[this post is written by guest bloggers Lex Rogerson, who is a bankruptcy lawyer in the Lexington/Columbia area of South Carolina and Russell DeMott, a Charleston, South Carolina bankruptcy attorney].

If you have any kind of claim that could produce money or property for you, it’s critical that you tell your bankruptcy attorney all about it.  Here’s why.

Everyone who files bankruptcy is required to file a set of schedules that list all their debts and all their property.  These schedules are filed under penalties of perjury.  Most people try to give accurate information because they want to be honest but also because failure to do so is a federal crime.  Rich and powerful people have gone to federal prison for hiding assets.

The Bankruptcy Code defines “property” very broadly.  It includes much more than obvious things like real estate, cars, jewelry, and bank accounts.  It also includes intangible assets like tax refunds, potential lawsuits, and claims for personal injury, workers compensation, social security, or child support.  So the simple reason you should disclose such claims is to be honest and to comply with the law.

There is also a more complicated but equally powerful reason.  Courts have developed a doctrine called judicial estoppel that can kill your claim if you do not disclose it.

Judicial estoppel is based on every court’s desire to maintain its own integrity.  Judges believe people should not be able to assert one set of facts in one court and completely opposite facts in another.  Because people who file bankruptcy swear that their schedules accurately disclose all their assets, failure to list a claim in effect tells the bankruptcy court that you do not have a claim.  Then, when you try to prosecute the claim in another court, or before an administrative agency, you are saying that you do have a claim – the exact opposite. More on Why You Must Disclose Injury Claims When You File Bankruptcy