Not long ago, I set up an asset protection trust in Nevada, and I transferred some pretty valuable assets into that asset protection trust. Can I just go ahead and file bankruptcy now?
I would say do not file bankruptcy now, because under the bankruptcy code, the Chapter 7 trustee can look back 10 years and see if you deposited assets in what’s called a self-settled trust, and basically, that’s an asset protection trust, where you take an asset and you put it into this trust, and you remain a beneficiary of the trust, and you did it really because you wanted to keep those assets out of the hands of your creditors.
That’s no good. You’re going to have to wait 10 years from the day you transferred those assets until you can file bankruptcy, so if that’s what you’re plan is, be very careful and be aware of that 10‑year period.
