Trustee trying to make a claim against non-filing husband

[chicamarie]

I posted this on my original thread but got no replies so I'm trying a new topic.

 

During the BK hearing the trustee latched on to the payment I made to the IRS with cash I had been sitting on in case of emergencies.  We got into a mess in 2009, husband lost his job, tiny kids, no cash, etc, credit cards, and I lost a lawsuit in February which is why the BK.  So when I inherited a little bit of money in 2012 I just put it in a cashier's check in a safety deposit box and sat on it so I knew we would have cash if necessary.  I am filing singly by the way - spouse is not filing. 

 

I was honest and told my lawyer about it and he said to get rid of it, so I put some in my IRA and paid our 2013 taxes.  My husband is self-employed but not a corporation or anything so we file together and always end up paying every year - lump sum since I'm never organized enough to do estimated payments.

 

The trustee decides that since the taxes are from my husband's business and theoretically I used MY money to pay them, that I am an "injured spouse" and that he is going to make a claim against my husband - this was in an email to my lawyer.  This was a couple of weeks ago, and then last week I got my discharge notice, but I know he could still file a claim, right?

 

My lawyer says he is just blowing smoke, since I would have to make the claim first, and the trustee would be second in line to me.  And the rules about injured spouses seem to not apply to me since I didn't have a refund coming or anything, and we're not divorcing, splitting assets, etc.

 

Any one have input about such a thing?  I'm wanting this all to be over!

 

 

[BV80]

@chicamarie

 

Has your husband signed anything at all in which he stated that he's the sole owner of the company (such as an application for a federal ID number).  In other words, could you be considered part owner?

[chicamarie]

He doesn't have a federal tax ID or anything. He has a CCB license with the state but that's just a license to be a contractor and doesn't apply to his business or tax status. I don't even think he has a DBA listed with anyone.

[BV80]

@chicamarie

 

I'd ask my attorney if I could be considered part owner of the company.  If so, then the taxes you paid were also yours.

[TomnTex]

Are you in a community property state?

[Wins the Battle]

You have an attorney who you trusted to see you through this BK. If he says that the trustee is full of it, I'd be inclined to take his word for it.

[chicamarie]

Just to put a final nail in this BK coffin, I thought I'd post with an update, that the trustee finally gave up his quest to get the money that I paid to the IRS, and agreed to drop his threats of filing a turnover motion or pursuing a claim against me, or my husband.  He had even asked for and gotten an extension for the date by which claims had to be submitted, so I was still freaking out.  I was also becoming concerned about the value of my home.  His lawyer lives near me (in a giant house) and home values are ridiculously inflated, so I thought maybe they were going to question my homestead exemption.  

 

So, my lawsuit-bankruptcy journey appears to be over!

 

My lawyer just sat back and watched the intermittent emails from the trustee, and the trustee's lawyer, without raising a fuss or contacting them.  I was consistently reminded of that Sun Tzu quote about waiting on the banks of the river and watching the bodies of your enemies floating by . . .