A big part of the work in putting together a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition is finding acceptable, honest, fair market value for the debtors assets. It usually takes a good bit of work between my clients and my firm to make sure we are valuing everything fairly and according to good bankruptcy practice. There are basically three areas where this comes up most often. However its important to note that all assets need a value assigned; there are just too many classes to address here so if you have any questions please contact your attorney or do you own research to make sure you are complaint.
That said, cars can provide a healthy discussion during your 341 meeting if you don't have a good honest value assigned. The U.S. trustee office in Portland assigns the trustees the NADA guides for car values; some trustee's use these other use Kelly blue book private part value. There is no standard. In my bankruptcy practice I like to pull down values from NADA, Kelly, Black book (auction values) and Edmund's and blend them all together I might sure my clients don't over estimate the qualify. I try to remind them that this isn't a ego thing and we're not trying to get top dollars; we're trying to get an honest assessment of what the car will sell for in today's market. Typically my clients first estimates are higher then what we find Kelly or Edmund's ends up saying. I would suggest that folks take their time with their research; the right value is very important in your bankruptcy filing and if you have any questions be sure to talk to your bankruptcy lawyer. They should have the experience to help you find the proper value for your vehicle. But what about your home?
This is a harder one to come up with. There are no good online measure of a homes value. In my bankruptcy practice I have clients who will return a value that seems either way too high or way too low; my first question is 'where did you get this value?" "On zillow.com" they'll reply. While sometimes I may be tempted to use a value zillow comes up with I know that its not a true market value and that the trustee office typically doesn't put much stock in its value. I've also seen online valuations from Bank of America come up too; same issue. If it looks like there may be an exemption issue or if their may be some equity in the property I will typically suggest that getting a competitive market analysis from a licensed real estate broker is a good idea. This report will typically have recent sales for similar property in your neighborhood and can provide solid evidence of what your home may be worth. You can also pay for an appraisal but these are rarely needed in most low or no asset Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases. As always; this is a complex issue and cannot be addressed in just this article; so please consult a bankruptcy attorney with your personal case details or carefully do your own research.
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