help with jewelery

[monkatom]

I went to the pawn shop to get a value of wifes engagemnet ring and they would not value it. I went to another shop and same thing. The both felt it was out of their expertise. So in order to try and get a value I went to a jewelery store and asked what they would give me and the offered 2500. Should I use 2500 for the BK? If I do I will need to use my wildcard to cover as the state only has 1100 in exemptions on jewelery. Or should I lower teh figure since I want a parn shop value as opposed to a jewelery store value? Thanks The reason I was asking is because I want toi use my wildcard to cover part of my tax return.

[CindyLou]

Some may balk at my advice here, but here it goes......

Wedding rings and engagement rings to me are where the line it drawn. This was my only exception in my BK where I didn't dislcose something. I put on just the band for a few months, put away the engagement part and called it a day. Now, my ring isn't worth a whole heck of a lot, but i just didn't want to go there with it.

There was only a record for the purchase of the band (600.00) so that's what I went with.

just my 2cents

[monkatom]

I have thought of that and my wife has not worn it for several weeks. I am not sure if I feel comfortable saying I lost it or saying yes everything on the forms is correct when i know I left off teh engagement ring.

[familyof7]

1. She lost it and after the bk is done she can find it again.

2. how much did you pay for it? Use that vale or half of it since it is used.

3. use a figure like 500 dollars sound reasonable to me.?
4. Go to a pawn shop and ask how much they would loan you for it or how much they would buy it for. I have a ring that was worth 1000 but they would only give me 100 because they go by weight. so it will be a nice low #

Did you get a written appraisel or just a verbal appraisal? Dont want a paper trail.

[BKcrazy]

I got a written appraisal in case the court decided to order one. And who they use is not cheap. I just wasn't sure of the value of what I had. And my attorney said he'd rather be safe than sorry. You don't have to do that. I read something that said how much would you get for it at a yard sale or pawn shop. You can ask shop around for people that do appraisals. Don't bother with retail, because still, if a trustee takes that, they won't even get that value.

[cbass1017]

Wedding ring

this might just be in PA or maybe my Aty was crazy but My wife did not have to give up her engagement ring when we filed for a chapter 7 bankruptcy. To tell you the truth I don't believe we would've filed if that was the case.

[dp1969]

Some may balk at my advice here, but here it goes......

Wedding rings and engagement rings to me are where the line it drawn. This was my only exception in my BK where I didn't dislcose something. I put on just the band for a few months, put away the engagement part and called it a day. Now, my ring isn't worth a whole heck of a lot, but i just didn't want to go there with it.

There was only a record for the purchase of the band (600.00) so that's what I went with.

just my 2cents

I draw the line on that, too!

I didn't put ANY jewelry on my Schedule B. I have an a wedding & engagement ring and my husband has a platinum band. I have a pair of diamond earrings (that I always have on);never thought of it and the lawyer never said anything. We have no other jewelry of value. We bought the rings 10 years ago & the earrings about 6.
Guess I should take them all off at the 341.

[FreshLikeADaisy]

FWIW, I did not wear much in the way of jewelry to the 341 at all. I don't have much to begin with, but I didn't much care for the idea of him saying, "I see a Swiss Army watch on your arm, but not on your schedules. Care to explain?" So I declared the watch and wore it to the 341. One ring I bought at a going-out-of-business sale a few years ago, got a really good deal, but when I looked on ebay I found that similar rings were going for around $40-$50. So I printed the page, declared the ring among "misc jewelry" and did NOT wear it to the 341. Does that make sense?

If you want the truth, trying to add up what all I own and then try to put a value on it was the hardest part of the bk for me. I'm very perfectionist and precise and I just ran myself crazy trying so hard to be RIGHT. But in the end, I had a bunch of printouts from ebay for everything that mattered, and then said to hell with the rest. After I went to the courthouse and saw filing after filing that had Schedule Bs and Cs that read "two chairs, a sofa and a lamp" as their sole possessions, I was, uh, *unmotivated* to continue being so detailed. Screw it. But for anything I cared about, ebay was my very best friend.

