Going To File My Chapter 7 Today, Still Wondering About money In The Bank & Assets

[mjengineer]

I have worked on my documents with my lawyer for the past month, and today I am going for my final sign appointment to file my case. I have been surprisingly comfortable with the process, but last night I couldn't sleep and I just feel a bit odd. I still feel filing is the right thing to do for me.

I have read a few threads on what they look for, I am double the mean income for my state. But I am filing based off of my business expenses being more than my personal expenses which would allow me to file chapter 7. I am trying to get rid of the five mortgages I have for investment properties and my CC debt in the process.

What I am confused about though is after I file people say don't keep any money in the bank, well my job requires I use direct deposit. So, are they going to get made if I spend money (I know that there should not be big purchases or luxury items), but if I go on a date or something and spend $50 is that going to raise some ire?

Also do they just come to your house and take the assets you list? I heard they don't send anyone, and out of fear of being accused of hiding assets I listed DVD's and CD's on my asset sheet. How does that all work?

[discouraged]

I took my money out but had started a bank account at a new, small bank. Kept most of my money hidden at home but when I finally met with a lawyer he told me it wasn't necessary.

The main thing is not having money in a bank you have other dealings with i.e. credit cards, etc. as they will sometimes freeze your accounts. Wells Fargo is famous for this.

You should look at Florida folks posts for the question about assets. I doubt very seriously that they will unless something looks fishy. I, too, listed everything. The paralegal said he'd never seen that before, that most people just list basic things with a price and I said I wanted to take no chances on the trustee questioning my assets.

Example: If you read the news posts, there was a person who was hiding a lot of assets and yes, they found out and dismissed his case and I believe he went to jail - can't remember, it's been a while since I read it.

Another thing you can read is the 341 posts - there are some good stickies about what questions the trustee asks/looks for etc.

[daylate]

i recall reading many posts from folks in the Central District of FL (i think) where the trustees do in fact send people out to homes on a regular basis. You should search for some of these threads. Good luck

[mjengineer]

i recall reading many posts from folks in the Central District of FL (i think) where the trustees do in fact send people out to homes on a regular basis. You should search for some of these threads. Good luck

That's interesting, and also the reason I disclosed a hell of a lot. The valuation was odd to me garage sale prices, that means stuff isn't worth all that much. I guess they would be looking for things like boats and what not, I just want to make sure they don't find a cache of money sitting there.