Expert: Mark J. Markus- California Bankruptcy Attorney - 1/29/2008

Question
This is a strange question, BUT, I am from Los Angeles and am in the casting pool of several Network Game Shows. I've never been on one nor won any money. I just filed for bankruptcy. My  meeting of the creditors is in late February and the deadline to file a complaint is April 21.

If I do get asked to be on a gameshow it will be a last minute call. But say I make it to the April 21st deadline with no objections filed from my creditors. If I do get asked to participate on a gameshow in May or after, and I win any money, do my creditors have a claim on those winnings? Basically, I'm asking at what milestone in the process can creditors no longer make a new claim on my assets? (When am I truly free?)  

Answer
As long as you had no rights or entitlement to the winnings on the date you filed your bankruptcy case, the date it was filed is the "milestone" you're looking for.  However, and this is really a separate issue, did you disclose in your bankruptcy petition (probably at the bottom of Schedule "I") that you were in the casting pool?  It may not make a difference, but I could see a creditor or Trustee coming back and claiming that the disclosure should have been made.