Are domains an asset that could be sold by a trustee?

[Amy26]

You lie!!! Its mine! They told me I could have it since I have nicer boobs.

[justbroke]

You girls!!! Get a chat room!

[willbfree]

naturalchild yes the trustee can take and sell off your domain. We sold online and one line of the trustee's questions was the value of the domain name itself. Since we had closed the website down our domain value was basically zero and we were allowed to keep the domain. The Trustee was VERY interested in the domain until he understood that with the business closed there would be no value in taking it.

We were advised by our attorney to shut down the business on the day before we filed our ch 7 petition. ALL assets then will belong to the trustee for liquidation and that includes your domain names and all the propriety work you did on the website. Those 700 pages etc have value and can be taken. The nice thing is the trustee will allow you to buy them back for a set price. So it can be negotiated. If you continue to operate your website after the ch 7 petition is filed all revenue will belong to the trustee and that's important to understand.

[pookieny]

How can a domain name have value if no one wants it? Sure, if it's a generic name that anyone can use then I can see it-like business.com. But if your domain name is your business name and you have a business offline, do you have to sell the business too? And who would want a business in someone else's name unless it's McDonalds or something well known. If I'm a hairdresser and I have a website and domain name to advertise my business like PookieNYhairdesign.com, then who would want to buy my name? I don't get it.

[justbroke]

Pookie, most of the time, the value comes from the popularity of the site. In other measurements, you're right... the universal appeal could yield considerable value (e.g. business.com, camp.com, lawyers.com, bankruptcy.com).

So, while most of us own some pretty lame domain names, that have only intrinsic value to ourselves (e.g. JustBroke.com), certain ones do have appeal and may have more value than simply the "registration" fee.

[naturalchild]

Personal vs business bk?

naturalchild yes the trustee can take and sell off your domain. We sold online and one line of the trustee's questions was the value of the domain name itself. Since we had closed the website down our domain value was basically zero and we were allowed to keep the domain. The Trustee was VERY interested in the domain until he understood that with the business closed there would be no value in taking it.

We definitely don't want to close the site down. But now I'm wondering about the difference between a personal and business bankruptcy. All of my debts are personal (credit cards and a bank PLC). I don't owe anything to our business suppliers. Is it possible to have a personal bk without bringing the dba business into the picture?

[CH33 Paralegal]

Sounds like your domain is either an Asset or a business.....right?

In a 7, assets can be LIQUIDATED

In a 7, Businesses get SHUT DOWN

[naturalchild]

Sounds like your domain is either an Asset or a business.....right?

In a 7, assets can be LIQUIDATED

In a 7, Businesses get SHUT DOWN

I absolutely cannot lose the domain - it's my life work - a labor of love that is helping a great many families/children. So where does that leave me? What are my options? Would chapter 13 make it possible to keep the domain and the content? The lawyer I saw said chapter 13 would cost several thousand dollars, which I don't have.

[willbfree]

Naturalchild you will be given first chance to purchase any of your assets back. Also most people way overvalue their assets. Remember the trustee's main goal is to recover money for your creditors (and himself since a trustee gets paid by asset recovery). You will be able to work out something in order to buy your website back. Remember the trustee value is LIQUIDATION pricing. That's far different than fair market value.

[naturalchild]

Naturalchild you will be given first chance to purchase any of your assets back. Also most people way overvalue their assets. Remember the trustee's main goal is to recover money for your creditors (and himself since a trustee gets paid by asset recovery). You will be able to work out something in order to buy your website back. Remember the trustee value is LIQUIDATION pricing. That's far different than fair market value.

Thanks very much for this info.

Would I be able to know the buy-back price before committing to a bk? Could I be absolutely certain that I would have first chance, or is it possible that something could go wrong?

Also, we've put the domain in my son's name (he's 28 and is the webmaster so it actually makes sense). Would that protect the domain and content, or would we need to wait some length of time, since we only just made that change? If so, how long?

[danaf]

If you are making money from your website, then yes - it could be considered an asset that you want to try to include in your exemptions. If not - then most likely trustee wouldn't be interested. I disclosed my site and exempted it with no issues.

[naturalchild]

If you are making money from your website, then yes - it could be considered an asset that you want to try to include in your exemptions. If not - then most likely trustee wouldn't be interested. I disclosed my site and exempted it with no issues.

Yes, we're making about 1/2 to 2/3 of our income through the site. How do exemptions work?

[bkmaggster]

Yes, we're making about 1/2 to 2/3 of our income through the site. How do exemptions work?

Exemptions are a whole schedule of the bankruptcy paperwork. There are different exemptions for each state, and there are federal ones as well that you may or may not be eligible for. Anything you can exempt, the trustee cannot touch. The Nolo book is a great resource for this, but you can probably search it online.

[naturalchild]

Exemptions are a whole schedule of the bankruptcy paperwork. There are different exemptions for each state, and there are federal ones as well that you may or may not be eligible for. Anything you can exempt, the trustee cannot touch. The Nolo book is a great resource for this, but you can probably search it online.

The lawyer never mentioned exemptions (or many of the other things I've learned here). The first lawyer I saw was intimidating and rude. Time to look for a 3rd one.

Any suggestions on how to find a good lawyer?

[DeadManCrawling]

Another thing to consider very seriously.

The value of a site like yours may be entirely dependent on YOU, and on YOUR talents and knowledge that could in no way be recreated.

That results in the true value of such an asset being virtually nothing. All of the value is in your head and tied up in your person.

In bk that can be a very good thing.

Another way to look at it: Would the site make any money at all if you were not involved in any way? Think about that very carefully and try not to let ego interfere.

If the answer is that the site is worthless without you, then speak with your attorney about listing its value as zero. You may be asked to explain this later, but maybe not.

And if it is an honest look at the situation, you would have nothing to fear.

Do speak in-depth with your attorney in any case, and good luck to you.