341 was yesterday, went smoothly and took about 10 mins max. Standard questions first, then he questioned the value of our one asset, our boat. We paid $15k for it 4 years ago, when we "thought" it worked properly. One engine over heats when it's on for more than 5 mins, or whenever we are at idle, and shuts itself off. It's a 1974 boat, old, all original cushions in poor shape, interior, appliances, etc... absolutely no upgrading done to it as we cant afford it, and actually use it more of a camper on the water. Gas gauges don't work, generator doesn't work, hot water tank doesn't work, etc... We rarely take it out on the lake because of the overheating issue, hard to navigate on the river we are on with only one engine. At our attorneys suggestion, we paid for a professional appraisal on the boat, by a company that most trustees in the area use when they order appraisals. They gave it an auction value of $4500. OK, cool, we can put it under the wild card exemption. Also, my husband filed ch7 solely in his name, and the attorney said that he's ready to argue that 1/2 of the equity in the boat is mine.
Well, the trustee is ordering another appraisal on it, "just to be sure". Attorney said that he's not sure where he's going with this, as the company that we used are "rock solid, respected, and he can't imagine that it was incorrect". Even if they were off by a bit, we still have about $4000 in unclaimed wild card left. Then, if the attorney argues my 1/2 equity in it, we're back at the $4500 or even less.
So, we shall see, but this is just another thing to stress about. We LOVE this old boat, it's our family time even if we rarely ever leave the dock, it gets us out of the house in the fresh air where we can hang out with friends on the cheap, etc...
Another important note, our mortgage company didn't send ANY reaffirmation paperwork. We modified our mortgage the month before we filed, it's fully in place and filed, etc.... They stated when we did the mod that they wanted a reaffirmation agreement signed after the bk7. But, they didn't send any paperwork, as expected. We actually haven't heard a word about reaffirming at all, in over 3 months. The attorney said he would contact the bank, but I'm actually thinking of just ignoring it, thinking that it somehow got lost in the shuffle of the modification. We can address it if and when they figure it out. Thoughts on that??? Should I tell the attorney NOT to reach out to the bank?
One last question, no creditors showed up at the 341, what does this mean exactly? I'm confused on this issue. Do they still have time to file something? Or by them not showing up does it mean they aren't going to fight it?
Sorry for the long post, any thoughts or advice is much appreciated. Thanks!
Well, the trustee is ordering another appraisal on it, "just to be sure". Attorney said that he's not sure where he's going with this, as the company that we used are "rock solid, respected, and he can't imagine that it was incorrect". Even if they were off by a bit, we still have about $4000 in unclaimed wild card left. Then, if the attorney argues my 1/2 equity in it, we're back at the $4500 or even less.
So, we shall see, but this is just another thing to stress about. We LOVE this old boat, it's our family time even if we rarely ever leave the dock, it gets us out of the house in the fresh air where we can hang out with friends on the cheap, etc...
Another important note, our mortgage company didn't send ANY reaffirmation paperwork. We modified our mortgage the month before we filed, it's fully in place and filed, etc.... They stated when we did the mod that they wanted a reaffirmation agreement signed after the bk7. But, they didn't send any paperwork, as expected. We actually haven't heard a word about reaffirming at all, in over 3 months. The attorney said he would contact the bank, but I'm actually thinking of just ignoring it, thinking that it somehow got lost in the shuffle of the modification. We can address it if and when they figure it out. Thoughts on that??? Should I tell the attorney NOT to reach out to the bank?
One last question, no creditors showed up at the 341, what does this mean exactly? I'm confused on this issue. Do they still have time to file something? Or by them not showing up does it mean they aren't going to fight it?
Sorry for the long post, any thoughts or advice is much appreciated. Thanks!
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