Bankruptcy and my Tax Refund

Q: My estranged wife of 6 years filed for bankruptcy in June of 2011 I did not find out she had filed the chapter 7 until Sept. of 2011 when I was contacted by the trustee attorney who had requested lots of stuff I didn’t have we discussed my personal situation and that was the end of it. I always file an extention on my taxes so my 2010 taxes were filed in Oct of 2011 we file jointly she sends her w-2 I filed got the refund in nov paid my bills with it as always. in Dec of 2011 I was contacted by the attorney who demanded I turn over the 2010 tax refund I told him I had spent it on my debts. I told him he should have notified me of that in Sept. he agreed. I am now being sued by the trustee for the 2010 tax refund I knew nothing about the bankruptcy and was not told I had to turn over the refund.

A: If a portion of the refund was based upon her refund then when you spent all of the refund you used a portion of her non-exempt assets to pay off your debts. Unfortunately, unless you received a substantial tax refund, the money that you would pay an attorney to represent you in this matter would probably be a substantial proportion of the money that the trustee is asking from you from the tax refund. Having said that, you should consult with an attorney to review your options.

* You and I do not have an attorney-client relationship formed by our communications on this website. Advice given by me on this website is general advice based on partial information. You should not rely on any advice given without first hiring a lawyer in the area where the case is pending, and providing that lawyer with full information.

Answered by Parker Evan Bornmann, Glendale AZ Bankruptcy Lawyer.
Re-Posted from AVVO Legal Questions and Answers.