How long after a chapter 7 discharge can a trustee take windfall money or tax returns or proceeds from property sales?

Answer 1

The answer to this question isn't cut and dry, since the trustee can reach quite far into the future to get an asset if they think the debtor had the asset during the bankruptcy case and failed to disclose it or accuratelt represent its value. But, assuming it is truly an unexpected windfall, I think 11 U.S.C. 541(a)(5) is the best place to look, which states "[The bankruptcy estate includes] [a]ny interest in property that would have been property of the estate if such interest had been an interest of the debtor on the date of the filing of the petition, and that the debtor acquires or becomes entitled to acquire within 180 days after such date- (A) by bequest, devise, or inheritance; (B) as a result of a property settlement agreement with the debtor's spouse, or of an interlocutory or final divorce decree; or (C) as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy or of a death benefit plan." So, for these types of windfalls, the trustee can reach 180 days (6 months) into the future. I am not aware of the trustee's ability to reach into the future for any other types of windfalls unless, as I said above, the trustee thinks the debtor knew about them during the case. I know of one case where the debtor listed his home's value as $100,000.00 and then sold it about a year and a half after the case was closed for around $250,000.00 and the trustee found out and reopened the case and filed an Adversary Proceeding against the guy for misrepresenting the value of the home during the case.