Objections to Exemptions in FL

[Vanda]

Trustee objected to my exemptions, saying I am over the $1000 personal property and $1000 car amounts allowed in FL. Paralegal thinks they are claiming I have equity in the car. My Lawyer has not said a word. Now what happens? Can this just sit for several weeks? I am sitting on pins and needles. 341 was in February with no objections. Is there a deadline or can they just stretch it out? I don't know whether to make my car payment or not. Has anybody been in this situation?

[2Bshinyandnew]

Trustee objected to my exemptions, saying I am over the $1000 personal property and $1000 car amounts allowed in FL. Paralegal thinks they are claiming I have equity in the car. My Lawyer has not said a word. Now what happens? Can this just sit for several weeks? I am sitting on pins and needles. 341 was in February with no objections. Is there a deadline or can they just stretch it out? I don't know whether to make my car payment or not. Has anybody been in this situation?

maybe if you posted what you claimed as exempt on your petition we could help you figure out where the trustee is finding the excess?

Did your attorney ever indicate that your exemptions could be objected to? Do you have equity in the car? Did you claim a homestead exemption or were you able to utilize Florida's $4000 exemption for filers not claiming a benefit from a homestead exemption?

[Vanda]

My exemptions are $1000 in personal property and $1000 for my car. There is no clue in the order as to what exactly he is objecting to, but my paralegal said they told her it's the car. They asked for photos of the car inside and out and specifically of the odometer, which I supplied. I guess if you use the private sale value and if the car was in pristine condition (which it is not) it could theoretically sell for slightly more than what I owe. I do have homestead and anyway I have negative equity in my home. So it must be the car. I would give them the car but then I won't have car payments and won't qualify for Chapter 7. I thought at first they were wanting me to convert to Chapter 13 but if that were the case wouldn't they have said so by now? It has been 3 months since I filed. Is it likely that they will dismiss the 7 and force me into a 13 at this point? Is there some sort of timeline? My lawyer's paralegal says to just wait and see what they say next but the sleep deprivation is getting to me. Any help much appreciated.

[drowningNdebt]

Point this out to the trustee, this is straight from KBB:

Excellent
$XX,XXX

Looks new, is in excellent mechanical condition and needs no reconditioning.
Never had any paint or body work and is free of rust.
Clean title history and will pass a smog and safety inspection.
Engine compartment is clean, with no fluid leaks and is free of any wear or visible defects.
Complete and verifiable service records.
Less than 5% of all used vehicles fall into this category.

See where it states less than 5% of used cars fall in this category!

[ready2puke]

You don't own the car outright and are making payments? I don't understand the problem. If you owned it and the car had equity you can then pay the trustee the difference. I don't get it..I would definintely take pictures of the car and don't clean it..lol Take pics of the odometer, and print out a page on whats its worth. Not sure what book your state uses kelly? Do all you can to prove your point and worst case senerio is you pay the difference.. Way better than getting thrown into a 13...I bet you win tho..sorry you have to go thru this, its sucks.

[Vanda]

Time limit?

Thanks Drowning, I will point that out, my car has had body work, etc. What I am wondering is if they just want to recover SOMETHING from me, in addition to my tax refund, and also is there a deadline, does anyone know? Since they waiting 3 weeks after the 341 to object to my exemptions, might they now wait another 3 weeks, or is there a time limit?

[Vanda]

car photos

Ready2, I already sent them the pictures, too bad the car looked so good in the photos! The dog drool stains didn't show up... I don't mind if I have to give the Trustee some cash, though, I just want to get this over with and can't seem to find out if there is a limit to how long it can go on.

[StartingOver08]

Your district does not use KBB for values. Here in Fl the Trustee's use NADA RETAIL value. How you usually fight that retail value is by having an independent car appraisal completed. Someone on the board had hired a professional appraiser and they said it was around $80 recently. Don't know who the appraiser is as they did not give us the name, but I'm sure you can find one locally.

[Vanda]

Thanks StartingOver!