How's it going to look, spending prior to filing?

[Anonymous]

I posted below about filing ch 7, haven't really gotten any answers so I guess I'll try more specific questions, IDK.

Anyway, I just started contemplating filing for ch 7. Back in Feb I received a good sized tax return of about $7,000. I spent that money on the following:

$2,200 -catching up of mortgage payment (was slow paying plus accumulated late fees)

$600 -six month car ins premium

$600 - auto repairs

$700 -tried to get current with HOA collections, only was able to pay half

$800- ikea furniture purchase

$500- miscellaneous shopping (kids clothing, home depot, etc.)

& paid some bills like utilities and I have a little left which I will end up using to file BK if I take that route.

Is my recent spending going to be a problem? At the time I wasn't considering filing bankruptcy. My intent was to get caught up on my mortgage, and HOA.

[Anonymous]

Spent by debit/cash or spent on CC?

I received my tax refund in Feb. '17 and filed in Jun. '17 and nobody asked me one way or another how I spent my refund. Just whether I was current and paid on all my taxes (yes). I think what matters is the timing - whether the refund is in transit or just rec'd. 

It does matter if you are paying off creditors selectively in the runup to a BK filing (I notice mortgage and collections in your list) so do be sure to ask an atty about that. Trustees are allowed to collect back the amount you paid and then redistribute it evenly to all creditors. 

[Anonymous]

All debit, I haven't used a CC in over a year.

The mortgage payment I was just getting caught up on. The HOA collections payment will probably be an issue I'm guessing. I actually don't care if they request that money back, but I'm not sure if HOA collections can be included in a ch 7. I plan to speak to some attorneys next week.

[Anonymous]

We received our return a week prior to filing. We used a portion of the return to pay to file, and the rest on bills. We had no issues. They did make a point at our 341 meeting to ask how we spent it, but when we told them how they didn’t seem to care since it was on bills. Our attorney just made sure to let us know prior to filing to just not use it for a vacation or anything like that.

[MakingProgress]

If you have other debts then the payment on the mortgage and the collections account could be an issue as it would be seen a favoring those creditors above others.  As far as your other purchases go I don't know how the court will look at those.   You need to talk to a lawyer and see what they say.  You might need to wait several months before you file a lawyer can give you better advice than we can.