Money in checking account ok?

[mdabcdefg]

Hello,

I was wondering, is there a certain amount of money you can have in your checking/savings account that they can know about, but can't touch?

From my understanding you can have about $1,000 in there that is okay and not distributed to your creditors.

[magyar123]

Every state has different exemption amounts.

[Crazzyjen]

When I filed I moved all my money to a credit union and felt safe because I didnt owe them any money. I dont know if it made a difference but I think (not sure) banks can close or collect from your checking account if you owe them money.

[JRScott]

So long as you have no other debts to the same institution then they will not seize the funds. To be safe from the Trustee as pointed out that varies from state to state and depends generally on the wildcard and money exemptions allowed in your state.

[AngelinaCat]

We were told to have as little in our checking account (we have a credit union) as possible on the day of filing. That was so that the 'snapshot' of our finances would be set. We could have gotten a check the next day--that didn't matter. The trustee and court wanted a picture of our financial life the day we filed. We filed on Dec. 28, 2007, the last business day of the year, and our account actually was in a negative balance.

[Tbornetun]

Be careful with thinking that getting a check the next day that the money will be exempt. Recently we have had trustees considering that earned, unpaid wages and they consider them an asset. They have been able to get a percentage of the money from the paychecks that go in 1-2 weeks after filing.

[KP1980]

Be careful with thinking that getting a check the next day that the money will be exempt. Recently we have had trustees considering that earned, unpaid wages and they consider them an asset. They have been able to get a percentage of the money from the paychecks that go in 1-2 weeks after filing.

I believe on a wildcard exemption you can keep 75% of unpaid wages, but it varies per state. I wonder too when they check. My account can vary from negative to plus +3,000, but its all for bills.

[bkrelief22]

Just wondering Angelinacat...how can you have a negative balance without lots of bank fees???

bk22

[Tbornetun]

I believe on a wildcard exemption you can keep 75% of unpaid wages, but it varies per state. I wonder too when they check. My account can vary from negative to plus +3,000, but its all for bills.

Doesn't matter if the checks have already been written for the $3000. They take a "snapshot" of your finances as of the date of filing. Whatever your balance states on that date is the number you are working with. The trustee will require a bank statement to reflect the same amount on that date.

[debtmonster]

I will sometimes get paid $3000-4000 on the 15th of every month. I use electronic bill pay. All of the bills are queued up on the 15th to 17th of every month. By the 18th the checking balance usually drops down to less than $100 bucks. As long as they take the snap shot after that day I should be good. I don't write checks, so there's nothing to float. They take the money from my account instantly.

Can't bills be explained to the trustee that have to be paid? i.e. mortgage, taxes, insurance, electric, food, gas, phone, etc? If I gave all of the money away to the trustee, I would be behind in a ton of stuff that is required for my business to operate.

[Tbornetun]

All of the bills you listed above are what you should be paying. I would suggest filing after the 18th of the month. The actual date you file is the date they look at.

[debtmonster]

Thanks! That's a good tip that I was not considering. I should probably file far towards the end of the month then. By then virtually all of our money is gone and we're living on credit cards to make ends meet.