QLD Bankruptcy - How Do I Delay the Claim of My Inheritance?

[Arlyansor]

Hi All,

I declared bankruptcy in August of 2013. The bankruptcy was for approx $49K, half of which was a secured loan for a motor vehicle, which was surrendered to the bank for resale (though the bank has not advised what amount it was sold for.)

In July of 2015, my father passed away, naming me as one of three beneficiaries of his will. The rough figure for my part of the inheritance is $190K, all cash, no property.

The will has passed probate and all and is due for distribution in late January 2016.

Now, my questions are these:

1. What options, if any, do I have to delay receipt of the inheritance until my bankruptcy is discharged?

2. Can anyone inform me what sort of fees, charges, interest or what I may be up for?

My reading of the ASFA fees page implies I could be up for nearly the same amount as the bankruptcy itself, and that's enough to make me cry...

 

[Sophea]

Dear Arlyansor,

If you inherit property as a bankrupt on or after your date of bankruptcy but before you are discharged, then your inheritance is considered to be "after acquired property" and will vest in your trustee in bankruptcy, even if the estate has not been fully administered by the time you are discharged. This can be avoided by the will maker by excluding ‘at risk’ persons from a Will (e.g. bequeathing their inheritance to their spouse or children instead) or preparing a testamentary trust will. This will protect assets from the trustee. Unless you can somehow have your inheritance held on trust until after you are discharged, you will lose your inheritance to your creditors.

 

[Mark McCarroll]

Hi,
My wife's mother passed away in January 2017.
My wife received an inheritance after probate in July 2017.
She used those funds towards a deposit and costs to buy a house in August 2017 that we live in.
On the title documents our conveyancing solicitor listed my wife as a 99% owner and myself as a 1% owner as I did not contribute any funds to the purchase.
This was necessary as I needed to be a signatory to the loan documents for her to qualify.
The mortgage is paid from my wife's own income from her personal Bank Account. We run other joint accounts that my income goes into.
I am contemplating filing for Bankruptcy due to an unsuccessful business venture. My wife was not an owner in the business.
Is there any likely hood that AFSA could try to assert that I have a greater interest than the 1% and move to have the house sold

 

[James Mahoney]

If a bankruptcy trustee is appointed, then the trustee might try and assert a greater interest, but you are protected by the manner in which the property is held (ie. as tenants in common as opposed to joint tenants). I suspect that the trustee would attempt to realise the 1% share of the property along with any other assets of value.

I would suggest that you obtain financial and legal advice about declaring bankruptcy prior to doing so as it is often not as simple as you would think.