How To Safeguard Your Assets Before Filing For Bankruptcy

The single most difficult decision in your life has to be the decision to file for bankruptcy protection. After you have filed for bankruptcy, the record of your bankruptcy will live with you for the next 10 years. Once you have the mark of bankruptcy in your credit history, there are times when you can be discriminated against because the decision makers do not want to do business with someone who has a history of bankruptcy. Instead of worrying about the things outside your control once you have filed for bankruptcy protection, you should try to protect your assets which are under your control. The bankruptcy trustee will try to take away as many non-exempt assets as he or she can under the law, while you should try to prevent the bankruptcy trustee from apprehending your assets as part of your pre-bankruptcy planning. Some of the things that you should keep in mind before filing for bankruptcy include:

It is not wise to sell or give away your assets to someone else

Some people think that they can elude the hand of the bankruptcy court by transferring their assets to someone else prior to filing bankruptcy. This is simply naive to think that the bankruptcy trustee has not seen all kinds of bankruptcy cases, and therefore be able to spot intentional fraud. Bankruptcy trustee is there to affirm that the information in the bankruptcy petition is precisely represented. Do not cheat the bankruptcy system. Hiding or transferring assets is a big felony and your case can be tossed out of court. Once the bankruptcy trustee can prove you have tried to rig the system, your bankruptcy case can be toss out of court with your original debt intact. Your bankruptcy case can be dismissed in the court of law if you are found liable for committing fraud.

Your assets can be lawfully sheltered using the bankruptcy exemption rule

Each state in the United States has drafted its own bankruptcy exemption which can be significantly different from one state to another. In order to maximize the assets you can retain, make sure that your bankruptcy attorney knows the specifics of your state's law. As part of the pre-bankruptcy planning, consult with your attorney to make sure you have legally sheltered your assets. The bankruptcy court cannot take any exempt assets to pay off the debt obligations to the creditors. Do not miss out the chance to list your assets as exempt under the laws of the bankruptcy. Unless you are sure of every single state specific bankruptcy regulation, talk to a certified bankruptcy attorney and protect your assets.

Disclose everything to your bankruptcy lawyer

The bankruptcy trustee has a wide range of investigative measures to make sure that your assets are precisely represented. You should absolutely divulge everything that you own in the bankruptcy petition. Do not try to hide the assets as they can be found by the bankruptcy trustee to pay off the creditors. If for some reason the bankruptcy trustee finds these hidden assets, your bankruptcy case can be dismissed because of attempted fraud.

In short, do not think it is illegal for you to keep the assets you have after you have filed for bankruptcy. Since the process is so complicated and convoluted, seek the advice of a bankruptcy lawyer. A qualified lawyer will be able to get you through the bankruptcy procedure rather painlessly and effortlessly. For additional information on bankruptcy, please visit ToFileBankrutpcyOrNot.com.