How to handle joint bank account?

[mb10240]

Hey everybody,
If you've been following my posts, I plan on filing individually at the end of the month. My wife and I have a joint checking account -- it's classified as a joint tenancy with rights of survivorship (not TBE, like it should've been!). Almost all of the money in the account is from my wife's employment... I've probably contributed at most $180 to what's currently in the account.

I'm having to use Louisiana exemptions since I spent 10 years there prior to my move to Missouri in December of '09. Louisiana does not permit use of the federal exemptions... and while most of their exemptions are "no limit", they generally stink. As such, there's no way to exempt the bank account.

Is there anything I can do or argue to protect the bank account, considering that even though I have an equal, undivided interest in the account, the money in it really isn't from the "sweat of my brow".

[justbroke]

No, you have no way to argue. It's a joint tenancy! Even worse, that's a community-property State. Half of it is yours. I would work with an attorney who is good at asset protection, but you may be out of luck.

I don't claim to be an expert on tenancies by the entireties, joint tenancy, and community property, but looks like you probably own half of what's in her account, if not by the joint tenancy, but by the community property rights. Of course, all this is based on your State's underlying non-bankruptcy law, so it will be very specific to either Missouri, if that's where you live now, and/or Louisiana.

Best of luck with this... I have no suggestions.

[mb10240]

No, you have no way to argue. It's a joint tenancy! Even worse, that's a community-property State. Half of it is yours. I would work with an attorney who is good at asset protection, but you may be out of luck.

It's a Missouri account and we live in Missouri... there's no community property in Missouri. I don't see anyway how Louisiana's community property laws could apply to something that was never community property to begin with, when a community didn't even exist. I'm not claiming the existence of a community because there simply isn't one -- I'm just subject to Louisiana's exemptions (just as my wife, if she were filing, would be subject to NH's exemptions).

But that's really besides the point since it's joint-tenancy, anyways.

I thought about going to the bank and seeing if I could have the account "retitled" as a TBE, but I think that would constitute a transfer that would have to be reported in the filing, even though no actual transfer is taking place.

I guess the easiest thing to do would be to push the account as close to "0" as possible before filing, which will probably happen anyways with all of the bills that have to get paid... lol

EDIT: You know, if I was teaching a "Conflicts of Law" course, this would be a really great question for the final exam!

[justbroke]

It's a Missouri account and we live in Missouri... there's no community property in Missouri.
But that's really besides the point since it's joint-tenancy, anyways.

I only picked up the Missouri from your information area (to the left of your post). I didn't know where the account was created or existed, so... that's good information. I think the problem is still the way that the account is titled. The question is, would redoing the account as a TBE be considered a transfer.

EDIT: You know, if I was teaching a "Conflicts of Law" course, this would be a really great question for the final exam!

[/QUOTE]Yes, it is!