" (leftover not used directly for eduction, such as books, fees, etc), then it is probably income. If it's from a "bar study" loan, then it's proceeds of a loan and is not income.

I wouldn't worry about recording expenses, since everyone needs to eat and keep a roof over the head! If we're talking that you're single, had $100K in "residual aid" and spent it in 2 months... you may have some explaining to do.

[sscott4775]

Hi justbroke,
I'm sorry for not being more clear on what I meant by "residual aid." It was money that was leftover after undergraduate expenses of tuition, books, and other fees had been subtracted. I'm not an expert on financial aid by any means, but my understanding is that the portion that came to me in the form of a check was from loans because I requested at the time of these disbursements the maximum amount that I was eligible for for the year.
I may have to call the schools and get a breakdown of the finances and see what the exact values were, but to the best of my knowledge, these were from leftover loan amounts.
I know the amounts were no more a few thousand dollars per disbursement, and like you said, everyone needs to eat and have a roof over their head. I'm probably worrying more than what I need to, but I guess the safe thing to do would be to list it anyway just to cover all bases and see where it goes from there. I just hope I don't get grilled over where it went, because I know where it went, just no proof!

Thanks for the reply!

[justbroke]

If they are net proceeds from an educational "loan", and not a grant, then it is likely not income.