What is an insider in bankruptcy, and why should I care? What is a statutory insider, and is there such a thing as a non-statutory insider? The issue with insiders is fraudulent transfers, which would give a Chapter 7 trustee the right to go claw back money used to repay the debt of an insider just prior to filing.
Continue reading “Bankruptcy Insider for Preferences: Key Things to Know”
The maximum California homestead exemption now protects over $600,000 of home equity. However, there are conditions for a debtor to protect this amount in a bankruptcy. One of these is that the homeowner must have acquired the interest over 1,215 days ago. Does a refinance or transfer to a will, trust, or LLC restart this crucial timer? Let’s take a look.
Continue reading “Can a Home Transfer to a Trust in 1215 days Blow the Homestead?”
Fraudulent transfers. Voidable or fraudulent conveyances. They go with these 17 words: “Have you sold, transferred, or given away anything worth more than $3,000 in the last four years?” It’s a 341(a) question bankruptcy attorneys can recite in their sleep, and one that can cause our debtor clients to have nightmares. The reason is the trap known as fraudulent transfers, voidable transfers, fraudulent conveyances, and the like.
Fraudulent transfer in California comes up typically here in Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Also known as a fraudulent conveyance, it can get your friends and family in hot water. It’s one of the top tips recommended to do or avoid before filing bankruptcy. Fraudulent transfer grief can even include the recipient being taken to court in a lawsuit, and forced to give up something they own. It’s terrifying and a nightmare. Worst of all, it can all happen with the purest of intentions.
That’s right: fraudulent conveyance doesn’t even require fraud. More on that in a bit.
If you’re thinking about filing bankruptcy, what you do you beforehand has more of a bearing on the success of your case than how well the papers are completed. As a longtime Los Angeles bankruptcy attorney, I must make the best of the circumstances that are presented to me. Sometimes these situations are, shall we say, less than ideal.
What follows, in no particular order, are just some of the things I wish the people I meet with had done, or avoided doing, before we met for the consultation.