Question about asset and chapter 7

[skillz32]

Hi All,
I am new to the forum so I apologize if I post this in the wrong place. I am in the process of filing chapter 7 in CA but I am not sure what I should to with my cash assets in the bank roughly 25k. Should I hold off on filing bankruptcy? What are my options if I decide to continue with the filing? I would hate to lose any of this money. Thanks again!

[backtoschool]

Do you have a house you are exempting?

The 25k will not be all be covered by your exemptions most likely, in fact, if you are claiming a homestead exemption, most of it wont be covered. Trustees go back at least six months on your bank statements. If the money is sitting in your bank account at the time of filing, or even for six months before, it can be taken by the trustee if you have not exempted it as part of your exemptions.

[skillz32]

I don't own a house, but I do have a rental property that is going into foreclosure soon and I had my other property foreclosed already. I have 2 accounts one is my main checking which I pay all my bills and I have another account at a credit union that has most of the money. I don't know if I should hold off on filing. I am still current on all my bills, but when I met with the lawyer they said to stop paying. Would it be in my best interest not to file at this time and cancel the process? My credit card debt is roughly 50k. Thanks again!

[Calthius]

What other debt do you have besides the CC debt. If that is all that you have then use the 25K to pay it down.

[backtoschool]

Are you going to let go of the rental unit in the bankruptcy? California allows you a pretty generous exemption of around 20k if you are not using your homestead exemption. You could also apply a wild card exemption of $925 to the money. I am just googling this, since I am not from california. There are a lot of california filers on this board that could chip in.

That being said, a person with 25k sitting in the bank in the last six months before filing and 50k in credit card debt will probably catch the eye of the trustee. I would definitely wait to file and spend some of that money on expenses that you need such as repairs, general expenses, etc. What did your lawyer tell you to do?

[skillz32]

I was told I could go into a chapter 13, but I don't think I would file if that's the case.

[backtoschool]

I was told I could go into a chapter 13, but I don't think I would file if that's the case.

Chapter 13 has different rules. You can keep all your assets in a chap 13 filing, but cash is not "property" so I am not sure what the case would be with cash sitting in a bank account. One of the CA filers would know or post this question on the chap 13 subforum.