341 today in Oregon

[pandacb]

We bought our Subaru for cash in 05 from property insurance money after we lost everything in a house fire. The car is still worth @15,000 private party, so after exemptions,the trustee wants $9000 for the car.

Since we are an assets' case, because of the car, the Trustee wants the $200 in unpaid wages at the time of filing.

Finally, he says we are technically chargable with "fraudulent transfer" because we paid for a professional photographer for our daughter's wedding 60 days before filing out of tax refund money.

So, he wants a total of $10,700.

BUT...if we don't argue about the valuation of the car, he will drop all talk of a fraudulent transfer and the $200 in upaid wages and settle for $9000.00

The trustee wants the money in 90 days. Where does he think it will come from?

It this the typical procedure from your experience? By the way, the attorney said the trustee would want only about $4-5k for the car and that the photographer was a "normal" expense. I worried about that from the beginning but we had no idea we would file bankruptcy when we spent that money.

Your reactions?

Is this appropriate?

[blessed]

How is paying for a service like wedding photography a fraudulent transfer? You didn't use a CC or cash advance, you used income tax money. I don't get it.

Did your attorney not tell you there wasn't enough to exempt the car? I think I would have waited to file.

I hope you can get something sorted out, sounds like a mess to me. GL!

[pandacb]

In the 341, the Trustee stated that we made a fraudulent transfer because we paid a debt that should have been our daughter's. The lawyer (not the one we hired, but his young, not very experienced, associate) said that his firm objected to the Trustee's thinking but he did not elaborate. It was never a debt, it was a service that we bought for our daughter's wedding - before we consulted an attorney or realized the need to file bk.
As to the car, yes we expected to pay the 4-5k that the lawyer said we would need to pay...not double that...and we thought we'd have a year to do it.

How would it have helped us to wait on filing?

[OHBOY]

I would in no uncertain terms let that SOB trustee know that his demands are more then just threatening and in my opinion unethical (never mind that it's 'done everyday')...I would tell him that I consider his demands extortion...

just my humble opinion.......

[pandacb]

thanks for the support, OhBoy, we feel sort of the same but we would pay if we could..just to have it over with. I wonder how they expect bankrupt people to have a wad of cash 9k big within 90 days. Maybe I'm missing something. Or maybe our real attorney will be able to negotiate something better...we paid a high price for his representation...not the rookie who didn't know the file.

[Universal]

By all means consult with the Attorney, not his associate. Sounds like a real mess. Like you, we had no idea before husband lost his job that we would be filing bankruptcy, otherwise we wouldn't have continued spending and buying some things. I would call and make an appointment with your Attorney. Good Luck.

[doudis2]

I feel for you; this trustee does not want you to keep the vehicle. They know your finances as well as you do by this point and know full and well if you can or cannot meet their demands. What a jerk!

The fighter in me says take it to a judge fight back, kik his arse! But the realist in me says you have to pick your battles and this is probably a losing one. The main reason I feel that way is from reading about other peoples issues that can extend the process by months or even years. This can happen when a trustee or creditor is in a good mood.

In this case the trustee is already yankin your chain so it would probably be best to take your lumps and move on.

I went into this with the mindset that they can take whatever they want so long as I am able to start fresh....hell it is only stuff.

Best of luck dealing with this primo jerko.