Chapter 7 and a Paypal account

[Intoodeep80]

I retained a bk lawyer in August and am filing sometime in December. I havent used any credit cards since 2007.

I am surrendering my house so I have been liquidating, obviously, because I will be moving into a smaller place. I have been actively selling on ebay.

Im not talking about big bucks here but I did recently sell a spare tranmission I had on ebay for $150. The buyer paid me through paypal, I requested a check sent to me. Everything else Ive sold has been for small amounts - $20 here, $20 there, $10 here, $10 there. Nothing big ticket (I dont have anything big ticket! lol).

I do not have a line of credit through paypal, so to speak. It is set up to pay for things through my checking account, and prior to hitting rock bottom was linked to a credit card but the credit card has been closed and no activity has taken place in over a year. Im pretty sure the paypal account is not on my credit report, the last I checked was January 2008 and Ive had the paypal account since probably 2001.

Should I not be using the paypal account? Im afraid to call my lawyer <yet>, so I wouldnt get barked at, and thought I'd ask here first. I wouldnt intentionally do anything to jeopardize my case though and I just thought about it.....

[WoodSprite]

I retained a bk lawyer in August and am filing sometime in December. I havent used any credit cards since 2007.

I am surrendering my house so I have been liquidating, obviously, because I will be moving into a smaller place. I have been actively selling on ebay.

Im not talking about big bucks here but I did recently sell a spare tranmission I had on ebay for $150. The buyer paid me through paypal, I requested a check sent to me. Everything else Ive sold has been for small amounts - $20 here, $20 there, $10 here, $10 there. Nothing big ticket (I dont have anything big ticket! lol).

I do not have a line of credit through paypal, so to speak. It is set up to pay for things through my checking account, and prior to hitting rock bottom was linked to a credit card but the credit card has been closed and no activity has taken place in over a year. Im pretty sure the paypal account is not on my credit report, the last I checked was January 2008 and Ive had the paypal account since probably 2001.

Should I not be using the paypal account? Im afraid to call my lawyer <yet>, so I wouldnt get barked at, and thought I'd ask here first. I wouldnt intentionally do anything to jeopardize my case though and I just thought about it.....

Hey, Intoodeep - welcome to the forum. This sounds like exactly what I was doing in the six or so months before I filed, and I was really worried about it. Mine was mostly small stuff too - except for one $600 sale which I lost a LOT of sleep over. That sure seemed like a monstrous sum of money to me, but the trustee couldn't have cared less. I should have chosen to worry about something else. If you haven't used your credit cards since 2007, you'll be just fine. Paypal as you have it set up simply functions as an extension of your checking account, so all the same rules apply. The conventional wisdom is that if there aren't any single payments for more than $600 (aside from regular income and expenses), the flags don't generally go up, especially if you're under the median. You're good.

[Mi Bankruptcy]

Intoo. Please list some details about your BK.

Are you a no-asset? Are you over/under the median income? You shouldn't be afraid to talk to your attorney, they are( or should) be providing advice based on your best interest. Since your not use PayPal Credit you should be alright. The regular pay pal account is like a bank account

[Intoodeep80]

Intoo. Please list some details about your BK.

Are you a no-asset? Are you over/under the median income? You shouldn't be afraid to talk to your attorney, they are( or should) be providing advice based on your best interest. Since your not use PayPal Credit you should be alright. The regular pay pal account is like a bank account

First - Thanks woodsprite for your input!! (wipes sweat from forehead)

Mi Bankruptcy, Im in Michigan as well.

I am under the median income, but not by much (maybe a few thousand), IIRC the amount was $43,000 a year income. The past 5 years I was much over that but as everybody knows, Michigan is in a pickle right now and I have had my OT cut, and lost my 2nd job as a driver ed teacher which was great supplemental income.

What does no-asset mean? Im only 28 and dont have any savings or 401k. Im surrendering my house, car, boat. I have a 2nd car that I drive now until they come and repo my truck (I voluntarily surrendered it).

So I did call my Lawyer, she was serious at first and then laughed it off. She said that they will be looking for things $1000 or more. Of which, Ive never sold or bought anything through paypal or ebay that much! $150 at the most. The lawyer told me not to worry about it and that its good I told her about it, but keep it at a $0 balance in case they look for it.

[Mi Bankruptcy]

First - Thanks woodsprite for your input!! (wipes sweat from forehead)

Mi Bankruptcy, Im in Michigan as well.

I am under the median income, but not by much (maybe a few thousand), IIRC the amount was $43,000 a year income. The past 5 years I was much over that but as everybody knows, Michigan is in a pickle right now and I have had my OT cut, and lost my 2nd job as a driver ed teacher which was great supplemental income.

What does no-asset mean? Im only 28 and dont have any savings or 401k. Im surrendering my house, car, boat. I have a 2nd car that I drive now until they come and repo my truck (I voluntarily surrendered it).

So I did call my Lawyer, she was serious at first and then laughed it off. She said that they will be looking for things $1000 or more. Of which, Ive never sold or bought anything through paypal or ebay that much! $150 at the most. The lawyer told me not to worry about it and that its good I told her about it, but keep it at a $0 balance in case they look for it.

I know our state is in shambles. If it makes you feel better R.I. just beat us out as the state with the highest unemployment. There are other people on her from Michigan as well. Being 28 you still have allot of time to recover from this(as I do). Glad to hear you received a straight forward answer from your attorney.

[Intoodeep80]

I know our state is in shambles. If it makes you feel better R.I. just beat us out as the state with the highest unemployment. There are other people on her from Michigan as well. Being 28 you still have allot of time to recover from this(as I do). Glad to hear you received a straight forward answer from your attorney.

Oh god, is it ever in shambles. I never thought I'd be there myself. Its very humbling - for years Ive always criticized colleagues, family members, neighbors - for filing bankruptcy, like it was a bad trait and not to associate with anybody who had done it. Look where that got me....

I did want to reiterate, when I sell stuff on ebay I request a check be sent to be from paypal. There is no paper trail in my bank accounts this way. Maybe others who read this and are in the same situation as me could get a check sent through the mail vs. money transferred to their bank accounts, which would leave a "paper trail".

[WoodSprite]

Happy to help. Sounds as if you have enough to worry about without worrying about non-issues. It also sounds as if your lawyer has got it together, which is very, very good.

When you file ch. 7, all your assets become property of the BK estate. "No asset" essentially means there's nothing in the bankruptcy estate that a trustee could seize to pay back some of your debt. Part of the purpose of the 341 meeting is to allow the trustee to determine whether you're an asset case, or a no-asset case. You really want to be a no-asset case!

[Intoodeep80]

What kind of assets?

I bought a plasma tv ($800) on my Sears card 9-07. Its now over a year old and Ive paid about 1/2 of it off, but its included in my bk. Would they try to recover that? Would that be an example that would make mine an asset case? Also around the same time, I financed a mattress through Art Van. It was originally $1100, I have it down to $400, that is also in the bk. Would they try and sell my mattress for $$??