SinkingFast or anyone with name on parents acct

[Liaah]

I just had a consult with a lawyer here in my town. I live in Indiana.

My dad has my name on all of his accounts. Checking, savings, money markets... This attorney just told me NOT to take my name off of my dad's accounts since I am now filing bankruptcy. He said it would look like I was hiding assets? He said since the money is not mine and gave me a term that it was called, but I can't remember what it is, that they can't touch it. I am so worried about this especially after hearing that Sinkingfasts attorney told her to take her name off the accounts of her mother. This attorney was a trustee for 8 years so you would think he would know the rules, also has been a bankruptcy lawyer for over 25 years, but it still has me scared to death. I don't know what to do.

Anybody have any thoughts???

[lrprn]

Each bk district can have variations in how the court and trustees consider assets and the timeline to filing matters a lot as well. If the lawyer you talked to today has been an Indiana trustee for 8 years and a bk lawyer for 25 years, I'm thinking his recommendation about what is best to do in your situation is much more reliable than a few well-intended non-lawyers on an anonymous Internet forum. Unless you got a heebie-jeebie feeling that something is wrong with with the very experienced ex-trustee lawyer today, I'd go with what you were advised.

[Liaah]

Thanks lrprn. I just think that the worst thing that could happen to me in this whole bankruptcy process would be to somehow implicate my dad and his $.

I think I am just a little scared. The lawyer looked at me like I was a criminal at even the suggestion by me to take my name off of the accounts. I don't know if he thought I was knowingly trying to hide something or was just in wonderment of my stupidity He was very patient with me and tried his best to explain it. I think I am just going to have to trust his credentials and years of both being a trustee and bankruptcy lawyer. He tries numerous cases weekly. I have checked, but I haven't been on Pacer yet to see his actual work in the end.

I think I might do one more consult, but this guy seems to have a lot of experience, so he will probably be the one.

Thanks!

[SinkingFast]

I think this is a case of you're dealing with a former Trustee. He knows both sides of the coin. You've already retained him. And you're possibly filing soon??!!

Our attny told me to do what we did a full 2 months before we hired him. It was kind of "a side comment" during a phone conversation. He didn't want there to be any confusion at all for the Trustee that the money in those accts was Mom's. Mom took my name off her accts 9 months (??) before we filed.

You're best off to go with the advise of your attny. Since he knows about the accts, knows they aren't yours, and Dad can likely document where the funds came from.

[Liaah]

We haven't retained him yet, but probably sometime in May. I have no idea when we will be filing, but I get the feeling he is ready to get the show on the road.

I still have a check receipt that shows where the money came from, aside from his usual SS check and VA disabilty check. So at least if the Trustee questions the $ I can prove where it came from. My dad was in a bad car accident in 1996 and it was a settlement from an insurance co. He has just disbursed the money around to several accounts. His checking is strickly his SSI and VA checks so it would be easy to prove I don't contribute to this account.

I can't help but still feel a little leary of the whole process, but this attorney seems to know what he is doing so I will tell my story one day...