Expert: Mark J. Markus- California Bankruptcy Attorney - 9/10/2005

Question
Mr. Markus:

Thank you in advance for taking the time to answer this.   I have two questions:

In a Chapter 7, if a debtor has been discharged but hte case has not yet been closed, is it still possible to file an adversary complaint if the cause of action was listed as an asset, covered by an exemption, and the chapter 7 trustee abandoned the asset by his failure to do anything about it?

Secondly, after a chapter 7 discharge has been received, but before the case has been closed, is it still possible to amend the schedules to include another asset (like a potential lawsuit), take an exemption for it, and then file an adversary complaint concerning that asset?

Again, thanks for taking your time to help others.

Answer
1.  Technically, no.  THe property isn't abandoned back to the debtor until the case is closed.  However, if the Trustee has filed his/her no asset report, then the case should close within a couple of weeks after the discharge is received.  If not, then a simple phone call to the Trustee asking for a notice of abandonment on that asset should suffice.

2.  Yes, if the exemption is available, but the Trustee would then have time to object to the exemption.