I did not file BK & Wells Fargo Froze ALL of my FUNDS! PLEASE HELP!

[BROKEDED]

Congratulations! Now, go flog your roommate!

Ooops, about forgot...get your roommate off your account. Better yet, I would open a whole new account and close that one just to close out any chance of it coming into play later on somehow.

[WhatMoney]

I have nothing to add of value, only a rant.
I HATE Wells Fargo.

Hey, rants are good.

Thanks for the update robertr, you are lucky CA has that generous wildcard. You could live in Pa, where only $300 of your assets are exempt.

[bkzips]

I have nothing to add of value,
only a rant.
I HATE Wells Fargo.
They are the major reason we have filed Cpt 7.
They are the very worst and I have never heard anything but a trail of tears and bad experience from their "customers"....

[robertr1784]

The account was unfrozen tuesday. My account was exempt under california wildcard of 22k. My friends exemptions added up to 6k plus my funds, we just made it! Thanks everyone on here! THis forum is awesome, informative, and a blessing to anyone in this situation. Good luck to all!

[WhatMoney]

And I do not plan to do anything until I recieve advise from my lawyer. I am simply familiarizing myself with all the options, rules, and variables - and plan to present all my findings and questions to my lawyer to see what is the best route to take. What better place to brainstorm than this forum?

Well, what did your lawyer advise? Did you get your account unfrozen yet?

[robertr1784]

Hi Lrprn. You are 100% right, and I appreciate the bluntness. I just want to do my best to protect my accounts, and I am not moving quickly - as I have officially done nothing, except speak to the trustee. And I do not plan to do anything until I recieve advise from my lawyer. I am simply familiarizing myself with all the options, rules, and variables - and plan to present all my findings and questions to my lawyer to see what is the best route to take. What better place to brainstorm than this forum?

[lrprn]

Hi Des. Thats why I have been toying with the idea of chapter 13. ... The way I see it, is give the exemption a shot, if the trustee signs off then we move on. If he does not, I file the conversion. I am not a lawyer and do not get this stuff...

You are right....you aren't a lawyer, Robert, so please stop jumping to make decisions when you don't understand yet what's going on.

Filing a 13 if it's not necessary will be jumping from the frying pan into what could be a completely unnecessary fire that could harm your business in the long run far more than this situation. Give the lawyer you hired a chance to sort this out.

Filing bk isn't like running a business. Often moving quickly just so you can be "ready for EVERYTHING" is the very worst thing you can do when bk is involved. Filing a 13 in this situation could complicate things beyond redemption. Be patient for a few days. Wait to see what your lawyer says is your best option in this terribly unfortunate situation.

[despritfreya]

Also des, at this point the trustee already views the money as hers, because she is on the account. So isnt it relevant that we exempt it?

I disagree with the trustee. If the funds belong to you, and you can prove it, the Trustee has no interest in them under 11 USC 541(d). The debtor has "bare legal title" and the estate's interest in such title is subject to your legal, and more importantly, you equitable interest in the funds. This is no different from when my clients are on their parent's account for "estate planning purposes". The account is listed on Schedule B with a $0.00 value and a notation that the debtor has no equitable interest. The account is again listed on the Statement of Financial Affairs under "property held for another". I have never had a problem with this.

And, on second thought, maybe you can have it both ways:

"Ok Mr. Trustee, either the funds belong to me and are not property of the estate, or the funds belong to the debtor and are subject to the exemption. Either way Wells Fargo needs to release them and so do you."

Des.

[robertr1784]

Also des, at this point the trustee already views the money as hers, because she is on the account. So isnt it relevant that we exempt it?

[robertr1784]

Des. I have not done anything, so if you have any other pitfalls please keep them coming. I will meet with my attorney at 9am, and proceed from there.

[robertr1784]

Hi Des. Thats why I have been toying with the idea of chapter 13. My life, reputation, future, and business are on the line. I understand your logic, as I have already gone down that road. I have asked my attorney as to why we are claiming them as an exemption for her, when the money is mine.

The way I see it, is give the exemption a shot, if the trustee signs off then we move on. If he does not, I file the conversion. I am not a lawyer and do not get this stuff, I have been reading this entire forum, NOLO books, and this forum for some way to fight this. The trustee's assistant has informed me that the exemption is the route to take, but with a 13 (if no one objects, because it is good faith) will protect the accounts. Thank you for brainstorming des, all rebuttals and pitfalls are appreciated - as I am the type of person that wants to be ready for EVERYTHING.

[despritfreya]

I have come across another possible solution. What about converting the chapter7 to a 13?

One no longer has the absolute right to convert a 7 to a 13. But, I think you are over analyzing you issues. You have been batting around the idea of the exemption. If the money fits under the California exemptions I believe your problems are resolved. Reading the posts however, (and I apologize for convoluting this issue) I see one downfall with the exemption tactic.

1. You assert the funds belong to you.
2. Declaring an exemption asserts that the funds belong to the debtor. This means they are an asset of the bk estate but are subject to the allowed exemption.
3. If the exemption fails (and I sure hope the posters who have discussed the exemption strategy are correct), how do you back track? If the funds belong to you then they do not belong to the bk estate. You can't have it both ways.

Just food for thought.

As it relates to a Chapter 13, assuming no one argues that attempting to convert is in bad faith, yes a Chapter 13 allows a debtor to keep non exempt property so long as they agree to pay the value of that property to the unsecured creditors over a 3 to 5 year period.

Des.

[robertr1784]

Ok people! I have come across another possible solution. What about converting the chapter7 to a 13? Will they allow my friend to keep her assets, IE my bank account? And will the trustee allow the conversion?
If yes, what will I need to do to help show I am willing to help her make payments on her re-payment plan?

[robertr1784]

Tom if you are right, and that is what happens - then that is the best news I've heard all weekend. I will keep you and everyone uupdated.

[tcreegan]

Hi Robert,

They all refer you to BK department for WF, no one in any of the branches has the authority to do anything ...isn't this frustrating?!!! drives me nuts....

If she exempts it, the trustee can't get their hands on it. That 22K CA wildcard sure is nice...

Tom in Colo