. do we have to turn over any tax return we receive if we have filed bankruptcy.
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
. do we have to turn over any tax return we receive if we have filed bankruptcy.
Asked on June 9, 2009 under Bankruptcy Law, Illinois
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 15 years ago | Contributor
I think that you mean tax "refund".
First, tell your bankruptcy attorney if you are expecting a tax refund. Your attorney should ask but make a point of disclosing. If the tax refund is small enough, it might be exempt under state law. In your case, Illinois allows an exemption of up to $4,000 which can be applied to any asset
You could wait to file your bankruptcy until after you spend your tax refund on family necessities as well.
Note: If your tax refund includes “earned income credit” or “child care credit,” you may be entitled to additional exemptions in states which consider these to be welfare benefits.
What you don’t want to do is to fail to disclose the tax refund at all. A bankruptcy trustee can simply write to the Internal Revenue Service and have it send the tax refund directly to the trustee. You can best protect your tax refund by telling your bankruptcy attorney that you are expecting one. Then you can decide the best path to take consistent with your legal obligations.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.