question re closing bank account before filing

[PaKettle]

We have 2 checking accounts and 2 savings accounts in 4 different banks.

One of the banks is a credit union and I only have $55 in there and it's been that way for years. I just never bothered to close it, in case I needed a car loan or something.

I also owe them $7k on a Visa card.

I would like to close out this account and use the $55.

Can I do that now, right before filing Ch. 7 next week, or is it better just to let it ride?

I am surprised they have not taken it for the Visa card payment, but then, what is $55 towards the $500-600 I now owe, with missed payments and late fees?

[dscurlock]

We have 2 checking accounts and 2 savings accounts in 4 different banks.

One of the banks is a credit union and I only have $55 in there and it's been that way for years. I just never bothered to close it, in case I needed a car loan or something.

I also owe them $7k on a Visa card.

I would like to close out this account and use the $55.

Can I do that now, right before filing Ch. 7 next week, or is it better just to let it ride?

I am surprised they have not taken it for the Visa card payment, but then, what is $55 towards the $500-600 I now owe, with missed payments and late fees?

Visa Card, Checking Account, two different things altogether..
withdraw the $55, close the account, boom your done.

[lrprn]

I would like to close out this account and use the $55. Can I do that now, right before filing Ch. 7 next week, or is it better just to let it ride?

Some lawyers think it is not a good idea to close accounts close to filing - they recommend leaving $5 in until after filing. However, in this case since there's a long history of having only $55 in the account, even if you close it and the trustee asks to see a payment history to make sure it wasn't being used to hide cash, it won't raise any red flags. And if you do close it, then take the account off your forms.

Just be sure to get a printout of the account showing the last year of no changes and a very low $ amount before you close it just in case.

Check with your new lawyer to make sure he/she agrees with your plan.

[marzipan13]

I don't think it's a problem to close the account prior to filing or after filing.
One bank account got garnished so I closed it before the creditor could take the money out of it, about 2 months before filing.
A few days after I filed, I closed the new account because it was same bank as my auto loan and I didn't want the bank to try taking money from me.
I submitted 3 months worth of bank statements for each bank and indicated in my bk forms the status of each account.
The trustee never even questioned it.

[CATCHMEIFYOUCAN]

I had a checking and savings account with 2 Different Credit Unions. I left $5 in each account, I had no choice (the CU's wouldn't allow me to close them as I had loans and credit cards with them). They didn't know I was about to file BK. But as soon as I did, I mistakenly left $10 in one of the checking accounts and they automatically deducted $5 towards one of the Visa's I owed money on (the cross collateral card), on top of denying me any more access to all my accounts.

Best Wishes, Catchmeifyoucan

[demismom]

We didn't close all of our accounts because we couldn't. We had a overdraft account on one of them and they wouldn't let us close it because of that. The business account we closed. We opened two new accounts at a new bank BEFORE we filed.

[PaKettle]

Thanks for the feedback.
I think I'll take $50 out on Monday and leave $5 in to keep the account open, then I'll close it after the 341 meeting. It's a savings account, maybe that's why they didn't take the money out and put it towards the $ I owe on the Visa.

On the other account, I decided to keep it open (it only has $30 or so in it) just in case MAYBE they won't close my credit card account on which I owe a zero balance and so am not including in my bankruptcy.

Actually, I found it interesting that my attorney said he doesn't need to see ANY of my checking account statements or checkbooks or anything. Is this a bad sign? It seems good to me, in that he isn't worried about any of that... But...?

Anyway, I said, "what do I need to bring you?" and all he wanted were our pay stubs for the past 6 months. He said he can get everything else he needs from the credit reports.

[jec]

make sure you have all your statements and check copies before closing and before filing as they will be uncooperative after you close or after you file bankruptcy

[PaKettle]

make sure you have all your statements and check copies before closing and before filing as they will be uncooperative after you close or after you file bankruptcy

Thanks for that advice.
I decided to leave the account open instead of closing it, that way there won't be any issues. I'll just leave $5 in it, if they will keep it open with that minimal amount.