Unemployed, Looking And Filing: Questions

Question:
I was let go 1 year ago after 25 years along with many others. I was given max severence, 1 yr. So my severence has just ended. I decided when I was let go that I would take 6 mo. and work on my house. At the end of the 6 mo I began looking for a job but my 80 yr. old father became quite ill and I ended up putting my job search on hold for 3 more mo. while I went through getting guardianship, cleaning out his house and getting him acclimated to a assisted living home. At the end of the 3 mo. I began looking again. I Have an undergraduate degree in Information Science and an MBA. I honestly did not think getting a job would be difficult, in fact I thought as soon as I put my resume out there I would be inundated with responses. Ha. I've had 1 intereview with one co. that didn't even have a job available (a friend got me the interview.) I have a few "headhunters" telling me they will call when they have something, but that is it. I applied to at least 50 jobs, 10% above my past job, 50% equal to and 40% below. Nada. I've redone my resume, gone through formal training through a career counseling group and done just about eveything else that I can think of. Nothing yet, but someday something will happen, I just don't know when. I think part of it has to do with my skillset. I have "soft" Information Technology skills. I am a Business Analyst and I don't have tons of current high tech programming skills etc. I think that soft-skills people are the type that on the surface can be done without when the economy takes a nosedive. So until the economy picks up, only a very few like me will be getting new jobs. There could be many other reasons that I am not aware of also. I'm going to be filing for Chapter 7 real soon. Here are a few questions that I have: 1. Am I in any way going to have to prove that I have made any meaningful effort to gain employment? For example - who I've submitted resumes to and who I've talked to. Will they call up the people that I have talked to and perhaps ruin any chances that I had with them? 2. Are they going to assume that I am trying to "use" the system and beat me to death on why someone that looks so good on paper hasn't been able to find a job. I have to admit it doesn't look good but as I said above, I've tried everything. I think I'm more surpised than anyone that my phone hasn't been ringing off the wall for offers instead of by creditors. 3. What about any job offers before the meeting of creditors? I understand that if I get a job making $200 over my expenses, the cpt 7 will be dismissed I will have to convert to cpt 13. 4. Am I going to have to prove someway that I have not refused a job offer? 5. What if I get a high paying job right after the meeting but before the dismissal? Do I have to tell them? This bring up the ethical and moral issue which I have gone over in my head for many weeks now and still haven't really come to a concusion yet. I honestly do not believe in lying no matter what. Perhaps the answers to the above questions will make it a non-issue. I hope so. Thanks so much for reading so much. All input will be appreciated.

Answer:
Anonymous wrote: > 1. Am I in any way going to have to prove that I have made any meaningful > effort to gain employment? For example - who I've submitted resumes to and who > I've talked to. Will they call up the people that I have talked to and perhaps > ruin any chances that I had with them? Area practices vary widely. Answers given apply best to the Southern District of California: No. The trustee may ask you how you've been living, but will not request proof. > 2. Are they going to assume that I am trying to "use" the system and beat me to > death on why someone that looks so good on paper hasn't been able to find a > job. I have to admit it doesn't look good but as I said above, I've tried > everything. I think I'm more surpised than anyone that my phone hasn't been > ringing off the wall for offers instead of by creditors. Employment, health and medical issues don't discriminate. The trustees have seen it all before and will likely assume that you are one of the deserving. > 3. What about any job offers before the meeting of creditors? I understand that > if I get a job making $200 over my expenses, the cpt 7 will be dismissed I will > have to convert to cpt 13. The general test is whether you could make a substantial payment through chapter 13. In this district there is case law that holds that it is a substantial abuse to grant a chapter 7 discharge to a debtor that could pay a 42% distribution to unsecured creditors in a 36 month chapter 13 plan. Something less than a 42% distribution may also rise to the level of substantial abuse. The review is on a case by case basis. > 4. Am I going to have to prove someway that I have not refused a job offer? Not for the purposes of qualifying for chapter 7. > 5. What if I get a high paying job right after the meeting but before the > dismissal? Do I have to tell them? I'll probably be corrected for this. I'd say no. There is certain property that is property of the estate even if acquired within the 180 days after the chapter 7 filing. However, wages are not one of these properties. I am not aware of any code section that would cause you to advise the trustee of such a change in circumstances. It's never come up in my practice, so I invite corrections if necessary. > This bring up the ethical and moral issue which I have gone over in my head for > many weeks now and still haven't really come to a concusion yet. I honestly do > not believe in lying no matter what. > Perhaps the answers to the above questions will make it a non-issue. I hope so. The legal issues are quite simple. It's the moral and ethical questions that give most of my clients trouble. Don't internalize this. Get your discharge, start over, and most of all forgive yourself. If you want cosmic balance forgive everyone that owes you anything. Good luck.





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