In many Dallas bankruptcy cases there is confusion about whether money in a bank account is part of the bankruptcy estate. For bankruptcy purposes, money in a bank account is part of your bankruptcy estate if the money in the account is your money. Just because your name is on a bank account doesn’t necessarily mean that the money in the account is part of the bankruptcy estate. For example, if you are listed as a signer on an account but do not have an ownership interest in the account or the money in the account, then the account and the money are not part of the bankruptcy estate. This is often done in cases where a debtor is added as a signer on an account owned by an elderly family member, so that they can help them with their finances. Similarly, if you share title to an account with another person, and the money in the account was deposited by the other person with no intent to transfer ownership to you, then you must list the account itself in the bankruptcy estate but the portion of the balance that belongs to the other person is not part of the estate. In this type of situation you may be required to provide proof to the Trustee that the money in the account is not your property.
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