How will trustee deal with Offshore Asset?

[Pacificang]

I am new to this forum and not intirely sure I am leaving this in the right place.
I need help! I am in financial melt down...

I am about to file Chapter 7, in MA. I have one asset. It is in the form of common shares in a privately held Argentine Corporation.. My debt is $50,000 in unsecured credit card debt... The shares are worth more than that.. But I have to ask the question? How will a trustee place a fair market value on them and how will he liquidate them in a reasonable amount of time? It will take a very special buyer and a lng time to locate one.. Thanks

[TEW]

can you sell the shares yourself and pay the debt and not file BK?

[Pacificang]

In a perfect world yes.. But as I mentioned It is a privately held corporation and the buyer would have to be someone interested in a corporation that has no short term income.. Hard to find..

[shabam]

This sounds complicated and will probably require a lawyer.

[TEW]

Jusat a thought but if you can come up with a value see if you can some how fit them into one of your exemptions. hard to say or even buy them back from the trustee.

[ready2puke]

You do need to come up with a value..can you write the co. and ask how much they are worth now? You may get by if its a pain in the butt for the trustee to sell them..But you will have to use some of your exemptions...They can keep it open for years but a good attorney can file to have the case closed after a certain amount of time.

[HHM]

Well, how do you know they are worth more than that?

[Pacificang]

That's a good question! The corporation bought farm land in Argentina durning the financial melt down, the premise was it would increase in value. The problem is complicated. The other share holders want to hold on to the property and sell it during better times.. But buyers are scarce.. In the meantime there is a maintenance fee to pay for the management and I am at my wits end.. The lawyer that I hired has not been able to offer me any real advice other than turn it over to the trustee and see what happens... Thanks for your advice..

[Tom_Mi]

Rather than trying to "protect" them, would it be simpler to try and prove there's no value to them?

..I don't know the answer to this question...just throwing it out there.

[Pacificang]

Thank you I apprieciate your responce.. I was hoping that someone on this forum had a simular circumstance and could offer up an example of how a trustee would go about trying to liquidate such an asset? My fear is that they sell it for pennies on the dollar to satisfy the debt and it brings an undue hardship on the othe stock holders...

[StartingOver08]

Thank you I apprieciate your responce.. I was hoping that someone on this forum had a simular circumstance and could offer up an example of how a trustee would go about trying to liquidate such an asset? My fear is that they sell it for pennies on the dollar to satisfy the debt and it brings an undue hardship on the othe stock holders...

Just a thought...Have you actually filed yet? If not, and IF the sale of this asset would clear all of your debt. Then don't file - but sell the asset to the other stock holders (that is your best market). It protects their market value, you sell your asset for what its worth and your debt is cleared. Also, bonus, you don't file then and can save the BK for when there is no other option.

[HHM]

There is no magic bullet for this.

You have an Asset
1st Questions...What is is worth.
2nd Question....is there an exemption to cover it, Yes or No
If no,
You have 2 options
1. Sell it, and dissipate the proceeds of sale (i.e. move into exempt assets and spend the money).
2. Keep it, and let the trustee figure out what to do with it.

That is bascially it.

[Pacificang]

Thak you for your advice. That seems to be it in a nut shell..
All the best!