Does Bankruptcy Affect Inheritance?
One of the trickiest parts of filing for bankruptcy is when you receive a monetary inheritance, or inherit some sort of asset. You definitely can’t hide the inheritance from the court, but you also may want to keep the asset. The best thing to do first is look for the best bankruptcy attorneys in Ft. Worth or Houston for advice. Whether you wish to keep your inheritance or don’t want anything to do with it, your attorney will tell you exactly how it affects your bankruptcy case.
The 180-Day Rule
If you become entitled to an inheritance within 180 days after filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you are required to disclose it to the court and may have to turn over the inheritance to the Ch. 7 Trustee. This is true even if you won’t be actually receiving the inheritance until months or years later. For Chapter 7 cases, the inheritance you become entitled to within 180 days of filing your case will become part of your estate, unless there are certain exemptions with it that can be used to protect it.
If you become entitled to an inheritance after the 180-day window, you more than likely will be able to keep it in it’s entirety for Chapter 7 cases. It’s a little more complicated when filing a Chapter 13 case, so you’ll need to rely on an attorney for those specific issues.
An Experienced Lawyer Can Protect You
Whether you hired a lawyer when filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or not, you can always hire one afterward if you receive an inheritance you want to protect. You need to know how your inheritance will be treated. And if you want to keep the inheritance, the importance of hiring an experienced lawyer increases significantly. Otherwise, you may risk losing it all.
Bryeans & Garcia have helped numerous people in Houston and Fort Worth sort through inheritance complications after filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. We have extensive experience in this area and will protect anything we can that you’re entitled to. Be sure to contact us at any time during your bankruptcy process, and especially if you receive an inheritance after filing for bankruptcy.