Trustee wants my paltry assets.. advice please !

[bubbly]

Just got a letter yesterday from Trustee (this is after we've been discharged, but case not closed) where he all of the sudden wants us to "make an offer" for buying back several of our "non-exempt" assets such as CD player, DVD player, DVD's and CD's, our computer (5 years old!), our friggin GARDEN TOOLS, and some miscellaneous power tools.

WHAT IS UP WITH THIS? He tallied up all the values we put on these things on our schedule and determined their worth at approx. $1,000. He now wants us to send him the make & model of the electronic stuff, what year it was purchased and what the purchase price was. He also want's us to make him an offer to keep these things and send him money instead.

I am SOOOOO annoyed and depressed. Our stuff is basically CRAP, but we need it. What freakin' good will it do the Trustee to have our cracked and warped rakes, rusted old shovel and hoe with the head duck taped on????????

The electronics are old and half broken but we make do with them. It would be way more than $1,000 to replace all this stuff (most of which we need) and I'm sure the guy knows it! Grrrrr! It just really pisses me off. How can he SLEEP at night ???????

Anyways, anyone have any experience in this matter that you could share with me. What if we decided to let them take our crap? How does that work? Do they come to your house with a truck that says something embarrasing on the side and take the stuff or do you have to cart it all somewhere for them?

I know it's a game; our tax refund, which the Trustee wanted didn't come back for very much money at all, so he's probably pissed now and wants some money SOME how. I just hate like hell to have to "play the game", but I REALLY want this whole thing to be DONE! My blood pressure is through the roof and I'm worried that the stress of the last several months is going to give me a STROKE !

Please, if anyone has been through this, let me know what you know. Minny, I think you had something like this happen, didn't you? Or was that the house only, not the household goods?

Thanks for any help/advice anyone can give !!!

Bubbly

[SinkingFast]

I agree. It is crappy that this is happening.

But we really need more info.

Did you file New Law BK or Old Law?

Did your attny itemize your entire household on your schedules/petition?? We met with one attny who told us we would have to do that. When I checked PACER, sure enough, that's the way he is filing. Other attnys here aren't. They are just listing a $$ amount for household goods. No breakdown of what the household items are.

Why wasn't this stuff covered/included in your household goods exemption allowance?? All of it certainly seems to qualify as household goods. The new law even specifically states you can have a computer. Did your state have a really low exemption limit for household?? If you were filing joint, you might have been able to double it.

I remember reading that someone else posted on the Forum that something similar happened to them. They were told to take the stuff to a designated collection point for sale.

[possumfat]

how long after your discharge did the trustee let you know ?

[bubbly]

more info......

Filed under old law. Discharge was 1/31 - letter from trustee came 2/15.

We itemized anything of any value, per our lawyers instructions. He said to put "garage sale" values on them, and we tried to be as accurate at possible.

Not sure what the household goods exemption is in NY, but I think that can only include BASIC necessities, such as beds, a couch, kitchen appliances, etc.

Our case was always listed as "no asset" on Pacer also even though trustee said he wanted our tax refund. So I don't understand how they can now want to dick around with our meager possesions :-(

[LostOne0069]

If you can at ALL do without those things... call his bluff... tell him the condition they're in and say that they're not worth $1000 to you. Tell him he can have them or offer some low amount... like $50 or something.

I doubt he really wants to take them... probably just wants to see if he can shake any more $$$ out of the tree.

Mind you... don't call his bluff unless you really CAN do without them... just in case he's NOT bluffing!

[SinkingFast]

Old computers, in good working order, bring between $50 and $100 at Goodwill. Various power tools might bring $50 total in a garage sale. An old garden hose is worthless. The DVD/CD player and CD's might bring $50 total.

People can buy all this stuff new, at really cheap prices, at Wal-Mart these days. 10 years ago, we paid $800 for a near Flat screen TV. You can buy the same size we have, 27", Flat screen at Wal-Mart now for about $200.

Sounds like your Trustee is trying to shake your tree for more $$$. You're probably right that he/she didn't get as much as hoped out of your income tax refund.

I would suggest you evaluate whether or not you absolutely have to keep any of the items. If not, say, "Sure! Go ahead. Knock yourself out. They are yours." This could all be a game of chicken and the Trustee wants to see if you will flinch first.

[AAAArt]

It is really crappy. However, my guess is that you overvalued these items. I did the first 2 orr 3 times my list and even after I submitted it, I wondered why I put the value that I did on some items.
Call a couple pawnbrokers, Goodwill and name some (not all, but 2-3 items and tell them that they are in fair to poor condition and you're not looking for a high price and what will they give you for them? Thwy do not like this over the phone usually, but if you explain your situation and tell them that it's nothing that you will hold them to, they will sometimes help out.
Just go ahead and list the items and lower the prices as applicable. State that you called pawn shops, Goodwill and checked with friends more knowledgeable about garage sales and that you had over estimated things.
Even worst case scenario...
You have to come up with $500 - $600 to pay the trustee. They take monthly payments at zero interest...you're still miles ahead of where you started.
I am really sorry to hear about this sh*tty thing happening to you this late in the game. Art

[Minnymouth]

bubbly,

Sorry you have encountered one of the "greedy" Trustees... OH YES.... some of them will not leave empty-handed....

