Question on value of possessions

[concerned]

What do most people list for value of possessions--garage sale/liquidation prices or actual value? Our net monthly income is 4822.55 and we indicated the value of our misc. items and furnishings at $2,000 and I'm concerned it's too low.

[AAAArt]

I was told to use the same test which the IRS uses. What could you get for this if you had to sale it in a day (or a week) i,e,. basically garage sale prices.
In speaking with my attorney the other day, she told me that they sent one back for clarificarion from a client. Client lived in a $300,000 house and just llisted "Household Items...$500" She felt it was too low. What I did (and we rent) was to go through every room and list most everything in it along with a garage sale value. (Sofa...$30 1 coffee table and 2 end tables...$20) etc.
My attorney felt that was great and even lowered the value of some items and asked me about others "Do you really think that they are worth that much?" Anyway she said that she and her husband have very few problems at 341 hearings, because they insist on their clients be very thorough and they are very thorough and complete.
Hope that helps. Just remember that there are many ways to do something. This is just one way. Art

[concerned]

Thanks Art!

Thanks for the tip. I think our values are on par. Our home value is approx. 185,000, but we are filing because we got in over our head building it. We didn't have money left over to furnish the house. Nearly all of our furniture is either Walmart our hand-me-down so I think if anything, we maybe overestimated based on the "garage sale" policy. Thanks!

[mrman]

My attorney just about laughed when I asked about bicycles and things like that. Things that cost several hundred when added up, but he said all the trustee wants is assets that could get him some money. Vehicles and coin collections, not the piddly stuff. That kind of scares me, cause one persons trash, may be a trustee's treasure.

[Karen2005]

The chapter 7 Nolo book says to list EVERYTHING, even worthless items. However, it does say that you can lump stuff into 1 listing and put a price on it like "dishes, utensils, pots & pans" = X dollars. It's probably true that the trustee will never know that you didnt list all your stuff, but you do want to be able to look them in the eye when they ask you under oath if your schedules are correct.