By David J. Kelly, Minnesota Bankruptcy Attorney<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the second in my series on things to avoid doing before filing a bankruptcy, either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Outright transfers of assets and large gifts are things to be avoided prior to filing any kind of bankruptcy.\u00a0 An example might be transferring a car or a motorcycle to one of your children, or giving someone a large amount of money or a very expensive gift for their wedding.\u00a0 Putting relatively large sums of money in a bank account for a child could be another example.\u00a0 The bankruptcy trustee in a Chapter 7 case may look at transfers like this as an effort to hide assets.\u00a0 It can be considered bankruptcy fraud and be very detrimental to the case.\u00a0 The look back on this under the bankruptcy code is two years, but under Minnesota state law it can go back as far as six years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n