Money in my bank account different from amount on paperwork

[mpynkm]

My paycheck was deposited into my bank account and so the amount in my bank account reflects 1400.00 (even though it was gone shortly after bills, baby sitter, car insurance, food) I am filing on my own single with an income of 29,000.00 The trustee needs documentation of my balance on this date. Am I in trouble, I am filing on my own no lawyer and barely have enough to feed and care for my two small boys and I) Just scared...

[free2breathe]

I can't tell you what your trustee will do, but I can share our experience. We filed by mail, so I listed the amount in our account the day I completed the paperwork to be mailed. The date that the court actually recorded the filing of the petition was, of course, a different date. We had a direct deposit on the date the court shows we filed. At the 341, the trustee asked for our bank statement and looked for the balance. I stated that the balance on the date I sent the petition was $XXX. He said, "but it was filed on this date." He could have taken the entire balance. Instead, he subtracted the amount from the close of the previous business day and then took 25% of the deposit (wages earned, but not paid at the time of filing).

[enginegirl]

My balance fluctuates day to day..... on the day of my 341 I had just been paid and had not done bills yet.... trustees know that this happens... they just want to make sure you do not have an extra thousand or two hanging around!

[justbroke]

Some Trustees are not as forgiving. Your petition should ACCURATELY reflect what your balance was on the day of filing. That's why walking it in by hand is preferred. Also, you may want to pay things with money orders to reduce the balance before filing. This will prevent you from claiming a $10 balance when there's $1,810 in the account because your $1,800 rent payment wasn't yet processed.

Don't get caught in that situation as many Trustees don't care about uncashed checks.

[dumpinmydebt]

Your petition needs to match what you have in your bank account at the end of the business day. So if you deposited $1400 in the morning, and it was pretty much all spent and cleared by the end of the day, then you will be in the clear. If not, then you may be in trouble. Sorry to say this, but Trustees do not make their decisions based on emotion. Just be prepared.

[randian]

Is a reported balance higher than end of day OK? My reported balance may be $15 or so higher than end of day, owing to a grocery bill. I would think Trustees would be more concerned with underreporting.

[dumpinmydebt]

I don't think they will gripe about $15 over or under. I reported $85, but I only had $80. Trustee didn't say a word.

[coldbusted]

Know this thread is a little old, but for future viewers, I filed pro se in October 2010. Listed something like $33.00 in my account, but realized later that it was $86.00. At my 341, I showed up with the bank statements but didn't show them to the trustee. When asked about the accuracy of my docs, I told him I had underestimated the amount by $53.00.

For my no-asset Ch. 7, it wasn't material. He did suggest that for the sake of accuracy, I might want to amend. (Actually, I had made a couple of other mistakes, too.)