Questions, I have questions!

[samantha625]

Okay, so I am new here, although hubby and I have been reading through the posts the last couple of days and did post one question, I am trying to collect my thoughts and put them into intelligent sounding questions!
I will probably have several new posts here before the day is through and you will all be getting sick of me by the time this is all over I'm sure!
I am a worrier by nature. This bk has me a nervous wreck. Sleepless night number one was last night, I am wondering how many more there will be.
Right now I am worrying about the household goods section of the questionnaire we filled out. There really is not room to itemize everything of course, but me, being the worrier that I am feel that I really do need to do that!
DH and I have been married 30 years this month. We have a lot of stuff. And, that's exactly what it is- stuff. Nothing of value really. We were under the limit for exemptions, as we don't own a house.
But, I guess I am stressing about the trustee coming into our house(do they really do that?) and saying: Aha! What about this? You didn't list this on the paperwork! For instance, just this morning I realized that I have an antique treadle sewing maching, doesn't work, I paid $10.00 at a garage sale for it 5 years ago, as a matter of fact I tried to sell it last year, I got offered $25.00 for it, but the lady never showed up! But, I forgot to put that on the paperwork. Then there's the wicker bassinet that I slept in when I was born, I forgot that too, but really it's over 50 years old, not in great condition, but still.... I know anyone could come in our house and take whatever they wanted, sell it and it all wouldn't add up to much, pretty much what I have is sentimentally rich!
But, would it make sense to go back and itemize as much as I can and send it to the attorney? We've already sent in the preliminary paperwork, are just adding some other stuff now, so nothing has been filed yet?
See I told you all I was a worrier!

[AngelinaCat]

Hi Samantha, welcome to the Forum. Your questions are very normal. You don't need to itemize every single thing you own. You can categorize such as: 'Assorted pots and pans' -- $50.00. 'Cooking utensils--i.e. forks, knives, etc. -- $10.00, and so on.

I've pasted a link to another thread that covered this subject that might help you:

http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.php?t=24342

Our attorney told us to price things as though we were having a garage sale. I made an exceedingly detailed list also, then cut it in half and made it into more broad categories. Even so I think we probably over-valued some of our things. Before we filed, I participated in a group yard sale with 3 other neighbors. Some things that I thought very attractively priced, never moved at all and we ended up giving the leftovers to Goodwill.

I hope this helps some, and try not to worry so much. It WILL get better.

[momof5]

Hello to a fellow Western Ny'er!!

We listed the basics...anything with any real value or anything that might sell at a Garage sale. If had detailed every single toy it would have required a million pages...So here is an example of how we did it:

Books & dvd videos- we didnt bother counting them all but figured at about 50 cents a dvd and the books... only about 20 that really may sell at a garage sale for 25 cents. Kids books at my previous garage sales I sold 10 for a dollar mostly because I really wanted to see them get passed along for another child to enjoy.

Exercise equipment as we have a treadmill and an elliptical. What would I pay if I was shopping at a garage sale. No more than $20 a piece. I am a bargain hunter though but honestly there is NO value of something that has NO buyer. That would go for the Trustee as well.

Clothing was very general... clothes that really sell at garage sales in our area are less than 50 cents a piece and at that it would have to be in excellent condition.

so on.....
I garage saled through my own home and realized I had a bunch of junk! Kind of sad after being in debt for so much. But then again it was another eye opener on how much credit card money we wasted and what we could have had.

If your sewing machine is not working then is it really worth much? Who would buy it that way? Could the Trustee honestly sell it? So if you paid $10 at a garage sale,tried to sell it yourself and couldnt then what is the value really... $5 or $zero dollars.

My attorney and the paralegal as well told me that because I was such a garage sale,bargain hunter fanatic that I had a really good understanding of how the Trustee operates. He exlained it in sort of laymens terms "They dont want 10 year old rusty fishing poles to sell that most likely wont or will only bring in a few quarters or dollars, they want.... brand name, professional series, $500 dollar state of the art fishing poles."

You should always be 100% honest though and to be a worrier is a good thing especially pre filing. I have read about cases online where someone didnt seem to worry to much and that came back to haunt them.....but try not to fret to much over the value of non collection, non valueable items and especially items that really have no resale value. Your basket is your own personal non valuable sentimental basket... the Trustee is not going to want it nor does it have any resale value. Then again is it a Longaberger Basket? I just love those and would probably buy it from you *lol*

[Minnymouth]

Okay, your trying to go into detail too much..... and quite worrying.....

List your items room by room (bed room suite/lamps, livingroom suite/lamps, stove/frig/dishwasher etc) Do not go into detail trying to list every little thing. Also, anything that has sentimental value is really of "no value" in a bankruptcy unless it is declared an antique... Hopefully you have do not valuable antiques around the house. (antique means "expensive, old, rare items that could be sold at auction for big bucks).....

Price your items at garage sale prices especially if they are older or well used items. All misc household goods (dishes, pots/pan, knick knacks etc) are usually lumped into one catagory - misc household and given a garage sale estimate of price.

And NO ONE is going to come to your home and go thru your things (it is very rare that this is ever done). If you have collectables (coins, art, guns, etc) then a trustee might be tempted to come check them out for value.

Bankruptcy is stressful, but there's no reason to make it even more so worrying about the little things involved. Most of it is just a simple process!!!

You will be okay, I'm sure..... just take each day as it comes, let your attorney "work for you"... and be patient.

If you have questions or concerns, feel free to ask..... that's what where here for.

Keep us posted.....

[JollyGG]

We watched a lot of 341 meetings before ours. About the only things on the asset list the trustee questioned is if whole rooms were left off. For examples many people forgot to list garage stuff (tools, lawn mower, etc.) We had listed things by room. For example: kitchen, living room, office, kids room, our room, bathroom, backyard (grill and playset), and garage. Within those catagories we had things lumped into groups and a value placed on them. Our trustee never said a word about our listing. As I said even though I heard her asking others about lawn mowers and such. But that is because they didn't list anything for the garage.

[samantha625]

Ohhhh! Garage sale stuff!
Yes, I am familiar with that... our house is decorated for the most part in "Early Garage Sale"!! lol!
Okay, so now I get it, and that's what I am doing right now is making a list, putting a garage sale value on everything is easy, I just don't want to forget anything!
JollyGG you're post reminded me, I DID forget the lawn mower and garden tools in the basement, mostly because I never go down there, and our lawn mower bought new last year is defunct pretty much because our puppy chewed the pull rope off!
Thank you for the posts everyone, you brought things into perspective for me! And, you are all very encouraging!

[JRScott]

Yep don't itemize for the petition, you can do so for your own purposes. Then assign everything garage sale values. Most likely it'll never be questioned, unless as Jolly said something is obviously missing. If the trustee does ask and you have your list you can pull it out at that time, but only if he asks.

A lawnmower that doesn't work is probably not worth anything. However if after the bk you find you need it a missing pull cord is one of the cheapest and easiest fixes.

I know its hard I was nervous right up til filing, and really was nervous 341 day, but try to do your best to keep your mind on other activities, it helps a lot.

[Help!]

BK is a long process, but it's usually the fear of the unknown that causes all the worry. If you write down the things that are causing you anxiety and then try to get answers to your questions or learn more about those things you'll feel much better. So keep asking questions!

Our case was a no asset case until we offered liquidation of items we had previously exempted. We essentially invited the trustee to take anything of value out of our home. The trustee took only the vehicles we owned outright, our economic stimulus check and our cash. He was not nterested in any of our other possessions even though there were plenty of items of value to take. This should give you one less thing to worry about.

[Cali]

Welcome to the board Samantha.