Expert: Mark J. Markus- California Bankruptcy Attorney - 1/28/2008

Question
I was wondering, my husband and I filed bankruptcy on 5-07 but we are expecting a tax return; will we receive it or does the government keep that money?  Our bankruptcy case as been discharged and it was only on credit card debt.

Answer
I assume you mean a tax refund.  Whether you can keep that or not depends on the exemptions you have available to you under applicable state law at the time your bankruptcy was filed.  You need to discuss this with your attorney.  Technically you should notify the Trustee in your case that you are entitled to the refund, but only the portion that was earned prior to filing your bankruptcy case is relevant, so assuming you are talking about a refund for 2007, I don't believe there was any refund to which you were entitled on the date you filed your case.  However, if you're talking about 2006 or before, then it should have been listed in your bankruptcy schedules as an asset.