no money- what else would they condsider assets?

[TXFowlerfan]

We will have less than 1K when we file, only other money is in IRA/401K--they can't touch that right?
Is the other they look for from your Household Inventory? if i establish a value for something like a pool table, can they claim it's worth more and sell it? how does that work?

[LuciluS]

I took each room and listed every item in it on an Excel Spreadsheet.

I used Ebay & Craigslist for a lot of my household values. I also went to Google and just typed in like Used Electric Whirlpool Washer/Dryer, Side by Side Refrigerator, etc. I would look at each item being listed...like for Craigslist, I looked at some that were being sold in Memphis, TN and I live near Little Rock, AR. If I liked the value and it was about the same age as my appliance, I printed it in black and white.

Just go to Google and typed in Used 'Brand' pool table for sale and start hunting. I was really shocked to find out a lot of my 'old-antique' furniture isn't worth 3/4 of the value I thought it was.



Luci

[JoeBankrupt33]

Since you are in Texas, you should be just fine. If you don't have equity in a home, then use the federal exemptions instead of the TX exemptions. That way, you will have a decent sized wild card exemption in lieu of exempting home equity.

I doubt anyone will ever take an inventory of your house unless they think you are hiding something.

Keep in mind, also, that the trustee also takes into account the expense that they will incur by moving, storing, and selling your assets.

[StartingOver08]

Not only that - but our stuff is just now worth what we think/hope/wish it is!

[lrprn]

The total value of a typical American household's 'stuff' averages arond $3-4K. That includes furniture, kitchen stuff, clothing, curtains, rugs...the works. This dollar figure does not include items that have significant independent sale value - jewelry, firearms, art, furs, etc. Those need to be itemized separately for filing. Many states include these independently valued items on the state's exemptions list.

Unless your trustee is one of the very rare ones that actually requires a full household inventory, do a lump sum estimate excluding any of the indepently valued items you may have (if any) and be done with it. No one is coming to your home to check out what you have unless the trustee suspects you are hiding significant assets there.

[TXFowlerfan]

Thank you all so much for the feedback...I really appreciate it....!