Venting

[Flgranny]

Some of the questions on these chapter 7 forms are ridiculous. What do they care about what I did 10 years ago. Of course I had income 2 years ago. I didn’t have to retire until my disability. Waste of time

[justbroke]

The Statement of Financial Affairs (SOFA) is the form that looks to past dealings. It asks those questions because they are relevant. They provide.a clear -- or more clear -- picture of the debtor's financial picture over several years. It also looks to insiders, property that someone is holding for you, and other strange situations. While most people don't even fill in 10% of that form, it is required for the Trustee and United States Trustee to evaluate the financial condition and to determine if certain "powers" will apply.

There is only one question on the SOFA that goes back 10 years and it is specific to self-settled trusts.

The reason for asking about a 10-year "self-settled" trust may not be obvious to most people. These spendthrift trusts are an area for people to protect assets from creditors. However, in bankruptcy, the Trustee has strong-arm powers which allows a Trustee to do certain things. First, the Trustee steps into the shoes of the debtor and can technically do anything the debtor could do themself. Second, the Trustee's avoidance powers under 11 USC 548 allow a Trustee to avoid transfers made within 10 years before filing.

So they are not silly questions. This rule goes specifically to the powers of the Trustee to avoid certain transfers of property to a trust--in this example--within 10 years. The law specifically says that the Trustee may avoid the transfer made within 10 years to a self-settled trust, if the transfer was by the debtor, and the debtor made the transfer to hinder, delay, or defraud creditors. (It's a little more detailed than that, but you should see the reason.)

I agree that the SOFA is long and has a bunch of questions that most debtors need not answer, but they are there explicitly about disclosing your financial condition. This allows the Trustee and UST to perform their job.

[Flgranny]

Still venting

[justbroke]

It's okay to vent. The average bankruptcy petition, especially for a Chapter 13 person, can be 50-60 pages. For cases where there are more creditors and issues, the filing could be greater than 60 pages. That's on par with a typical home purchase with a mortgage.