Filing by myself, but spouse is receiving inheritance..

[rogue22]

I am married and planning on filing ch.7 by myself . However, we just discovered that she is about to inherit 25,000 so I am concerned about the consequences of my Bk and her receiving the inheritance. Our checking/savings accounts are joint, but she could open a new savings account in just her name for the inheritance.

So If I file ch.7 by myself, could the trustee still factor in her inheritance even if she deposits the money into a seperate checking account with just her name on it?

I do understand that the creditors can go after her then, if her name was on my credit card account, which I cant remember if it was. But even if that happens, it would take approximately a year for them to sue her. By that time she could have the money invested in protected IRA's and she can then file BK as well if needed.

So my next question, is a year long enough for a BK trustee to not even pay attention to the inheritance as long as it was invested or remaining amount is covered by the exemptions?

[tcreegan]

Hi rouge22,

My understanding is that if it is her "sole and separate" property/asset, and kept that way, it can stay out of your BK.

I also understand that any trustee seeing that amount of $$ is going to start salivating. And trying to wait it out, hide it, move it into exempt assets, has the very real possibilty of drawing the trustees "evil eye"

Despite the wonderful, knowledgable, experienced people here, I wouldn't be betting 25K on anything but a very competent, local BK attorney

Time to start shopping for BK attorneys, pick a winner!

Tom in Colo

[SunshineGal]

Just wanted to second what Tcreegan said. Technically, your wife's property is not part of the estate but this could get tricky. I would meet with a few attorneys before she gets the check so you don't make a $25,000 mistake.

[SunshineGal]

Also, have your wife pull her credit report, it will show how she is listed on each account. If it's listed as authorized user, have her name removed from the card and request a letter in writing confirming it.

[justbroke]

Fortunately, you're in Florida, a non-community property state. I would keep it in a separate account, so that you don't have the issue of co-mingling. By separate, I mean that you are not listed on that account, at all!

[rogue22]

Thanks for your responses! I ended up getting ahold of my attorney and he confirmed that it will be safe in a bank account that doesn't have my name on it. I also did the credit report and saw that only one of the credit cards is listed with her. So we may use some of that money to settle with that creditor and preserve her credit score a little. If not, we should be able to delay any possible lawsuits long enough to protect the money (legally). Thanks again!