Asset seiure on 181st day Help

[missEmily777]

My husbands mother died on the 16th of May 2009 and he is to reseive an inheiritance. The lawyers for the estate are insisting that the bankruptcy trustee has no claim for any of the money because she did not die within the 180 days. We filed our bankruptcy on the 17th of November 2008. I had already grieved over the loss of his money but after hearing their advice as they told us that in California they use the filing date as day one and with the 17th of November being day one, May 15th is day 180 and she did not die within the 180 days. We are desperately hoping this is how it will be determined in the end because we truly did need to file bankruptcy. Even after discharge of all of those debts, we go to food banks at time in order to eat. I have been trying to find case law to support this but haven't been successful. My husband and I are feeling like our lawyer is working for the other side. PLEASE advise.

MissEmily

[StartingOver08]

Please clarify.

You said: The lawyers for the estate are insisting that the bankruptcy trustee has no claim for any of the money because she did not die within the 180 days.

Then you conclude: My husband and I are feeling like our lawyer is working for the other side. PLEASE advise.

Which attorney is working for the 'other side'? Is it the Trustee or your bankruptcy attorney or the estate attorney?

[AngelinaCatHub]

Yes clarify. Now, has your husband received this inheritance yet? Sometimes it takes six months. If you have not already filed and you mentioned that the bk lawyers are asking for the money? Did you know of the inheritance before you filed bk? Did she die before or after filing? If you knew, then at your 341 you were asked if you are expecting any inheritance or other incomes of the like. If you said no, that could cause a fraud flag. Or at the least a 2004 meeting/investigation. Clear the time line a bit please. 'Hub

[missEmily777]

MissEmily777

My husbands mother died on the 16th of May which according to the trustees of her estate is the 181st day after we filed bankruptcy. My husb then became due an inheiritance. Our lawyer has been saying that we had to tell the lawyer for the other side about it because here it is 2010 May 19 and it still isn't resolved for other reasons. Because there is abiguity in the law about how the 180 days are calculated, whether you use the date of filing as day one or the next day as day one she died on either the 180th day or the 181st day as the lawyers for her estate are saying. We had to go through a 2004 hearing yesterday at the continued insistance of our lawyer. It is now, sort of up to the bankruptcy trustee as to whether he is going to let the count start be the date of filing or the next day. I have tried to find cases that this has come up in and have had no success. This makes the difference between a LOT of money for us. And another problem we may have to consider if we lose is that our lawyer delayed filing the case after we met with him and signed the papers. But we can't get him to give us straight facts. He never gave us a copy of the papers and I can't find a copy of the check we paid him with so I can't find proof of how long the delay was. If it comes down to it that we lose because of any delay, we would have to find a lawyer to file against his errors and omissions policy. (I hope it has a big enough benefit pay out) If we lose the case based on that one day it's like if she had died 13 hours later we would have won.

[missEmily777]

MissEmily777

By "lawyer for the other side" I mean the bankruptcy trustee

[missEmily777]

missemily777

And the inheiritance has not been cleared yet, they still have some issues even now to clear up before distributing the funds. As of today May 19 2010.

[NewDawn]

I'm so sorry you're going through this. I really wish I had better news for you. You've been through an awful lot, yet have managed to persevere. Contrary to what I thought, according to an article I just read, it doesn't matter whether the case has been through probate court or the funds have not been distributed yet. The date of the death is the triggering event.

There is no easy way to say this, but according to another article I read, the 180 days starts the day AFTER you filed, meaning the date of filing is day zero. Maybe California calculates this differently, but bankruptcy is federal law.

Were the funds inside of any spendthrift trust or family trust? What state are you in and did you have any exemptions left from when you initially filed to cover some of this inheritance?

No matter what happens, you will get through this. We had an unusual set of circumstances ourselves. Six months after filing for bankruptcy, my husband was diagnosed with thyroid lymphoma cancer. It has been quite a journey, to say the least. I have had quite a few moments where I wished we hadn't filed when we did, had we known what was going to happen in the near future. But the fact is, we didn't know. We just had to cross that bridge when we came to it. Today, with a clearer mind, I'm still glad we filed when we did because we would have been doubly stressed, dealing with the cancer and having to file for bankruptcy at the same time.

I wish the best of luck to you.