Protecting my inheritance from Chapter 7

Apologies in advance for the long post, but I really need some advice regarding what to do / who to talk to about how to protect the monies from an inheritance.

I am a California resident, and had recently spoken with a bankruptcy attorney in preparation to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, because I have about $25k in debt from a car accident & the ensuing frivolous medical bills (my atuo insurance company really screwed me on this one).

The attorney told me that because of my meager income & lack of any assets that I am a perfect candidate for Chapter 7, and I should be able to get out from under this debt with no monies due. I have been trying for years to resolve all this, and I was hoping to finally be able to clear these debts & start with a clean slate. It looked like it might actually happen....

Then my father passed away, leaving me his belongings & as the beneficiary of a small insurance policy. The total value of this estate with the policy included may net me $40k - $50k at best (probably closer to $30k).

Speaking with the bankruptcy attorney today & telling him about the newfound inheritance, he told me that now the Chapter 7 filing may no longer be as easy as we originally planned.

Then he tells me that there might be a way to still have a happy ending, and that is to wait on filing the Chapter 7 for now, take the proceeds from the estate & insurance policy & invest it into something like real estate, and then file for the Chapter 7 after.

He said that doing this will prevent the debtors from being able to tap into my inheritance, and still allow me to file for the Chapter 7 down the road virtually unmolested. It sounds great, but it also sounds too good to be true.

So my questions for all of you out there are:

1) Does this sound feasible?
2) What are the dangers of taking this path?
3) What is the safest thing to invest the money into if not real estate?
4) Can you suggest a better method of getting out of these debts without dipping into the inheritance?

Also, on a completely unrelated subject, I am currently banking with Wells Fargo (just standard checking & savings accts), and the attorney told me that I need to get away from those guys immediately & bank with someone else. He didn't specify why, but it had something to do with how they could possibly affect / impact the filing of the Chapter 7.

Any ideas as to why he might give such advice?

Thank you in advance to all for any assistance you can provide.

You can put some assets into protected homesteads etc. and get several opinions

Bankruptcy courts can undo some transactions if they think you are fraudulently hiding assets.

Review those ideas carefully.

Also you could just hold off on bankruptcy until you no longer have funds. That money is not going to last that long...