Will my bank accounts be frozen when I file Chap 7?

[TomTea31]

I keep reading about frozen bank accounts and I am getting really worried. My family would not be able to survive without our money to pay bills & buy groceries. Are accounts automatically frozen? What about a spouse's account that isn't filing and I'm not on the account?

[Nicollette]

Do you have any other debts at this bank that you have your bank account with? Credit cards, auto loans, etc?

[TomTea31]

No, I don't have credit cards. Well just one and it's through premier bank. My debt is medical and a car accident I'm liable for.

[LadyInTheRed]

Wells Fargo is known for freezing accounts upon filing of BK, even if you have never owed them money. There is one other bank that does the same, but I don't remember which one.

Except for those two banks, if you don't owe money to a bank or credit union where you have an account, your accounts should not be frozen.

ETA: The second bank may be Wachovia which is owned by Wells Fargo.

[TomTea31]

ok well I don't have either of those banks.

What about freezing a spouse's bank when he's not filing?

[delphinus317]

I bank with a local credit union where I also have an auto loan that is current & always paid on time (keeping it). I was worried they would freeze my bank account, but the only thing they did after I filed was cancelled the automatic payments withdrawn from my checking account with them. I just have to make manual payments to the auto loan until the CH7 is discharged. But, they did not freeze my accounts.

[IamOld]

Tomtea if the spouse is on the account by themselves then NO they cannot freeze it BUT again make sure it's a bank that you don't owe anything to and stay away from Wells Fartgo!!!

[tobee43]

i would suggest to get all monies out of the bank and not take a chance. we paid by money order or in cash until everything settled down. so, for our creditors and banks there was nothing to freeze. it was a bit difficult using money orders and the like, however, we couldn't take the chance that any of our living money would be frozen.

[notalooser]

we were ok using bank of america. "our" account was only in my name because my husband had a couple of judgements against him, and we were worried that prior to our filing, if his name was on the bank account, that the account could be frozen to pay the judgement. after filing chapter 7 though, our bank account was never affected, never frozen. however, we didn't have any loans, credit cards, etc. associated with bank of america.

for future reference though, i would never get another loan (if i ever can!) with a bank that i have a bank account with. we have a HELOC through wells fargo, and we used to have a bank account through them. at the start of our financial downfall, if we were late on that payment, they took it upon themselves (i'm assuming this was authorized through the original loan documents) to withdraw the payment randomly from our account, with not even a days notice. it would of course, overdraw our account, cause other payments to bounce, etc. they eventually froze that account because it was so far in the red.

[obwnlink]

I had/have two bank accounts, one with Bank of America and the second with Wells Fargo. I had checking, savings, HELOC, and two credit cards with Bank of America. I have just a checking account with Wells Fargo. Bank of America froze and closed all my accounts after I filed for bankruptcy. Wells Fargo did nothing.

[buffetbuster]

We have a bank that we had no financial ties with, other than making deposits and withdrawals and it did not get frozen. I think the only time banks will freeze your money is if you owe them money.

[tobee43]

I had/have two bank accounts, one with Bank of America and the second with Wells Fargo. I had checking, savings, HELOC, and two credit cards with Bank of America. I have just a checking account with Wells Fargo. Bank of America froze and closed all my accounts after I filed for bankruptcy. Wells Fargo did nothing.

go figure...it's so odd how something happens to others and not others...wierd, but GOOD for you!!

[budgetgal]

I filed in June and had checking and savings at Wells Fargo. My attorney said as long as the combined amount in both accounts was less than $1500, I wouldn't get frozen. I didn't have any issues with Wells Fargo at all. I am also with a First Entertainment Credit Union for savings and they revoked my ability to transfer funds online which makes it difficult, so I have stopped depositing to that account and am not sure if I am going to keep it. I didn't have any debt with Wells Fargo, so perhaps that helped as well.

[TomTea31]

Ok good to know. I do not want to deal with money orders. It's not cost effective to cash a check outside of our bank because they charge you fees to cash checks, it's not free. Then you have $2 or so each m/o. That adds up fast.

[luckstyl]

so if I have Wells Fargo do I need to plan on switching banks immediately after filing?