[BKcrazy]

eBay is a very good friend to have

[CindyLou]

it is important to wear at least a plain band to the 341..they will notice if u are wearing nothing and wonder what you are hiding.

I was very general on my possesions....I put categories instead of items. For example I said "household furniture" and one figure for everything. "clothing, shoes, and accesories" "electronics" and then I also had one that said "other miscellaneous"

I listed "jewelry" as one category and did not give specifics. this is where I pit the value of the band.

[One Half Full]

After I went to the courthouse and saw filing after filing that had Schedule Bs and Cs that read "two chairs, a sofa and a lamp" as their sole possessions, I was, uh, *unmotivated* to continue being so detailed. Screw it. But for anything I cared about, ebay was my very best friend.

Strangely, I bought or got every stick of furniture and so on at good will, salvation army, garage sales, second hand office supply, and dumpster diving. This is not to say I have no "nice" stuff. I have particular taste, and can buy an item for 15 bucks only to find it might be valuable later. Okay-- so, It is not my fault I have this talent. I would just say I have a dining room set, not "A very valuable dining room set." A friend of mine is trying to teach me not to be so honest. He had a friend who went BK who had like a Mercedes and a lot of other cool expensive stuff. They let him keep all his furniture, one car and everything else.

Oh, I never wear rings or jewelry-- will they expect me to? I have a few things, but don't wear anything jewelry on a usual basis.

[afterbk]

I would never sell my wifes engagement ring, somethings you should hang onto I think.

[monkatom]

I do not plan to sell it just did not want to value it at what a jewelery store would give me, I would rather use pawn shop but they will not give me a quote.

[FreshLikeADaisy]

it is important to wear at least a plain band to the 341..they will notice if u are wearing nothing and wonder what you are hiding.

Yes, I've heard this as well. But being unmarried I didn't have to worry about it.

I was very general on my possesions....I put categories instead of items. For example I said "household furniture" and one figure for everything. "clothing, shoes, and accesories" "electronics" and then I also had one that said "other miscellaneous"

I listed "jewelry" as one category and did not give specifics. this is where I pit the value of the band.

I did that for the most part, but anything over $50 I listed separately, which is what the Nolo book recommended. I had been hearing, though, that some trustees were REALLY looking into the listings, and so that's why I took the trouble to make prints of certain things, even when I included them in a "misc" category. The standard to which I held myself was, "If an auditor came to the house, what item(s) would trigger his suspicion as being undervalued in my schedule?"

I know that it is INCREDIBLY rare to have anyone visit your house (!!!!) but that is the standard to which I held myself, mainly because I have an eye for a bargain and there are certain things (such as a crystal bowl I have) that LOOK far more expensive than what I actually paid. The ring I mentioned was like that: it looks a great deal more expensive than what I paid, or even what its actual value is, so I went ahead and got the individual value off of ebay even though I declared it "miscellaneous jewelry".

I freely admit I went overboard but on the other hand, being pro se I couldn't afford not to have my butt covered on it. I think it worked out well for me, because I was using the more generous NC exemptions in another state (FL) where, at the time, there was only a $1000 personal property exemption. Come to think of it, that's probably another reason for all those "two chairs and a sofa" filings I saw. I figured I'd be running my assets before trustees who were used to seeing very little declared, and that's part of why I think it helped to do it very thoroughly. And in the end, I slept better because of it, which makes it well worth the effort. But I can *certainly* understand anyone who takes a shorter route to the same end. It really matters most that you list all your stuff. If they never question you on your evaluation, which is likely, then you're golden.

[BKcrazy]

I do not plan to sell it just did not want to value it at what a jewelery store would give me, I would rather use pawn shop but they will not give me a quote.

My dad's side of the family has been in the pawn business and jewelry business for years. You could act like you were going to sell it, and see what they say. Don't let them tell you the loan amount, you just say I want to sell it outright. That will give you an idea. They generally give 30% of what the item is worth, if they want to buy it. Then sell it for about 70% percent of the value. That's how it works.