another itemization question

[RelaxMax]

Thanks to all of you who helped me with my previous question

My spouse is the one filling and we are doing the itemization, we are not filing jointly.
Do I need to list my personal jewelry and clothes ?

[lrprn]

A question first - do you live in a community property state? And do you still owe payment on your jewelry or clothes (were they paid for using credit)?

Community property states are Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.

[PaKettle]

If you are sure you want to file individual (creditors can't come after the spouse), then I'd say you do not have to list jewelry unless you have thousands of dollars worth (at used prices). For example, we have a diamond ring I paid $2200 for but I recently tried to sell it on ebay and could not even get $1200 for it even though it's a certified, very nice diamond, and I have a good seller rep on ebay. So you are talking about jewelry being worth MUCH LESS than what you paid, and probably even less than what you think. Unless it has a lot of gold in it, then it may actually be worth more than you think, right now.

Also, no one is likely to come out to your house and look at or evaluate your jewelry, so that is a consideration...

As for clothes, unless you have a $3000 fur coat or something, it's highly unlikely you need to list clothes. Most clothes are worthless for re-sale.

Also, if you are pro-se make sure you understand the exemptions in your state. Many states allow you to exempt x amount of belongings. For example, Calif. allows you to keep around $22k worth of stuff - anything, including cash - if you do not have a home that you are exempting.