BONUS MONEY
BOTH MY HUSBAND AND I HAVE FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY. I RECEIVED A MONEY BONUS FROM WORK. DOES THAT MONEY BECOME A PART OF MONIES OWED TO THE CREDITORS? ARE THEY ENTITLED TO ALL OR PART OF IT? ALSO ARE WE RESTRICTED FROM BUYING THINGS LIKE A NEW COMPUTER OR OTHER HOUSEHOLD ITEMS IF IT IS THE BUDGET.
If you received a bonus from work it needs to be disclosed to your trustee and will be subject to the Surplus Income Standards like your regular pay. That means you may be required to pay a portion of the bonus money to your trustee for the benefit of your creditors.
What you do with the money that is left over is up to you – you may purchase a computer or other household items if that’s what you think you should be doing with the money. You might want to consider keeping a portion in a savings account – just incase something goes wrong later (remember, you don’t have access to credit anymore so you need to set some money aside for emergencies).
Give your trustee a call and they can work throught the calculation for you.