New to BK

[Guy]

Hello everyone,
I would first of all like to thank all the participants for taking time out of their day to help others through this forum.
I am over 50K in debt (personal loan and credit card debt) as a consequence of a trucking venture that has been a total disaster. I have developed some serious health issues as a result of driving, which are forcing me to exit trucking. I am considering filing chapter 7 BK which would give me a fresh start so that I can go back to school, earn a degree and start a new career. I have done quite a bit of research already into the process, how to prepare for filing, and so on. But there are a couple of questions to which I have not been able to find either an answer or a satisfactory one yet and I would very much appreciate some input on those. The first one is to know if a BK trustee is able to find a crypto account on coinbase. Indeed I hold about 13K in my account; I would like to use about 2/5 of that for an emergency travel overseas (to the country where I am originally from) and save the rest to help me in my fresh start since I am planning to go back to school full time. Secondly, I would like to know if the BK trustee can find any prepaid debit card. Indeed, I have considered cashing out some of my crypto and putting the proceeds on some prepaid debit cards to pay for my bills in the meantime (I am currently not making much of an income, and my bank accounts might get frozen once I file anyway). Finally, would it be better to try to use an exemption, like the federal wildcard exemption, to try to save some or all of my crypto or cash equivalent from becoming part of the BK estate ? (I reside in Texas, by the way). Thank you so much and many blessings to all.

[despritfreya]

Welcome to the Forum. You raise some very significant questions that could have significant consequences if you mess this up. I highly recommend that you hire a well qualified attorney.

In response:

Is a BK trustee is able to find a crypto account? Can a BK trustee can find any prepaid debit card?

Yes. And. . . regardless of the ability to track this, you have a duty to fully disclose ALL assets you own or have an interest in whether those assets are in the US, some other country, in some virtual reality, on plastic or, some other form. If you fail to disclose, disclose, disclose and get caught, you may very well spend 3 plus years in a federal penitentiary and, the last I checked, face up to a $500,000.00 fine.

Should I use Texas or Federal exemptions?

To answer this you need legal advice. I believe Texas has a better exemption scheme but you need to sit down with someone who is qualified to go over your assets to determine what can be protected and what you would lose to a Chapter 7 Trustee if you file Chapter 7. The attorney may also be able to assist in determining what, if any, pre-bk planning can be done - something you should not be doing without proper advice.

Des.

[justbroke]

Welcome to BKForum.

As always, I have nothing to add to the excellent suggestions provided by des.