Debtor stole money and now wants discharge!

[HeritageMom]

My sister stole money that was intrusted to her to buy my home, she was my realtor, used it to remodel her home. She filed for bankruptcy and included the $30,000.00 she took from me in her petition at the last minute, just 5 day prior to her 341 meeting. She also did it to my brother for $10,000 we can't afford an attorney to file an adversary proceeding to fight it, which is why she did it. Is there any other way to stop this debt from being discharges? I contacted the trustee and advised him of her intended fraud which is not just our money but her personal asset were grossly under valued, but so far no response. We are located in California. ANY HELP?

[NewDawn]

I'm sorry she did this to both you and your brother. Was this done willfully or did she just run out of money due to the economy? Was there anything in writing to document the transaction? How long was the time period from when you gave her the money and when she remodeled her house? How long ago before she filed for bankruptcy did this transaction occur? Can you prove she used the money to remodel her house? I don't know if there is any exception to discharge due to contract breaches or not. These are just the questions I would pose to an attorney. Have you contacted legal aid? Hopefully someone can chime in here and give you some good advice.

I wish the best of luck to you. I know with family involved, this makes it doubly hard.

[frogger]

Did you file charges against her? Have you got a copy of a police report?

[HHM]

You need to file something with the court. You need to file the AP. There is no way around that, you either hire an attorney to do it, or do it yourself.

You need to view the fees as in investment, the $5K you pay the attorney is to get a judgment worth $30K and $10k respectively. If you are serious about it, you will find a way (put the fees on a credit card).

The trustee represents creditors "collectively", the trustee cannot advocate YOUR case.

HOWEVER, out of curiosity, why would you give your Realtor (sister or otherwise) $30K to buy a house?

[HeritageMom]

In 2006 we were living in NY at the time so we trusted her to help us save money for our home in CA. I knew she was remodeling her home and was well on the finishing touches. She's my sister & I had no reason to distrust her. I know better now. She asked to borrow $2500.00 and then wld replace it after she refinanced but she used the entire amount and never replaced it except for the $2500 she asked to borrow,which she paid us for the commission when we finally purchased our home. We expected to get the entire commission she recieved, that why we agreeded to let still help us buy our home, but we only got the $2500.00 I had no written agreement but every single person in my family knew about it. I have contacted attorneys and they all charge $10,000 retainer and there is no guarantee to collect any money since they said I have no written agreement. I've called legal assiatance but they will help if I need to file for bankpuptcy not if I am a creditor. I am frustated to say the least but how is it possible the law protects thieves but not honest hard working class. The money for my brother was for services he provided in re land/hardscaping her front & backyard. From what i understand if i file a AP myself I will still need to hire consel to represent me. Which form do I need to file, the court just tells me they cant give me advise and are really no help, I just atleast want to know what form to fill out if I will move forward. Even an objection, what form do i need to fill out?

[BKOnce]

Wow, I can not believe any family member would do such a thing to another family member. It's very low tactic, scamming, have no family love, brutal, and so so.. mentally wrong on every level ...when they are stealing HARD_EARNED money from their own family member like that!!.. Unspeakable & unforgivable crime!!..

[BKOnce]

No wonder they always said something is wrong with our USA society nowadays. To each their own & nobody else does matter!

[HeritageMom]

She told me she used the money to buy her windows and some flooring. She had many opportunities to repay us, she didn't just run out of money. She had $90,000 in lines of credit, 401K, IRAs, stocks and time share some she will retain after she is discharged, she bought high end Viking/Subzero appliance, audio/video and diamond jewelry yet she only claim $2500 in personal property and $300 in jewelry...how can this be happening?? can she keep these many high valued assets after Chptr 7? She wld take trip to cancun & Vegas, that were on the DL so she absolutely intend to defraud us but how can i prove it without anything in writing?

[sunshinepa]

Sorry to say but if I were in your shoes I would at least tip off the Trustee in her case. I would pretty much say it just like you put in your post except to state that I saw the high end stuff, the jewelry and etc. It may never get your money back but at least it might cause the Trustee to take a closer and maybe longer lookback at income expenses and etc. Might even cause an appraisal of her property etc.

It can be awful when family can't be trusted. I thank God every day for my sister who supports me, helps me and would give me the shirt off her back, just like I would do for her. So sorry you don't have that and wish you all the luck in the world going after her!!!!

[NoMoreCards]

She asked to borrow $2500.00 and then wld replace it after she refinanced but she used the entire amount and never replaced it except for the $2500 she asked to borrow,which she paid us for the commission when we finally purchased our home. We expected to get the entire commission she recieved, that why we agreeded to let still help us buy our home, but we only got the $2500.00

I am very confused. She borrowed 2500 and paid back 2500. Sounds like you expected to get the commission she earned with the purchase of your house? And because you didn't get it, that is the money she "stole"?
So in a sense she was doing the work to help you purchase for free?

In any case, you will probably need a lawyer to help sort all this out however without anything in writing, it would be difficult to prove in court.
I don't know what legal standing you would have, as verbal agreements are next to impossible to prove.

[HHM]

Unfortunately, there is no "form" for this. AP's are litigation, you need to file a civil complaint with the BK court.
Check your bankruptcy court's website. You will want to look for the local forms and local rules. They may have at least a "format" that you can use. You will want to look at BK rules of Procedure starting with 9000, which controls how AP's are to handled.

However, you need to hire an attorney if you really want to win.

[Bkman2]

I work in real estate and I don't fully understand this. So back in 2006 you gave your sister some money to save for you in order for you to buy a house in California. 1st, why could she save the money better than you? Can you show proof of the cash you gave her? In court a family member saying you did is nothing. You need a paper trail.

Then you say she asked for $2500 and paid that back. Did you give that or did she take it out of the money you said you already gave?

Why did you let her still help you to purchase your home if she already spent all of your money?

In real estate an agent can't just give a commission away. Your loan program will say how much the seller, lender, & agent can give you but it must be covered in escrow. Non licensed people can not get paid a commission for a sale or purchase. If she said she would give it all to you after she got paid its hard to prove without something in writting.

I'm sorry this happened to you but family will always be the first to screw you. Like it or not, thats a fact. You need a paper trail to prove that you gave her the money and you may have to prove that it wasn't a gift or anything because you know if she has done this to you then she will say you never gave the money or the money was a gift.

Good luck!

[mrskal]

I am confused also. Where is the 30,000? You only mention $2500 in your later posts, unless I missed something?

[NewDawn]

Did you at least write her a check for the 30,000? Was it all at once or in payments? In other words, do you have bank statements, ATM withdrawal receipts, anything to prove the transactions? Of course, having her bank statements might help prove this as well. Anything to document this paper trail. It should be obvious if you wrote a check for X amount and that same amount shows up in her account. Did you ever buy your house and is she listed as the realtor for that transaction?

Since you are listed as a creditor on her petition, how did she list the debt she had with you? Did she list it on Schedule F or another schedule? Did she list your brother as a creditor as well? Again, how did she list the debt with him? I do know that you can object both to the debt discharge as well as the asset values she is claiming. You only have 60 days from the 341 meeting to file your objection. I think HHM gave you good advice on going to her local bankruptcy court's website to determine what needs to be done. Notify the U.S. trustee as well.

Maybe you and your brother could go together on getting an attorney. I wish I could help you more. Again, I'm so sorry that family has done this to you.

[NewDawn]

Was the 30,000 the commission she received? I'm confused also.