Bank account question

[blackitalian]

So I keep hearing its wise to have as little in your bank account as possible when you file because they can legally take that money away from you, but after you file can they touch the money you get after you file? How does that work?

[TXskyblue]

Negative, your BK petition is a frozen moment in time. Money you make afterwards is not a part of the BK.

Now, if you suddenly come into money within 6 months of the petition, that's a different story. I'm talking inheritance/lottery. Your regular income from the day after the petition is filed is all yours though.

I'd still recommend keeping money out of a banking account that also has any claim on your petition. Credit card, mortgage, auto loan, anything. Open up a brand new account at a brand new bank you've never used.

[despritfreya]

What you can/should have in the bank on the filing date that will be protected from the Trustee depends upon what you can exempt. I believe you can use either Washington's or the Federal exemptions which could cover some or all (depending on amount) of the funds sitting in the account on the filing date.

In a Chapter 7 money acquired after filing, unless derived from a asset that existed before filing or comes from an inheritance, property settlement associated with a domestic relations matter, or a life insurance/death benefit plan to which your rights materialized within 180 days after filing (11 USC 541(a)(5)), are not property of the estate.

Discuss this further with an attny.

Des.

[Pjmax]

If your money is in Wells Fargo, move it. That's the one major bank that's notorious for freezing accounts.

[tobee43]

on the day of filing in our state we were allowed $150 in our account. did we have? NO, why because we pay bills from that account, and as indicated by our petition we had a DMI of -2985. our SS checks and pension checks and UI were deposited the first week of the month and was also the time of our 341. that money the trustee knows goes towards expenses, we had no problem explaining any amount in our account. although another factor in our case, was those types of incomes were exempt.