Help.. Personel Injury settelment and BK

[johncock]

Hello. I just joined after browsing for a week. Great forum. Anyway, after much research and a lot of reluctance, we have decide to file next month. We really see no other alternative. That said, I have a few specific concerns. I would like to present one of these to the forum. I have yet to get a clear answer on this.

My wife was involved in an accident 2 years ago. Without going real deep, she herniated a disc, and had a lot of medical bills. She was advised to consult with an attorney. Anyway, she just recieved a settelment of $12,000.
We get the impression that in Colorado this settelment is exempt, she gets to keep it all.

Is this correct? If not, how does it effect a BK?

Thanks in advance.

[LuciluS]

Great News on the Settlement. The same thing happened to be in 3/05 except I've had 7 surgeries, have a spinal cord stimulator implanted and received a measly $5,000 and I'm disabled.

I spent most of it ($4,664) on dental bills. If she doesn't spend it, you need to ask your Attorney if you are able to Exempt it. If you haven't retained an Attorney Yet, set up some free consultations.

Google Colorado Bankruptcy Laws to see if the State has their own exemptions or alllows you to use the Federal Exemptions. It's hard to give you a yes or no answer as I don't know what else you are exempting.

Also, a post on the Chapter 7 board said Wells Fargo and another bank (can't remember which one) are freezing Accounts after bankruptcy is filed. Use the Search button and type in Wells Fargo & you will see the post.

Luci

[johncock]

Thanks, sort of. Would prefered to not have had her injuried, and not filing for BK. Sorry to hear of your accident, and measley settelment. It certainly sounds much worse than my wifes. We are fortunate to have gotten what we did...now if we can just keep it.

We are putting it in a bank long enough to clear, then removing it all. We have minimal amounts in or checking and savings. $25 to $100 max at any given time. We have not yet filed. Plan on it next month.

On another note, is it safe in the bank? How can it be frozen pre-filing? We have no judgements against us. We have no issuies at all with the bank it will be deposited in. This concerns me....

Thanks

[LuciluS]

We quit paying our CC late Sept. 08 and not filing until 9/30/09 to let some income drop off so we can file a Chapter 7.

I've received 3-4 collection letters. When I got the first one, I faxed it to my Attorney. He said no worries. If i get something certified by US Post Office, UPS or Fed Ex, he will file something in Court to delay any proceedings.

We live in a small town and use a local Bank. I'm not worried about them freezing our account or taking money with our approval.

Here is the link I was talking about.

http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.php?t=38571