Depositing a LARGE check after filing????

[jman]

I am going to be filing on Monday for chapter 7 and i just met the demands of the means test and i dont want to do ANYTHING to hurt my chances of everything going smooth until i can be discharged and end this nightmare im in. My question is this- I have a check for $15,000 that a friend gave me because he has owed me money for a long time. if i file on monday and deposit the check say on Tuesday is there ANY CHANCE that this might cause a problem and come back to haunt me? The last bank statment i gave that rounded of the 6 month snapshot ended on March 7th so it wont show on there. I guess im worried that the trustee from now until dischage will ask to see my updated bank statments. Can a trustee even do that?

Any helpfull insight would be greatly appreciated

[helpmeout]

You need to declare that check in your possession as cash on hand, even if you don't cash it until after you file. And if you return it to your friend, well, you are going to have to declare the money that your friend owes you as that is part of the BK estate. You have told your attorney about the substantial money owed to you, haven't you? And if you don't have an attorney, perhaps you should delay filing until you get one.

Not declaring the cash on hand is BK fraud. Something that you could end up in jail for.

[spidge]

Good luck attempting to squeee between a rock and a hard place.

[discouraged]

If I remember correctly, the trustee does ask if anything has changed since you filed. I owuldn't touch this with a ten foot pole. I'll let the experts help you out but I would think you would wait until that check was off the radar, say a year or so. Hiding assets is the worst thing you can do and don't kid yourself that they won't find out. You are under oath when you declare that everything you say is truthful.

I would not take the chance of jail.

[spidge]

Since this is a personal check I would think he would only have to wait 6 months as the look back limit. He won't get a W2 for it or notice of income. I wonder if the bank would report it in some way. They do have to report anything larger than $10,000 in one transaction.

[helpmeout]

If I remember correctly, the trustee does ask if anything has changed since you filed. I owuldn't touch this with a ten foot pole. I'll let the experts help you out but I would think you would wait until that check was off the radar, say a year or so. Hiding assets is the worst thing you can do and don't kid yourself that they won't find out. You are under oath when you declare that everything you say is truthful.

I would not take the chance of jail.

Holding on to the check is the same as hiding assets. Not declaring money owed to you (that is one of the questions on the BK forms) is hiding assets. And when the Trustee contacts the person who owes the money for payment, guess what the Trustee is going to be told?

[jman]

im not trying to commit bank fraud or anything of that nature. what if after i filed a friend let me borrow 12k to keep me from being dead broke and to feed my kids? could that really be used against me? I live in NY and 12k in NY is spent VERY easily and quickly on just normal living. i work on a commissioned sales job my last year has been miserable income wise and that is the reason im even eligible for chapter 7 but what if after i file i have a great month and i get paid 10k in a month? its very possible- so how can that be used against me? it makes no sense because i thought bankruptcy is a snapshot of the last 6 months before filing. is that not the case anymore?

[discombob1]

Hate to say it but everyone is right...hiding that money is fraud. Even if you get away with it karma is a killer sometimes. Good luck, hope things work out for you.

ETA: you have that money on hand now even if you haven't cashed it. And if you don't cash the check, you still have to report that the money is owed to you. I also believe you cannot borrow that much money after filing without reporting it but others more knowledgeable can correct me.

[helpmeout]

im not trying to commit bank fraud or anything of that nature. what if after i filed a friend let me borrow 12k to keep me from being dead broke and to feed my kids? could that really be used against me? I live in NY and 12k in NY is spent VERY easily and quickly on just normal living. i work on a commissioned sales job my last year has been miserable income wise and that is the reason im even eligible for chapter 7 but what if after i file i have a great month and i get paid 10k in a month? its very possible- so how can that be used against me? it makes no sense because i thought bankruptcy is a snapshot of the last 6 months before filing. is that not the case anymore?

It is a snapshot of all your debt and all your assets on the day you file.

And on Monday, you will have in your possession a check for $15K. A check is the same as cash on hand. And that is an asset of yours on the day you file.

And if you return the check, on Monday, you will have a friend who owes you $15K (think of it as an account receivable). That is an asset on the day you file.

Either way, you have a $15K asset on the day you file.

The example you gave really doesn't compare to your reality. Any debt that you acquire after you file is your responsibility. Just like any assets you acquire after you file is yours. Your problem is the asset you want to keep existed before you filed. Did you discuss it with your attorney? Perhaps you will be able to exempt it.

[jman]

ok - let me ask the question in a different way then. Lets say i file on Monday and i dont have the check yet and then 1 week from then i get a check for 15k from a friend. Is that still bank fraud? and more importantly will that mess up anyting with my case?
Please understand i am not trying to commit any crimes. I am just curious here and really need answers because i could really use the money and if i can get it after i close i could se it to pay people back i have borrowered money from to get me through hard times

[AngelinaCat]

One of the questions you will be asked is: "Does anyone owe you any money?" You are under oath to tell the truth.

[discouraged]

I still say yes. As you've read, the 15k would have been a receivable when you filed and should have been included on your documents. I'm not certain why you would chance it. We are all in desperate straits or we wouldn't be filing bankruptcy. We all need money or we would have been able to pay our bills.

I'm cringing because I thought my case was being filed on the 4th and went on a spending spree (it was a spree for me anyways - a whopping $142 at Fleet Farm and buying a new mattress for $185) and my case wasn't filed until Monday and I feel as if I should have to explain, even though I know to others it may seem piddling, to me I hadn't spent that much money in a long, long time. And yet, I cringe when I think the trustee may think I'm throwing money away while filing for bankruptcy.

[helpmeout]

ok - let me ask the question in a different way then. Lets say i file on Monday and i dont have the check yet and then 1 week from then i get a check for 15k from a friend. Is that still bank fraud? and more importantly will that mess up anyting with my case?
Please understand i am not trying to commit any crimes. I am just curious here and really need answers because i could really use the money and if i can get it after i close i could se it to pay people back i have borrowered money from to get me through hard times

Let's just say you didn't have the check and got it a week later.

The money that your friend owes you IS AN ASSET OF THE BK ESTATE. And any payment of money owed to you on the date of your bk estate that you receive MUST be reported to the Trustee. And if you don't have enough exemptions to cover it, then you will have to hand it over the Trustee.

And all of those friends that you owe money to need to be included in your creditor matrix.

It is beginning to sound like you don't have an attorney?????

[jman]

i have an attorney. i dont think my question is being read right. i just want to know in general if after you file for chapter 7 and in between the time you file and pending a discharge if you deposit a large check - will that come back to haunt you witha trustee ORRRR after you file whatever happens happens and its no big deal?

[AngelinaCat]

It is beginning to sound like you don't have an attorney?????

It is beginning to sound like that to me too. And having that money in hand, or having it owed to you, is probably going to make you an 'Asset Case'.