My friend Doug Jacobs advises debtors to tell their bankruptcy  attorneys everything, pointing out that intentional omission of assets risks denial of discharge and even jail.

I seldom see the intentional omission:  much more frequent is the debtor who simply can’t be bothered to read the form and consider whether elements in their financial lives fit the question on the form.

So much depends on making full disclosure.  The minute the trustee discovers at the first meeting of creditors that you have an asset that isn’t in the schedules, the trustee begins to wonder:  what else hasn’t been disclosed?  You, and your attorney perhaps, have lost credibility.  Time and money will be required to clean up the mess created by inattention.

I wish long and often that clients could direct some of that nervous energy and anxiety about bankruptcy into doing a better job getting me all the information necessary to fuel a smooth and successful bankruptcy case.