Chapter 7 was denied. Now what??

[Tuscani]

That is what I figured. You can either look into converting to a CH13 or wait six months and attempt the CH7 again. Had you met with several lawyers before filing? I feel you may have not had good representation here. 

FL is not a community property state.. I am still curious why so much had to be to provided for your wife (and why couldn't you?) when you filed without her. Not to assume, but sounds like there may have been things with her paperwork you didn't want to trustee to see? 

As @FireMedic1 noted.. the luck of the draw with a trustee can make or break a filing.  

[Anonymous]

My wife provided all her pay stubs, and a couple credit card payment statements. They then wanted to see her bank statements and I asked my lawyer right from the beginning if that would be required. He said no.. she has a small savings account that she pulls from sometimes to pay bills, and if they saw that then they would add it to income. Plus, my wife told me from the beginning she was not submitting months of her bank statements and going thru all the scrutiny I had to go thru. It caused enough stress on our marriage trying to get the other documents. Just seemed excessive all the paperwork they wanted. I explained every account I had and all my 'greater than 200' transactions. Our income was over the threshold not by too much, but our expenses are high with 4 kids. Just surprised I got hammered so hard on this. Maybe I'll try again in 6 months. What do I do with my debts until then? Not pay? Wont they eventually just report as a collection and be charged off? Even seems like some were charged off during the bk filing timeframe.

I agree..my lawyer was confident with my filing and surprised by the trustee.

This forum is great. Really appreciate all the feedback. Lots of knowledge from you all.

[Anonymous]

Another question..should I have let the trustee know more about health issues that happened a couple months before I filed. I was in the hospital for heart issues, and had a heart procedure all during the time I started working with a bk lawyer. Do they take that type of stuff into consideration, or are they 100% numbers focused? When I was in the hospital is when I knew i had to make a change with all my debt and the stress it was causing me. That was my turning point. I was struggling to pay all the minimum payments and getting absolutely nowhere. Just curious if I should have really emphasized that more.

[despritfreya]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Mine is a dismissal. I couldn't provide all the paperwork in time.

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Ok, now that you are using the correct terminology, the question is whether or not you can find a 6 month window where you do qualify. As others have pointed out, if not, and you still want to file bk, it would be a 13 (assuming you are under the debt limit).

Your wife’s income, to the extent is supports the household, is included in the means test regardless of what Chapter you file. It sounds like the Trustee questioned the amount you disclosed and therefore wanted some major evidence to support an assertion that $x was contributed as opposed to $y.

As to the health issues, unfortunately the means test is very mechanical. Your personal health situation really does not play a role unless the medical bills are constant and on-going.

Des.

[pizza1]

All great advice here from everyone. The only thing now for you to decide is...

Can you wait 180 days to refile a BK7? If not, then file a 13.

I would not worry about credit at this point, get you r life and finances figured out first. It is true that in a BK13, you have to get permission from the trustee for everything, including a CC. He/she will probably allow a secured card only.

[despritfreya]

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@pizza1 wrote:
Can you wait 180 days to refile a BK7? If not, then file a 13.

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I would like to clarify this "180 day" issue as this reference has come up, I beleive, twice in this thread.

The 180 day reference in 11 USC 109(g) has no application here.  109(g),  only applies if  1) the case was dismissed by the court for willful failure of the debtor to abide by orders of the court, or to appear before the court in proper prosecution of the case; or

2) the debtor requested and obtained the voluntary dismissal of the case following the filing of a request for relief from the automatic stay. . .

For the first part to apply there had to be an overt act or failure to act and, a court finding of such.  For the second part to apply, the debtor had to request the dismissal after a MLS was filed.  Neither of these requirements are evident in OP's situation.

If OP wishes to attempt a Chapter 7 he need only wait until he finds a 6 month window where he "qualifies".

Just FYI.

Des.

[2b2rich]

Welcome to the forums.  

First of all, most of us understand the stress that goes with filing BK, but the added stress of being under the pressure to provide something that will make or break your success, and not being able to for what ever reason, I can only imagine.

The 180 window:  I'm not familiar with what your options are as far as filing again, but I do know that sometimes a good lawyer will tell you to wait 6 months to file depending on what your past 6 months financials look like at the time of your consultation.  There is a reason for this, so that you can be sure your bank statements, income, and financial transactions, etc will meet the requirements and pass a trustee's scrutiny a little better.  In other words, if you can, it might be a good opportunity to get your BK ducks in a row.

Like the other's have said, your very next step should be to immediately find a Bankruptcy attorney with rave reviews and sit down with them for a free consultation.  They will be able to look at the case you have right now and know what your wait window might be and what you  need to be prepared to provide movin forward.

Trustees.  They work for your creditors, not you.  They pretty much earn like a waitress.  They get a small fee for working the case, but anything of yours that they can take, liquidate, and pay to your creditors, they will earn more $ (good tips) from it.   If they think there is cash or assets somewhere that they're being jerked around about, they will give you  a chance to prove them wrong, but if you don't come up with it, then you're like that dead beat geezer that takes up an entire 6-party booth just to drink coffee for an hour, and then leaves a dollar.  I'm not saying you're hiding anything, I'm saying that they must feel like all of your (or your wife's) card's are not laid out on the table.

Good luck, I hope things get worked out for you.

[Anonymous]

So just curious on this. Did you get a dismisal even before you went to the MOC (Meeting of Creditors) or were you asked by the trustee to provide this info after you had already went to your meeting prior to a chapter 7 discharge?

[Anonymous]

Great feedback so far. I was asked for more documents before and then even more after the MOC meeting. It was after the meeting when I could not provide every single document. It came down to my wife's bank statements. My wife and I were on very shaky ground, and they gave me a week to get a bunch more documents. I provided most of them, but my wife and I were barely on speaking terms and I couldn't get everything from her.

[Anonymous]

This is really interesting what was pointing out here. Ensuring that 6-month window is ready to make the qualification. During my 6 month window I had so many unusual circumstances come up. I had to remove a tree for 5 grand(took from my 401k), had to redo a shower because of mold issues..had payday advance loans...hospital bills. It was a mess. It wasn't business as usual.