Legal Question in Bankruptcy in California

Re: Asset Identification

These are the reasons debtors hire attorneys -grin-. Your questions are a bit vague to give you satisfactory answers. You are required to list all of your assets and all of your debts. You sign the declaration regarding your schedules under penalty of perjury. If you truly state the amount in your bank accounts and they don't seem inordinately unreasonable, usually there is no investigation. That answer would change if you own a business or are self-employed. Then, they might go back two or three years and ask you to provide bank statements. Depending upon your age, an IRA is usually exempt for the reasonable and necessary amount to support your retirement. It also might depend on whether you have borrowed or withdrawn money. But, make sure you disclose everything! Good luck to you.

Re: Asset Identification

This depends on a case-by-case basis--sometimes the trustees ask for no verification, other times they have questions and want to see bank statements, tax returns, etc. Regarding the IRA, the answer depends on your age, amount in the IRA, and the set of exemptions you are using--it can be a tricky issue, so you may be better off seeing an attorney for filing the bankruptcy.