Expert: Mark J. Markus- California Bankruptcy Attorney - 8/21/2008

Question
if I file bankruptcy in two weeks and I have only used my credit card for about $100 over the past 3 months and today I use it for a $350 plumbing repair, is that considered fraud or will that cause the credit card company to cause problems for me when I file?

Answer
I cannot tell you what an individual creditor will or won't do.  If a creditor can prove that you did not intend to repay a debt at the time the debt was incurred, or that you did not have a reasonable expectation of repaying the debt, then that is grounds for denial of discharge under 11 USC 523(a).   Clearly if you use a credit card and then file a bankruptcy case a couple of weeks later without making any payments after that charge, you will have a hard time arguing that you intended to repay that charge.   However, if the only recent charges are the $350 and anything else on the card was a long time ago and you made payments on it for a significant period of time, then most of the debt on the card should be dischargeable.