First payment missed

[mcordry]

Well I just sat down to pay my bills for the month, and I didn't pay my Chase credit card bill for the first time. I have to say it was very difficult to not pay it. I have never been late on anything... But I am going to stand strong and start the process of the bankruptcy. I will mail my attorney his first payment Monday. I will have about 3 months before the actual filing. I hope it will get easier not paying these bills. I will save almost $1000 a month by not paying unsecured debt. What a blessing it will be to not be short every month. Not using credit is going to be so difficult, I think I have become addicted to whipping out the charge card. But already it has made me more aware of what I buy (needs vs. wants). I have a question for someone.... My sister has a bank account at the bank that my business account is at. My name is on her account only for the purpose of having access if something happens to her. I have no interest in the account other than that. I have never deposited any funds in this account nor have I ever written a check on this account. Do you think the trustee will take it? That would be the worst scenario for me because it is all of my sister's money. The attorney said as long as we disclose it and have proof that it is her's and her's alone. we will be fine. I sure hope so. Thanks for any input that you give.

[justbroke]

I can't tell you specifics, but I'm assuming that your sister's account is a personal checking account. In this case, you would need to list the account. If you listed the account, you would list your interest in the account (which I assumed is $0.00). You may need to explain to the Trustee that you have not sourced any money in the account at the time of filing, should the Trustee see the balance and go after it.

Since this is related to property that is not yours, I highly suggest obtaining 3-5 bankruptcy consultations and specifically ask them this question. Don't leave anything out. If you're more than a mere signatory, you should tell the attorney. If you ever put $1 in that account... tell the attorney.

There was at least one recent poster, here on BKForum, that had a similar problem. They were lucky in that the Trustee "fell asleep at the wheel" and lost his chance to object to the claim of exemption on that account.

[LadyInTheRed]

Definitely consult with a couple of other attorneys. But, I think what the attorney told you makes sense.

My mother added me to her account for the same reason your sister added you. It is a common way for people to make sure their loved ones can take care of their financial affairs when they can't and to quickly access their accounts after they die. My attorney listed the account on my petition with zero as the value and stated "JT account w/mother. All funds can be traced to mother's social security account". The trustee never asked about it. The fact that the account was all exempt social security funds might have helped. Also, I head plenty of unused wildcard exemption to apply to the account if the trustee tried to claim I had an interest in the account. A more aggressive trustee may react differently.

You may not ever get used to not making payments. But, you will get used to having the extra cash.