Last Updated on January 23, 2025
When you’re incarcerated, you are stuck behind bars and unable to access your bank accounts or pay bills. So what happens to your house and personal belongings when you go to jail? That’s actually a common question many clients ask their criminal lawyer. Unfortunately, the answer is sadly complex, which is one of the multiple reasons many people have a hard time getting back on their feet after serving time.
What Happens to Your Belongings When You Go to Jail?
Well, that’s actually up to you. The state might seize assets they wish to use as evidence or believe to be connected to a crime (a controversial process called civil asset forfeiture), but they won’t seize any other property. As for your other stuff, you could put it in storage (here are some facilities in an around Vista), give it to someone else to take care of, or leave it where it is. The same is true for your home, meaning you would need to sell the house, rent it out, let a friend/family member live there, or leave it unoccupied and hope for the best. Also, don’t forget about your pets.
If you put your stuff in storage or leave it where it is, you’ll have to pay the bills associated with your storage unit, rent, mortgage, tax bills, etc. But when you’re behind bars, you can’t actually handle any financial transactions. These bills can pile up, and you can’t pay them personally.
What About Bills?
This is something you need to put a lot of thought into before you are sentenced. Even if you have a friend or family member to take care of your personal possessions, almost everyone has some kind of bills they need to pay while they are behind bars.
A monthly streaming video subscription can drain your account until it’s empty, thanks to automatic withdrawals from your account. Credit card bills you pay manually can go into default and end up in collections. And, of course, if your property isn’t in the care of loved ones, you could lose all of your stuff if your bank account balance is too low for the automatic withdrawals associated with your storage unit, rent, or mortgage.
If you have no recurring payments, any money you had in the bank when you went to prison or jail is still yours when you are locked up. However, you may still have problems, as many banks will freeze your account if no activity occurs within 6 to 12 months. If you can afford it and your sentence is longer than this, a small recurring payment may actually be beneficial to prevent your account from becoming frozen. The government may also freeze your accounts for a time and eventually seize the funds if they believe you financially benefited from the crime.
All of this could mean that you could easily end up leaving prison with no money in your bank account, a destroyed credit rating, and creditors calling you on a daily basis. Pile this onto the fact that you’ll have a much harder time finding a high-paying job with a conviction on your record, and you’ll find it can be pretty hard to get back on your feet after leaving jail or prison.
Taking Care of Business
Many lawyers recommend taking care of your property and your financial situation before you end up behind bars. This may be difficult if you are arrested and unable to obtain bail, but you may still be able to handle some of these matters before being convicted while in meetings with your attorney. If you are sentenced to jail or prison, a lawyer can ask the judge for a report date for custody so you have a set amount of time to take care of your affairs.
While in prison, you must have someone else handle your financial affairs. For most people, this means temporarily giving all of your assets to a family member or close friend. Unfortunately, they are not legally required to return the assets when you are released unless you create a binding legal agreement first.
Alternatively, you can give someone legal authority to act on your behalf. This is sometimes achieved by setting up a joint bank account, though there are other ways to do this that limit the other person’s power even more. Essentially, this gives you some control over how the person accesses your accounts. For example, you could make it so the other person can only deposit or transfer funds but cannot withdraw them. Or, you can limit the amount they can withdraw.
Finally, if you have many assets, it might make sense to put them all into a trust and then give power of attorney to a loved one or a financial professional. Trustees are legally obligated to consider your financial interests when determining what to do with your property and money.
You Must Act Before You’re Imprisoned
If your plans require opening a bank account, you need to do this before you are incarcerated. You cannot open a bank account while you are behind bars, as all banks require you to be present when opening an account.
Even if you are sentenced to life imprisonment, you should still take care of your finances just in case something happens and you are released. You may also want to create a will just in case something bad happens to you while you’re behind bars.
If you have any questions about what might happen to your stuff if you end up being incarcerated, be sure to ask your defense attorney. You can discuss this information during your free initial consultation with Peter M. Liss. Call (760) 643-4050 or (858) 486-3024 to schedule your appointment.
