I am a huge baseball fan. Nothing tells me that Spring has arrived quite like smelling the green grass of the baseball diamond and the sound of the bat hitting the ball.

Growing up, my heros were all ball players. Don Mattingly, Ricky Henderson, Nolan Ryan, Ken Griffey Jr., and Lenny Dykstra were all larger than life. Sadly, these ball players have all retired and moved on. Recently, I saw the following article about Lenny Dykstra:

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-20/lenny-dykstra-faces-new-charges-in-bankruptcy-fraud-case

Like many people, Dykstra has faced financial problems after his baseball career and needed to file for bankrtupcy protection. However, Lenny dug himself into a bankruptcy black hole that will be difficult to get out of.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Dykstra did not list several hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets in his bankruptcy paperwork. In fact, the article states that he secretly hid and sold over $600,000 worth of assets.

Now- if most of us had over $600,000 in personal propety- we probalby wouldn’t be filing for bankruptcy.

The point here is that the feds take their job seriously and hiding assets or transfers from your bankruptcy estate can land you in federal prison. Having defended people charged with all types of crimes- I can tell you that it is much better to part with a possession than it is to reside in federal prison.

For most people, assets are exempt from execution under state law and will not be liquidated by the court during your bankruptcy. The best way to make sure your assets are protected is by contacting an experienced bankruptcy lawyer. Call us today for free consultation.