Sounds like you over-valued your items and did not exempt them, so now he wants to sell them (out of his back door) to make him some pocket money.....

Did you use an attorney??? Is your case discharged? Closed?

If so, contact your attorney, ask him WHY a Trustee is demanding stuff after the fact, after the case is closed, and why these items were not exempt????

As far as my case the Trustee took the home and land and auctioned it. But he also made the "grave mistake" of auctioning off a storage building (portable) that belongs to someone else.......... BAD MISTAKE ON HIS PART...

The trustee got real greedy that day.... selling someone else's property other than mine and pocketing insurace checks.... DO BELIEVE it will ALL come back to haunt him,,,,, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

Keep us posted

[Minnymouth]

Were you told you would have to turn these items over at the the 341 or before discharge and closure???

If not he HAS to reopen your case (petition the court) to even get them.............. you might want to call his bluff.....

Talk to your attorney.............. let me know what he says.

[SinkingFast]

You did say Old Law. The New Law has specific provisions for a computer, a television set, a VCR and such. And a $500 limit on other electronic/stereo equipment.

You probably did "over value" your household items. I found a sheet, at a website on-line that has been real handy to use. It's got each room. You go thru and jot down what's in each room. Then you can get values. I've checked the newspaper, Goodwill, garage/yard/moving sales, etc. I've also referenced that one attny's cases on PACER to see what he's listing for values. Those are noteworthy because the Trustee I draw may have already seen those numbers.

I've been thru my list several times now. I thought our state's exemption wouldn't be enough to cover everything, but we are filing jointly and our exemption is more than plenty for household goods. I really wondered how could that be. Then I remembered,......... Last summer, before we moved, I decided instead of moving everything, I'd just have one of those Estate Auctions. I had a couple different Auction guys come, and they basically said that we didn't have enough stuff to fool with. No machinery. No guns. No stamps or coins or collectibles. No cars. Just regular, old, worn household stuff that wouldn't bring much. Not worth their time to sell.

Art may be right. You may wind up paying something. Get some good fair values and try making a counter offer. Anything less than what the Trustee asked is a victory of sorts. You could look at it that way.

If you wanna gamble, and don't really need the stuff, tell the Trustee he/she can have it all. Keep in mind that Trustees know, just like the auction guys I talked to, that regular household stuff doesn't bring much money. And the Trustee has costs to hold the sale as well. So whatever your things bring, you can figure the Trustee will get about 10% less than that. The Trustee may be a butt and take it all for whatever pennies he/she can get. Or, the Trustee may figure it's not worth their time and trouble for such a small amount.

[Minnymouth]

One thing is for sure, one trustee knows what another trustee will do , hide, or not do..............LOL

[SinkingFast]

Discharge 10/27/04 - Completed
Auction 12/3/05 - Completed
Case Still Open - 476 days & counting

Minnymouth your case is 476 days and counting, that scares the hell out of me.

Me too!!

And seeing these stories where the Trustee goes after stupid $^it like GARDEN HOSES???

Or the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Trustees who are butts in front of the Judge and sweeties willing to settle when the Judge leaves the Courtroom??

[Minnymouth]

Scammer,

A lot of the people here KNOW about my case and new ones read about it.

Yes, my case is a VERY VERY UNUSUAL Chapter 7 - one in a million case. And yes my case is still open...... I'm fixing to petition the Court to force the Trustee to close it.... IT's TIME..........

My case involved a lot of hidden surprises most of you will never encounter......

BUT we let you all know about my case and THINGS THAT CAN HAPPEN......... unknown to you or anyone else.....

99% of all cases are cut and dry.......ones like mine are very rare..... but do happen.....

Others have also run into "greedy Trustees".... the garden hose dude..... and yes those exist also.....

Discharge is important because that means you are not longer legally obligated to pay those debts to those creditors.

Closed case means the Court and Trustee are thru with you.... your case has been finalized and filed away.

If your case is held open its because of assets to sell or income tax refunds to collect after discharge.....

My case is still open cause Trustee is waiting to see if I file a law suit or not........ he wants some of the monies.....

A fine example of a greedy Trustee and his strong arm of the court.

Most cases are simple, cut and dried and over except the Chapter 13's that are in payment plans.

So if you filed Chapter 7, don't worry too much, it will probably be a basic 7 with no complications.

[Minnymouth]

By the way I don't recall ANYONE'S CASE being open as long as mine has......

[bubbly]

To Minny

We were not told anything at the 341 about anything, not even the tax refund. The Trustee wrote us a letter about a month later stating that he was going to want it.

Our case was discharged at the end of January, but it is not yet closed. So I guess they can mess with you until it's closed. I assume it won't be closed now until the Trustee either gets some cash out of us or gives up :-(.

We're mulling over making him an offer. Do you think it would hurt to deal w/ him directly? Our lawyer was "less than optimal" (!) and I am pretty sure that even if we trusted him not to screw anything else up at this point he'd be charging us a pretty penny to complete the "pay off the Trustee" portion of the case, as I believe our $1100 fee only covered "Basic Bankruptcy" and reaffirms. I'm not sure we can come up with enough money to pay both the Trustee AND the lawyer ! :-/

Anyways thank you very much for sharing your wisdom and experiences. It makes me feel not quite so alone in this.

Bubbs