Tax Refund & Ch 7 MO

What is the name of your state? MO
My fiance has filed chapter 7 in Missouri. The Trustee has said to not touch the income tax return for 2004 unless he says he can. Do you think they will take it? He filed chapter 7 because his medical bills and credit card debt was too high to pay back, due to wife's illness. She passed away 2 years ago. We are counting on that money and I have a feeling we are going to be very disappointed.

[Ladynred]

Better not count on that refund. This time of year, Trustee's are eyeing expected tax refunds and if its more than $1000 you can pretty much expect to lose it. Some Trustees won't bother with anything less than $1000, but then it may depend on how much debt you have. A 1,000 refund against, say, 50K of debt is hardly worth going after.

Thanks for your response. He owes aprox. 10k from a credit card, mainly, and some little stuff here and there. The medical only showed her name so I don't really think they are going after all the medical bills with him. His return is always around 3k, so that is why I am worried they will take it. We are getting married in April and having to pay all of it ourselves. I am saving every penny for the wedding. We were counting on that money too.

Originally Posted by turtle70

What is the name of your state? MO
My fiance has filed chapter 7 in Missouri. The Trustee has said to not touch the income tax return for 2004 unless he says he can. Do you think they will take it? He filed chapter 7 because his medical bills and credit card debt was too high to pay back, due to wife's illness. She passed away 2 years ago. We are counting on that money and I have a feeling we are going to be very disappointed.

[InsulinRules]

Hi! I'm in MO too and strongly suggest that your fiance try to add his deceased wife's bills to his bankruptcy. Missouri has a spousal medical necessity law which many attorneys are not terribly familiar with, but elderlaw attorneys see it alot.

It states that spouses are legally responsible for providing medical care for their spouses.

Bland enough on the surface. But if you're legally responsible to provide care....aren't you legally responsbile for the bills too, even if your name wasn't on them originally??

That is a question that is still up in the air as far as I know. To be on the safe side, have the petition amended. The trustee may protest (I doubt it) and that's fine: the bankruptcy judge could then agree with the trustee, legally declare your fiancee not responsible, and then your financee could amend again, removing the medical debts but with a completed motion from a US court saying this wasn't his debt. Wow! Precedent!