Advice re: Ch. 7 and will they take my engagement/wedding ring?

[wipetheslate]

I can imagine the OP coming to hate her ring if they do an unwise reaffirmation that comes back to bite them in the you know what. Then the ring will become a symbol of stress and strain on their new marriage. No ring is worth that.

I agree it wouldn't be a wise decision when you could use that money to buy a different ring. I understand the sentimental value, believe me, my ring is the only jewelry I have and the only thing that we didn't sell. But I wouldn't pay for it to keep it. I'd just save up to go buy another ring someday.

[dumpinmydebt]

I can imagine the OP coming to hate her ring if they do an unwise reaffirmation that comes back to bite them in the you know what. Then the ring will become a symbol of stress and strain on their new marriage. No ring is worth that.

I definitely agree with this.

[dumpinmydebt]

List it in the BK. Hope that they don't ask for it back. If they do, give it to them and save up (CASH) and buy another one. Maybe buy a used one at the pawn shop. ;) You can always buy a nice diamond at the pawn shop and have it reset into something more of your taste.

This is great advice. I will personally never buy jewelry from a jeweler ever again. I'll buy from pawn shops or on Craigslist (and have them meet me at a jeweler to verify it's actually real).

[Laurie77]

Sorry, can I ask what OP stands for?

And we have no problem paying back the ring. My husband has a very good job now and once I start working again, things will be great. The only reason we're looking into bk is because we simply cannot afford our bills on only his income. Not to mention with both incomes we were only making minimum payments so it would take us our whole life to pay it off. We want a fresh start, which is what bk was designed to do.

So can someone say how it would bite us in the butt later? Yes, I know we likely overpaid for our ring. But we paid for quality and that's what we got. I know its just a ring to most people but its what my husband proposed to me with so it means a lot to us. Same if it was a family heirloom. It's important. No less important just because we don't own it outright.

[chicagoannie]

This is great advice. I will personally never buy jewelry from a jeweler ever again. I'll buy from pawn shops or on Craigslist (and have them meet me at a jeweler to verify it's actually real).

I agree. Retail markups of diamonds/fine jewelry are around $300% or more. So even with a half price sale, consumers are paying so much more than the item is worth. If I ever get married again, I will find a stone I like "used" at a pawn shop, antique store or yes, even craigslist. My solitaire from 1992 was around $3K (ex bought it "on sale" at the mall, doh!) When I finally sold it to purchase necessities, I got $800 which was quite a fair deal - about 1/2 the wholesale value of the stone. Sadly, the lady with the $7000 engagement ring owes far more than the piece is actually worth (sentimental value aside.)

[oregonpilot]

Sorry...
gotta add my 2 cents from the "old lady" newlywed.
(2 weeks now) time flies when you're having fun!!
WE took the diamonds from my wedding set from 1970. and had them reset in a new setting. $400.

Laurie..don't know if you got your Q answered. OP means Original Poster.

[Laurie77]

Thank you OregonPilot. Now I know what OP means.

My husband and I are realizing that we did overpay for my engagement ring. In the future, we will buy jewelry elsewhere, not from any of the major retailers. We learned our lesson, as is the case with anything you do for the first time. You learn from the experience and you use that for future experiences. Even with that being said, we want to keep the ring and will pay it back if that's what we need to do. The attorney that we met with today made it sound as if that wouldn't be a problem. At first, she said we could try to discharge it because Robbins Bros., being in California, were unlikely to send anyone to Washington to get the ring and she would challenge them to do that. She said they likely wouldn't. Then she found out how much we still owed on it. I think she was shocked. Not a dollar amount she was used to hearing in this state, I guess. She was figuring we owed a few thousand dollars. Once she heard how much was owed on it still, she said they likely would come after it for that amount. So she said it would be better if we either did a redemption or a reaffirmation. She said another client she had didn't care if she lost the ring, so they took a gamble with Kay Jewelers and tried to discharge it. She won her case and was able to keep the ring because they didn't want to come and get it. But the attorney said since we are so adamant about keeping it, that's probably a gamble we shouldn't take. We should try to redeem it or reaffirm it. She said if we first try to discharge it, that could piss off Robbins Bros. so that if we then try to redeem it or reaffirm it, they could choose to just demand the ring back. But from what I'm reading in many places, they don't really want the property back, they want the money. So if we agree to continue paying them, then it should be fine. Here's hoping.

For the redemption route, the attorney told us to get an appraisal on the ring. I have no idea what gold and diamonds are doing in the market right now. Let's hope the appraisal comes back lower than our loan amount. I believe it will, but maybe not by much. She says if the redemption doesn't work, we can still reaffirm it. She basically said we have options up until the date we're discharged.

[despritfreya]

As to wether or not Robbins will try to get its property back if you decide to do nothing, depends on who actually owns the entity and the paper. If the parent company is Sterling, Sterling has a national presence and, for the most part, holds its own paper. It will contact you through your attorney. If the parent company is more local then your attorney may have a point. On the other hand, most jewelry companies do not hold their own paper and you actually owe the $$ to a major lender like Wells Fargo Finance or HSBC.

As to redemption, redemption is good if you can come up with the cash in a very short period of time (between 30 and 90 days). The value you place on the item is not the value the creditor will agree to. You will either negotiate a value or be forced to file an official Motion to Redeem, listing the value you want to pay and hoping that the creditor does not object. If no objection then the judge will sign an Order for that value and you then cut a check and are done with it.

Personally, while I have tried not to be judgmental as that is not my job (I may have alluded to my beliefs in a prior post), I must agree with the others and would just give the ring back if Robbins makes contact, unless I could redeem it for a fraction of the total bill.

Des.

[dumpinmydebt]

So can someone say how it would bite us in the butt later? Yes, I know we likely overpaid for our ring. But we paid for quality and that's what we got. I know its just a ring to most people but its what my husband proposed to me with so it means a lot to us. Same if it was a family heirloom. It's important. No less important just because we don't own it outright.

It will come back to bite you if in the future something in your finances changes and you find yourself no longer able to hold to the agreement. I am sure you never predicted you would need to file, so one can never predict that you will always be able to afford the payment on this agreement. We all like to assume our finances will be okay after the bk, but we truly do not know, which is why most of us suggest to not reaffirm. Redeeming isn't a bad option. I would just try to not reaffirm if it is not required. Don't offer a reaffirmation.

[bellows321]

For the redemption route, the attorney told us to get an appraisal on the ring. I have no idea what gold and diamonds are doing in the market right now. Let's hope the appraisal comes back lower than our loan amount. I believe it will, but maybe not by much. She says if the redemption doesn't work, we can still reaffirm it. She basically said we have options up until the date we're discharged.

Don't be shocked when you find out how much, or how little rather, your ring is valued. As said by someone earlier, diamonds are a total racket, and we've all been had by "a diamond is forever" type marketing. Gold seems to be holding it's value well, but I'm guessing there's more diamonds than gold on your ring. In any case, good luck!