Legal Question in Bankruptcy in California

Re: inheritances and bankruptcy

180 days.

Re: inheritances and bankruptcy

Thanks for your question. If you believe that you would inherit money from someone's estate, you should list that property in the bankruptcy (and mark it as contingent, and the amount unknown). When a bankruptcy case is created, the trustee has jurisdiction over it for some 90 to 120 days. Any non-exempt assets can be seized to pay creditors.

Even after the case ends, and your discharge is granted, upon his or her own motion, or at the urging of a creditor, the trustee can reopen the case to deny the discharge or to take property within 180 days, as you've been notified, and can move to deny your discharge up to ONE YEAR after the bankruptcy has ended, if there was anything fraudulent in the bankruptcy petition. This is another reason why you should disclose a POSSIBLE inheritance, so the trustee cannot say later that you failed to disclose this asset.

I hope this helps. If you do have any other questions, please email me directly. Thanks.