keeping cash in a relative's safety deposit box?

[treehugger1]

I think it is unlikely that any creditor/CA would find a safe-deposit box unless you were called into question under a debtor exam. These are not common, but I believe we will see more of them. Just put it in a "coffee can," so to speak. It's not like any current investments will return all that much. Or, go to some banks, Walmart, etc, and purchase some prepaid debit cards. Many of these are good for 2 - 4 years before they expire. On the other hand, you have to remmeber you have them. LOL

[cityish]

i had a safety box, with another person,not related so there was no problem there, but i would think if you were called for discovery of assets, and lied to someone like a judge about it, you could have a problem. have you considered prepaid debit cards from places like walmart, or netspend, you can load them up with quite a bit of money and they are safe and not traceable. you can even have direct deposit put on netspend.

Thanks Treehugger and everyone who responded.

Hey Junker, thank you for the tip about Netspend. I had never heard of them. I just went to their website and see there is a reload center right down the block from where I live. So that would be very convenient.

I'm assuming that if you ever lost the Netspend pre-loaded Visa card that if the card was ever lost/stolen, there is some sort of system in place where you can have it replaced? If so that would be better than keeping hundreds or a couple thousand in cash lying around.

Right now I'm so paranoid because I actually have $1,000 cash in my purse. Over the weekend I was going through the mountains of old credit card statements that have gone unopened for months. (I never opened them because I couldn't pay them, I figured why bother.)

Well, somewhere in the mess I found a check made out to me for $1,000... a refund from the home insurance company that was sent to me in August!!! When my home insurance expired for nonpayment over the summer, they refunded me for the balance in my escrow. Here I've been pinching pennies all these months and was sitting on top of that check and didn't even know it. ROFL

But I've learned my lesson -- open the mail!!!!!

I cashed it yesterday at my old bank where I've been banking for 10 years --- and now I want to open a new account somewhere where all my creditors don't have all my routing numbers and stuff. So I guess I'll check out the Netspend deal. Thanks again!

[treehugger1]

What I still find amazing about these prepaid cards as they all have a very clear statement that goes something like this:

"The Card does not constitute a checking, savings or other bank account and is not connected in any way to any other account you may have. The Card is not a credit card."

While the card itself has to be tied to some holding account somewhere, that particular account held by a bank is not yours. The only thing you have is a front-loaded 16 digit VISA or MC debit card. Since many of the banks that back up these FDIC insured debit cards are probably not licensed in many states, the licensing issue is a moot point, since all you technically hold is a prepaid card, and not a bank account.

In addition, most of the new cards out there allow you to make use of bill pay and even ACH payments. I think the prepaid visa cards allow you to do ACH payments. You just furnish the holding bank's routing number and some account number they give you for your card. Then again, I think most of us have decided that sharing routing numbers and account numbers is not the best idea. LOL

The list of solid prepaid debit card accounts is growing. Here are some more:

Netspend (already mentioned)
Walmart
Western Union
KeyBank
Accountnow
GreenDot
etc, etc

Check them out carefully as the fees and costs vary.

Many of the newer cards don't charge you a load fee if you apply $300 through a western union prepaid form.

[cityish]

The list of solid prepaid debit card accounts is growing. Here are some more:

Netspend (already mentioned)
Walmart
Western Union
KeyBank
Accountnow
GreenDot
etc, etc

Check them out carefully as the fees and costs vary.

Many of the newer cards don't charge you a load fee if you apply $300 through a western union prepaid form.

Thanks for the tip, Treehugger. I am new to this and hadn't heard of some of those companies. I will do some research and look into it.

I truly appreciate everyone's help. Thanks.

[CompTweaker]

Traveler's checks, and I say this just because of the event of a house fire. And since you're talking about $1000, its worth it, and you can keep it to yourself and if its stolen, they cant do anything with it.


Quote from http://nestmannblog.sovereignsociety.../08/index.html :

"For instance, under U.S. law, if you purchase bank checks, cashier’s checks, money orders, or traveler’s checks, in amounts between US$3,000 and US$10,000, the issuer must verify your identity and retain a record of the transaction for five years. If the purchase is for more than US$10,000, a record of the transaction must be sent to the U.S. Treasury."

__________________________________________________ ________
But if I were you, I would just wait and see what happens. I've had 3 huge credit cards go into default, one has passed the SOL to sue, one has so many FDCPA and FCRA violations i think they chose to leave me alone, and the other is a case I'm in the middle of litigation with. Bottom line, whoever tries to sue you must prove the debt is yours, the amount is correct, and prove the full chain of title/custody and that they have the right to collect it.

Dont start worrying until a lawsuit is filed. And whatever you do, send a DV (CMRR) reponding to collection letters and dont ever talk with anyone on the phone about it. As far as hiding money, theres soooo many inconspicuos places that most never think to check......under a trash can, taped to the bottom side of a dresser drawer, taped inside an HVAC vent or the inside of the carrier unit itself, placed in a plastic bag and frozen inside one of those blue ice carriers for coolers......get my drift?

Oh, and check your state's SOL and auto exemptions.

[cityish]

If your really worried go to a local low budget car dealer and ask them how much would you give me for my car right now as it sits? This is what your car is worth and its probably under your states exemptions. Rarely, I mean rarely does anyone take a car that does not have a huge amount of equity in it (like your brand new paid off Hummer H1) other wise the costs after your exemptions never equal out. They have to pay to get a court order, the repo or tow truck, a bond with the sheriff, storage and auction costs. So its really nothing to worry about.

You're right, BigBoy, I do worry too much. Way too much! I'm so sick of it all the time...

I like your suggestion about going to the low budget car dealer. I'm going to do that. It would be interesting to hear what they say.

Thanks for your input, you raised some points that had not occurred to me!