Yes and No.
You have filed bankruptcy, you have attended the required hearing, you have even taken your Financial Planning class (ticket out of bankruptcy).
So, can you sell your house, car, transfer money from your bank account??
No, you can not yet sell any of your assets, because they are still assets that belong to the bankruptcy court. At the time you file bankruptcy, all of your assets are transferred to “a bankruptcy estate” and you do not technically own them. However, not to worry, your bankruptcy attorney would inform you not to file if there was a danger in loosing your asset to the bankruptcy process, as you are likely to have “exemptions” that would protect your assets.
I just received by discharge, can I sell my stuff??
Hold on! Not quite yet.
For a bankruptcy to be over and done with, there are two requirements.
1.) you have received a discharge.
2.) if your case is a “no-asset case” the trustee will closed the case (or abandoned the assets).
The trustee will usually close the case within several days after the discharge (at least in Central California).
What if the trustee doesn’t close the case? This usually only happens if you have an asset which has equity and your asset is appreciating, such as your house. If you do have a house, and you have equity, the trustee will be looking at your house very carefully to see if your assets is going up in value. The trustee may not close the case, allowing the home to increase in value to the point of selling it and using the funds to pay off your creditors. (This is a worse case scenario, but if not careful, the trustee will lay in the bushes waiting to spring if house goes up to much in value.
