Kansans Fare Better on Bankruptcy Audits

Kansas debtors have less errors on their bankruptcy paperwork than the national average, according to the report just issued by the U.S. Trustee.  “Material misstatements” were reported in 12% of the audited cases, compared with 22% nationwide, although the report does not say just how serious the errors were.

The federal government audits bankruptcy cases just to keep everyone honest, but your odds of being selected are very low.  There were 19 cases chosen for audit in Kansas during 2009 fiscal year.  That is 19 out of 10,588 cases filed in Kansas, one in 557 cases.

Auditors filed Reports of Audits indicating at least one “material misstatement” in 17 Kansas cases.  Two cases had Reports of No Audit.  It is unknown whether any of these debtors did not get their discharges or had other negative outcomes because of the audits.  It also is unknown why Kansans fare better on the audits.

See my post on the Bankruptcy Law Network today explaining audits.

What Documents Do I Need for a Bankruptcy Audit?

One in 1000 bankruptcy cases are randomly selected by the U.S. Trustee for audit.  When that happens, the debtor is sent a letter requesting copies of the following documents:

  1. Payment advices [paystubs] from an employer covering the six calendar months preceding the date of filing for the debtor and the debtor’s spouse.
  2. Federal income tax returns, with all attachments, for the two tax years prior to the date of filing.
  3. Financial account statements for the six calendar months preceding the date of filing and for the month of filing for every financial account in which debtor had an interest; and documentation explaining the source of every deposit or credit, and the purpose of every check, withdrawal or debit.
  4. A divorce decree, property settlement orders going back three years and pending child support orders, if such documents exist.

The audits are supposed to find material misstatements in the bankruptcy paperwork. [Read more…]

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