I have a question on exemptions...

[tlk9]

I filed ch. 7 in Indiana,the law here says you are entitled to 8k worth of personal property exemptions,I was looking at my petition and it confuses the he** out of me how the lawyer wrote it up,I run a small business(construction)I am not a corporation so none of that mumbo jumbo comes into play and I have a dumptruck that I owe 4k on at a local bank,it is worth around 6k so if I am correct in my math that is 2k I can claim as exempt(right or wrong?) and the only other item is a car that bluebook puts at 13k and I owe 10k so that is another 3 I can claim,is this correct in my reasoning? I reaffirmed the loan on both,but what stops me from selling those at discharge for 6k and the 13k and walking off with the money without paying the loans off,and since the loans were in included in the bk how would they have recourse? Only thing I can think of is when i signed the reaffirmation agreement I agreed to that? Thanks for any help.

[StaciMM]

If I understand correctly-you are asking if after the BK, you can sell the dump truck (for example) and keep all the money you get for it, leaving the creditor high & dry? It doesn't work that way. If you don't reaffirm, then the debt is discharged but the lien holder's ownership interest in the property does not. Meaning they own it, they have the title. The only way to get the title is to pay the lien holder all that is owed. Otherwise, you won't get the title and no one is going to buy a vehicle without a title.

As to how you can use your state's allowed exemptions, it will depend. Some states limit how much can be used on any one particular item while others do not. It might be good to discuss w/ your attorney so that you understand what it is you've signed and have to swear to be true & accurate.

[tlk9]

Really,they limit how much exemption can be claimed on certain items? hmmm well that must be the answer I am looking for,well I have till the 13 to get any objections for being discharged ,I still am not sure what that means and I havent heard anything yet,no news is good news I guess Can you tell me what government proof of claim means Stacimm? Thanks for all your help,I believe you have answered more of my silly questions than anybody on here,I hope your situation is doing good,just a rough thing to go thru and I hope to never be in it again. Thanks again

[StaciMM]

Your creditors could object to certain activity that was relatively close to your file date. Cash advances, balance transfers, and large purchases would be the likely issues.

Most state exemptions get somewhat detailed. You can have $1500 value in a vehicle, $5000 value in household items, $500 in jewelry, etc.

For the govt. proof of claims, not quite sure what its all about but its standard-it should either be 6 months from your file date or 5 months from your 341. (Normally those 2 dates are roughly the same-mine was, so I don't know which way the rule is!) Probably something about giving the govt. extra time to file a claim for any assets if you should have them.

[bkfiler]

use the serach function in my signature - it will tell you what proof of claim is