Hiding Assets & Personal Property When Filing Bankruptcy

Hiding assets and personal property when
filing bankruptcy
not only jeopardizes the outcome of your case, you may face criminal prosecution
and your debt may not get discharged. Not withholding details about personal
property cannot be stressed enough as doing this may hurt your chances
of discharging debt in subsequent bankruptcies. Many debtors fear they
will lose property of value to their creditors if they disclose details
when they file. Yet, failing to provide all information can prohibit you
from utilizing exemptions that will protect your assets legally.

Lying about ownership, transferring property title to another person just
before filing, and falsifying documents pertaining to the value of your
assets are all common ways of hiding valuable possessions.

If your bankruptcy attorney or trustee finds out assets are being hidden
you could experience the following:

  • Lose entitlement to debt discharge. Meaning, you will be financially responsible for repaying outstanding debt.
  • Your case could get dismissed. In some cases, your case will remain active but the hidden asset in question
    may be used to satisfy creditors as a result.
  • A granted discharge gets revoked. This occurs if the trustee learns the debtor had assets hidden after they
    filed bankruptcy and granted a discharge.
  • Lose privilege of discharging debt in a future filing. If you filed bankruptcy and listed debt that was revoked or denied a discharge
    in the past, you may be obligated to repay the debt. Meaning, it may not
    qualify for discharge if included in a future filing.
  • Face federal charges. If you provide false information anytime during your case this could lead
    to criminal charges including imprisonment and hefty fines.

Reference:
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/bankruptcy/hiding-assets-property-bankruptcy.html