Potential new job before 341 meeting

[unbelievable]

I've been unemployed for more than a year and was finally forced to file Chapter 7. Of course two weeks after I file I get a job offer. It is not a great job with a severe title and salary cut. I'm so confused what to do. Will accepting the job offer keep me from filing bankruptcy? Will the trustee force me to switch to chapter 13. My new salary would put me well above the means test. Should I turn this job down? Anyone go through similar?

[LadyInTheRed]

Take the job! What is important is your situation on the date you filed. You didn't know you would get a job offer on the date you filed your petition, so it is not relevant to whether you qualified for a Chap 7 discharge at that time.

We have heard from BKforum members who were offered a job between filing and 341. When the trustees asked if anything changed and they told them about the job offer the trustees always said "congratulations and good luck."

Let your attorney know about the job before the 341. I am sure he/she will tell you the same thing.

[avengers]

>We have heard from BKforum members who were offered a job between filing and 341.

To amplify what LitR said, as long as you meet the income restrictions, it doesn't even matter if you got the job before you filed. I was unemployed for 10 months, then started working in August . I ended up filing in October and the trustee never said a word about it.

[LadyInTheRed]

To amplify what LitR said, as long as you meet the income restrictions, it doesn't even matter if you got the job before you filed.

The bold portion of that statement is very important. The OP states that he would not have passed the means test with the new income. So, the answer might be different if he had received the job before filing. Even if you pass the means test based on your income in the 6 months before filing, the U.S. Trustee can object to a Chap 7 discharge based on totality of circumstances because Schedules I/J would show you will have enough income over the next 3 years to fund a Chap 13. For example, if your income is zero on your means test, but you start a job the day before you file for BK that pays $100K a year, then your schedule I/J will most likely show you have enough income to fund a Chap 13.

avengers, I suspect the income in your new job was still not high enough to fund a Chap 13.

[avengers]

The bold portion of that statement is very important. The OP states that he would not have passed the means test with the new income. So, the answer might be different if he had received the job before filing. Even if you pass the means test based on your income in the 6 months before filing, the U.S. Trustee can object to a Chap 7 discharge based on totality of circumstances because Schedules I/J would show you will have enough income over the next 3 years to fund a Chap 13. For example, if your income is zero on your means test, but you start a job the day before you file for BK that pays $100K a year, then your schedule I/J will most likely show you have enough income to fund a Chap 13.

avengers, I suspect the income in your new job was still not high enough to fund a Chap 13.

Actually, no. My income for the 6 months before I started my job was $1600/month (my wife was working). The median for my state is $4700/month.

I filed after receiving my first 3 bi-weekly paychecks, which averaged $4800 per check.

I was convinced that the trustee would not go for it because I could easily afford chapter 13. But my attorney insisted that trustees do not care--as long as my 6-month income is below median, I'll be fine.

My attorney was correct.Trustee didn't ask a single question about it. I had a 2004 exam (because it was an asset case) and the trustee's attorney didn't care about my new job. Got the discharge 67 days after my 341 exam.

[LadyInTheRed]

That's great that it went how your attorney told you it would. Not all trustees would necessarily let that go without an objection. But, it also could be that your attorney did a good job of showing too little disposible income on Schedule I and J to bother with. This is really an issue that will vary by case and how the trustee looks at things.