Is Credit Card Charge a Gift

[Optimistic09]

If our credit card was used to pay for a service over $600 for a family member how will this be looked at? Does there just need to be time between charge and filing?

One professional said it would be a gift and at first another professional said it would be a gift and then said it would not be because it was bank to bank meaning I think that the family member never had it in their hands.

If it is a gift what is the significance of it?

[StartingOver08]

If I understand your post - you charged $600 on your credit card recently for someone else.

Are you the one that is filing BK? Or is the person for which you charged services, filing BK?
If you are the one that is filing, there is no gift componet.

Did you file yet? When do you plan to file - that is what makes the difference on the $600 charge to your credit card.

[fltoo]

How much over 600. was the charge?

This should be treated as any other charge and needs a waiting period.

I doubt the cc company will look favorably upon you using THEIR money so that you can "gift" it to someone and I can't believe a competent lawyer would even address it as a gift issue.

Just wait it out and you will be fine.

[Optimistic09]

Thank you. This is one of the things that I had been worried about and so when talking to one attorney yesterday I felt a little doomed when she said that is a gift. It was $2k and was services to an attorney - not bankruptcy.

We are the ones filing and had a bal transfer on this card of more than six months ago but had not been using this card. It wasn't until the month after the charge when interest rates were going up again that the "switch" went off that it is impossible to keep up.

We made one payment on this card early in this month before we made the bankruptcy decision. We have not filed yet and are tying to understand our timing.

[StartingOver08]

Oh. So you made a recent $2000 charge on a credit card.

Fltoo is right. Time is your best friend here - wait at least 90 days or more to file. Try to make at least a couple of small payments toward this card if you can - or just wait to file longer.

BTW, interview other BK attorney's - I still don't see how the attorney came up with the gift idea.

[Optimistic09]

Ok, thanks. We are planning on at least 90 days. I think I have caught any automatic payments coming from any or our cards so we should not have any charges on our cards in April.

About finding an attorney. I have talked to several and sometimes the paralegal. When the attorney said to me that what we had done was a gift the feeling I had was that I don't think she is for us. I felt like we had done something really bad the way she said it. I want the facts but I want an advocate too.

One mentioned not coming in for a free consultation until you are ready to file but we want an attorney that will help guide us and plan and time the filing.

We have our first consultation this week with a referred attorney. She doesn't do only bankruptcies but she could still be the right fit.

[StartingOver08]

Just a cautionary word - be careful with attorney's that are a "jack of all trades".

BK is very detailed oriented. Most good Bk attorney's ONLY practice BK and nothing else.