Advice needed!

[dougmug]

I have $80K in credit cards and 6 homes I want to let go. I have done 3-4 balance transfers in the last 40 days and also several cash advances in the past 6 months. I own two vehicles out right worth approx $9k and $3K. I own a small cottage worth approx $20K. I also paid cash for a fixer upper for $25K that I rent out for $550/month. I live in MI and am trying to come up with a strategy to minimize my assets. My lawyer told me I can have up to $20K in assets if I file jointly with my wife. I am thinking of selling my cottage on LC w/ $5K down and will receive monthly payments of $300. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Doug

[LadynRed]

I have done 3-4 balance transfers in the last 40 days and also several cash advances in the past 6 months.

Oh boy.. that's likely to be real trouble. Cash advances will be scrutinized for up to 1 year.

With all those assets, the Trustee is going to have a field day and one heck of a Trustee's sale. It would NOT be a good idea to transfer ANY assets at this point, as any transfer in the 1 year prior to filing will be seen as a potential fraudulent conveyance, and the Trustee can go back 4 years and up to 10 if they smell fraud.

Why not sell off the properties and pay the 80K back to the credit card companies ? Are all the CC's past due ? Any judgments ?

[PaKettle]

I have $80K in credit cards and 6 homes I want to let go. I have done 3-4 balance transfers in the last 40 days and also several cash advances in the past 6 months. I own two vehicles out right worth approx $9k and $3K. I own a small cottage worth approx $20K. I also paid cash for a fixer upper for $25K that I rent out for $550/month. I live in MI and am trying to come up with a strategy to minimize my assets. My lawyer told me I can have up to $20K in assets if I file jointly with my wife. I am thinking of selling my cottage on LC w/ $5K down and will receive monthly payments of $300. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Doug

What does your attorney say about the cash advances? And have you asked him or her the same questions you asked here? Did you consult with more than one attorney?

Sounds like a compllicated case. Depending on how much you took out in cash advances and what you used it for, you may want to wait at least 6 months or even a year after the last one of any size...

[HHM]

BK is not an option for you at this point, unless you are willing to let all those homes go except the one you are living in.

[Cali]

Oh boy.. that's likely to be real trouble. Cash advances will be scrutinized for up to 1 year.

With all those assets, the Trustee is going to have a field day and one heck of a Trustee's sale. It would NOT be a good idea to transfer ANY assets at this point, as any transfer in the 1 year prior to filing will be seen as a potential fraudulent conveyance, and the Trustee can go back 4 years and up to 10 if they smell fraud.

Why not sell off the properties and pay the 80K back to the credit card companies ? Are all the CC's past due ? Any judgments ?

I thought it was 6 mths for cash advances, is this not right?

[HHM]

I thought it was 6 mths for cash advances, is this not right?

6 months is "sort of" the rule of thumb when it comes to cash advances, but it is not set in stone. The issue is that it just gets much more difficult to prove the debtor intended to defraud creditors, but its not impossible.

[butterflywings]

The presumption period is 70 days for the BK court for cash advances unless they smell fraud, otherwise it is up to the creditors to object. The trustee doesn't know how you used the credit cards, only your creditors do. Credit card companies can look back as far as they want but the burden is on them after 70 days from those cash advances to prove fraud, and usually they will settle for far less than the amounts.

I know a dude who cash advanced $10k to BOA and filed 90 days later. He had a balance of $30k on BOA. His 30k balance was based on large cash advances to fund a gambling problem. Same with his $30k Amex balance. BOA and Amex filed adversarial proceedings based on his recent cash advances and then both settled with him for a couple thousand dollars each.

As with anything YMMV. I know of someone else who cash advanced $5k on Citi and filed 90 days later and they never said boo. No one can predict when a creditor will file an AP.