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Things Not To Do Before Bankruptcy
July 5, 2012
1.) Don't lie about assets. Anything in your name needs to be listed in your schedules. What's an asset? Everything you could sell or own according to the law. Potential lawsuits are even considered assets.

2.) Don't leave out creditors or debts. If you leave out a debt then it's non-dis-chargeable and they can come after you for the money. All creditors have the right to know you have filed.

3.) Don't leave out income. If you don't disclose all the income for your household then you may not qualify for chapter 7 or if you file chapter 13 your payment could go up. If a chapter 7 or 13 is dismissed then you will have a bankruptcy on your credit and have nothing to show for it but a lot of debt.

4.) Don't give away assets or transfer them out of your name. When you file bankruptcy the court appoints a trustee who's job is to collect and sell your non-exempt assets. So if you start giving stuff away before filing he will object to your discharge for bad faith. Think about it. If all you had to do were give all your stuff away before filing and then just walk away from your debt everyone would do it. It's not fair that you get to "give away" you 1969 Corvette and screw your creditors out of the money it would have derived at auction. The look back on transfers to friends or family is 2 years. These gifts can and will be reversed. The friend or family member will be sued under a voidable transfer lawsuit by the Trustee.

5.) Don't give money to anyone or pay back anyone. If you owe mom$5,000.00 and you just got a big tax refund and you pay her back for that loan and then file bankruptcy. You just got mom sued for preference. You can't pick and choice who you want to pay right before filing bankruptcy. It's not fair. Why should mom be treated any better than VISA? According to the bankruptcy code they are equal.

6.) Don't incur debt right before filing. If you  rack up the VISA card right before filing it's bad faith. Just think about it. Would you think it's fair that someone could just wipe out a loan that you just gave them 45 days before they filed bankruptcy. it's not. So don't do it. And if you do tell your attorney.

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