Chapter 7 exemptions for a joing bk?

[surferboy]

My wife and I just filed chapter 7 Three days ago. We live in Florida and we are not using a lawyer. We are finishing all of the schedules this weekend and I have done some research but I cannot find a definite answer on the exemptions for household goods. I see that it is a 1000 but is it 2000 if you file a joint bk??? Thanks for the info!

Also what would determine if a person would come out to my house to check our assets? Would the creditors determine in it in the meeting of the creditors??? Or would it be up to a judge? Just about all of our stuff that we have was paid for with cash. The creditors have no record of it. Not that we have a lot.

If someone were to come out to the house, would we know before they came out?

Last question. When including bank accounts, how should I do it? Our savings has like 50 dollars and our checking account is full when I get paid but then it is empty after we pay bills. Should I just claim 50 or what my total paycheck should be for two weeks? Or should I cancel direct deposit until the bk is done?

Thanks for any info that you can share. This site is awesome!!!!

[lrprn]

My wife and I just filed chapter 7 Three days ago. We live in Florida and we are not using a lawyer. We are finishing all of the schedules this weekend and I have done some research but I cannot find a definite answer on the exemptions for household goods. I see that it is a 1000 but is it 2000 if you file a joint bk???

Since you "just filed Ch 7" but are still filling in forms, did you do a short filing as an emergency and are now finishing up the required forms?

Here's a link to the FL bk exemptions - http://www.thebankruptcysite.org/exe...s/florida.html . It says that husband and wife may double the $1K personal property exemption. Also if you don't own a home or intend to surrender your home in bankruptcy, then FL also allows an additional $4K personal property exemption - http://www.bankruptcyorlando.com/200...a-court-c.html

Also what would determine if a person would come out to my house to check our assets? Would the creditors determine in it in the meeting of the creditors??? Or would it be up to a judge? ... If someone were to come out to the house, would we know before they came out?

The chances of anyone coming to your home to check out your assets is quite small. Those visits only happen when the local or US trustee believe you are hiding assets of considerable value that you did not declare or severely undervalued when you filed.

When including bank accounts, how should I do it? Our savings has like 50 dollars and our checking account is full when I get paid but then it is empty after we pay bills. Should I just claim 50 or what my total paycheck should be for two weeks? Or should I cancel direct deposit until the bk is done?

You list whatever is in the account on the day you file. That's why pre-planning to ensure the amount in the account is at its lowest - preferably under $200-300 - on that day and that all checks have cleared by filing day is so important.

If you have a checking or savings account with a bank or credit union that also holds one of your unsecured debts (like a bank-issued credit card or an overdraft account with money owed), then it is a good idea to open aother checking/savings account before you file. Cross-collateralization clauses are common in these agreements and the bank/credit union can take money from your checking account to pay shortages in your other accounts without your prior permission. Don't want to wake up one morning and find your account has been cleaned out.

[surferboy]

Since you "just filed Ch 7" but are still filling in forms, did you do a short filing as an emergency and are now finishing up the required forms?

Yes you are correct. I was about to have a judgment filed against me.

You list whatever is in the account on the day you file. That's why pre-planning to ensure the amount in the account is at its lowest - preferably under $200-300 - on that day and that all checks have cleared by filing day is so important.

Dang it man. We never have money in our account. I just got paid when we filed and we probably had about 1,000 dollars in our account. If we can prove that that money was going to pay off our bills would that make a difference? Or should we just claim that as an exemption? Right now we are at 1,300 in exemptions and that is everything that we have....

Thank you so much lrprn for the quick and knowledgeable response. You rock. Thanks.

[lrprn]

I just got paid when we filed and we probably had about 1,000 dollars in our account.

Can you protect the $1K with your Florida exemptions?

If we can prove that that money was going to pay off our bills would that make a difference? Or should we just claim that as an exemption?

The best thing is to protect it with exemptions if possible. If you can't, then the money can be taken by your trustee and your case becomes an asset case.

Your bankruptcy estate is set on filing day and whatever was in the account on filing day is what is in your estate. There have been rare instances where hard-nosed trustees knew that checks had already been written but were still outstanding on filing day. The trustees in those rare situations took the money that couldn't be protected by exemptions from the account and let the checks bounce. There's really no legal leg for you to stand on here

Hope your exemptions can cover the cash. If not, then you need to plan on the possibility of losing whatever you can't protect to your trustee.Generally if the unprotected amount is less than $1K total, then some trustees won't come after such a small amount. Having it in cash makes it a lot easier though.

[FreshLikeADaisy]

Surferboy, one possible solution to the bank acct situation is, when you get paid, take the vast majority of it (like all but a token amount, $5 - $20) and pay your bills with money orders that you obtain with the cash.

Yes, it's a pain! BUT, you know exactly what your balances will be on the day you file, you don't have to wait for checks to clear, and you don't have to use exemptions to cover remaining cash that you have sitting there only waiting for checks to clear.

Lrprn's right, the trustees go by the amount you have in the acct on the day you file, NOT that amount minus outstanding checks. Taking the cash out and using money orders instead bypasses the whole issue. Some people live cash only like this for extended periods, but if you only do it once (in the pay period in which you file your schedules) that should suffice.

You will still have to declare cash on hand, but if you've already gotten those money orders and paid your bills, that should be minimal when you're done anyway. Good luck!!!

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P.S. You know, I just realized... you already filed and this advice is too late. Whatever your acct balance was on the day you filed is the figure you have to use... my apologies.