Valuing your assets

[daylate]

As usual, I'm a bit (a lot) confused so I'm looking for input.

When you value your assets I have read/been told several things:

what you would have to pay at a consignment shop for a comparable item;

what you would pay at a thrift shop (by another attorney during consultation)

quick liquidation price (my attorney)

what a pawn shop would give you

yard sale/garage sale

To me those are all different and could be significant $ fro hi to lo

Obviously the lower the better, but don't want to risk a trustee saying whoa! we have a problem here

Thoughts?

[scorpion35]

As usual, I'm a bit (a lot) confused so I'm looking for input.

When you value your assets I have read/been told several things:

what you would have to pay at a consignment shop for a comparable item;

what you would pay at a thrift shop (by another attorney during consultation)

quick liquidation price (my attorney)

what a pawn shop would give you

yard sale/garage sale

To me those are all different and could be significant $ fro hi to lo

Obviously the lower the better, but don't want to risk a trustee saying whoa! we have a problem here

Thoughts?

yard sale/garage sale

[frogger]

What could you get for it today if you piled it out by the road in a garage sale....

[discouraged]

For an idea I used The Salvation Army's valuation for tax purposes. salvationarmyusa.org

[debrouillant]

That website is a fantastic guide. Wish I had known about it when I filed, since I probably over-estimated the value of my assets (It was all exempted, so I'm ok with it).

[discouraged]

I started using it when they changed the laws for donations for taxes. Forgot about it until I went to put some value on my 'stuff' - which to me is priceless, lol, but really not worth much. Good to have a guide that, if questioned, can be pointed to for valuation.

[ACER9103]

Wow this cite is great, I wonder though do we have to list every piece of clothing for ourselves, and children? Also what if some things in the home are not mine? Do I still have to list them. I mean will they come in my home and look at everything?

[scorpion35]

Wow this cite is great, I wonder though do we have to list every piece of clothing for ourselves, and children? Also what if some things in the home are not mine? Do I still have to list them. I mean will they come in my home and look at everything?

u don;t have to list every piece of clothing ,just what u think u could get if u sold it at a garage sale for everything

[ACER9103]

Oh, okay, Thank you=)

[scorpion35]

and yes if the trustee suspects u are under estimating your assets he can send someone to your house

[ACER9103]

Really?? This is crazy, will they assume everything in the home is mine? I live with my boyfriend and he put some electronics on his credit card some time before he lost his job, and if we ever broke up, those electronics (Xbox, PS3 etc.) would most definitely go with him. I mainly only have the furniture (living room, bedroom, dinning room and kids room Furniture)?

[debee]

@acer: There's a section in the Statement of Financial Affairs where you will list property in your possession that you don't own.

Unless you have minks and Manolos, I wouldn't worry about listing your clothes.

Florida is the WORST for sending appraisers into people's homes to determine value but they don't do it to everybody. I read something once (the minutes of a lawyer/trustee continuing ed type thing) that they do it automatically when the real property surpasses a certain value. I can't remember what district that was in. The more money you've made in the past the more likely the trustee is to think you may have valuable assets.

@daylate: if you have antiques, fine art, collectibles, or guns, I would get those appraised.

[scorpion35]

Really?? This is crazy, will they assume everything in the home is mine? I live with my boyfriend and he put some electronics on his credit card some time before he lost his job, and if we ever broke up, those electronics (Xbox, PS3 etc.) would most definitely go with him. I mainly only have the furniture (living room, bedroom, dinning room and kids room Furniture)?

list everything at garage sale prices ,don't lie and u will be ok

[ACER9103]

Thank you Debee, and Scorpion35. What if my living room set and bedroom set were financed with one of the companies that I am putting into the petition for Chpt 7? The living room set I got in 2008, and bedroom set I got in Feb. 2010 with the same company and I still owe $1600 on the bedroom set, will they look at the date purchased and say it is worth more than I am saying? It has been damaged a little by my dog, if that will help to determine.okay I promise this is the last question for the night I am tired.

[debee]

Since there is a lien on the bedroom set, the trustee won't be interested in it. It's secured by the loan. When you file, you will need to indicate your intentions with respect to secured property and you'll chose to either "surrender" (give up), reaffirm (go back on the hook for the loan) or redeem (pay off in lump sum) the property. Don't reaffirm it. Sometimes what happens is the finance companies will threaten to come get their stuff unless you pay. You'll find dozens and dozens of posts like that here. They threaten hoping you'll pay, but they don't come. As for the valuation, even though it's fairly new and not paid for, it's still not worth what you think it's worth.