Let It Go – Bankruptcy Furniture
Bankruptcy furniture has got to be the most obvious expense of filing bankruptcy. When an individual or a company decides on filing bankruptcy, one of the first things that he has to let go are his bankruptcy furniture. This is as expected since all households and corporations always call for furniture inventory so furnitures are always an in-demand sale on second-hand thrift-stores especially government auctions; hence, bankruptcy furniture is one of the bankrupt’s properties first to go as outlay in the discharge of his debts.
Since a person could no longer pay his debts by any means and therefore filing for a personal bankruptcy in the court, he needs to surrender his personally owned ‘estate’ property (that must not be exempted) to his bankruptcy case trustee so that they can sell it and settle the proceeds equitably to the creditors. People who do not have any hope to recover from his debts can practically make use of this. Yet if the debtor does not wish this with some of his property (e.g. car), then he can also provide his trustee with the equivalent-value of the bankruptcy furniture in cash.
Nonetheless, all bankruptcy furniture to be sold must all be non-exempted property, which means that these furnishings must only be the state-court-recognized items that are considered as high-value as debt-payment but are also those that do not diminish the social or personal conditions of the debtor. In some states, part of the debtor’s home equity is kept as well as his car’s. Some of his more personal tools of trade may also be exempt. Also, if a property doesn’t worth very much or would only be onerous for the trustee to sell, then the trustee may leave out the property for the debtor to keep even though it is non-exempt. The exempt properties, on the other hand are such furnishings of little economic value or very high social worth as: reasonably necessary clothing (except fur coats), practically necessary household goods and furnishings, some indispensable household appliances, jewelry (exempt to a few hundred dollars), and more ‘personal effects’ such as electric shavers, hair dryers, and personal care items. Other exempt properties (value differing from each state) are part of the house-equity, part of the motor vehicles-equity, requisite tools of a trade, unpaid but earned wages, life insurance (cash or loan-value), and pensions and public benefits. These items cannot be taken by creditors or by the bankruptcy trustee. As it turns out, most property owned by most debtors are either exempt or is essentially worthless to be sold for the creditors. Only few debtors then end up having to surrender their properties, unless it is collateral for a secured debt as houses and automobiles subject to possible seizure or foreclosure by the creditors.
Even so, bankruptcy furniture are still on the racks – clothes, bits-and-pieces, dining and office furniture, computers, and other assets – all available at open auctions at a very cheap price.