Tools of the Trade and Furniture
I am just curious to know.
When I file for bankruptcy, how is it determined that the furniture or other items within the household are belonging to me or my wife.
My wife is NOT filing, only I am. I know that there is a limit that is exempt.
The furniture has a value of say $15K.. hypothetically. Can I not say that the furniture is totally my wife`s. Therefore I would claim $0.00 when it comes to the value of furniture owned my me.
The furniture was bought over 4 years ago, and to be honest, I think we both paid for it.
Who or how is the determination made as to who owns the furniture ?
This is just an example.
Posted from: Ontario
In terms of determining which furniture belongs to which individual, the way we approach it is that both individuals in the house are seen to own all the household items jointly and therefore 50% of the total value of these items would be seen to be yours. The exception to this is if you can demonstrate that certain items were bought by one particular spouse and the money came directly from that spouses income.
In terms of saying it is totally your wifes, you can’t do that, as you live in the household, benefit from the use of it and your income has likely contributed to the benefit of the household as well. Furthermore, if you fail to claim the household exemption you are not entitled to the exemption. Therefore you would do more harm than good by not claiming the available exemption.
The other thing to keep in mind is that the valuation of the goods is at a quick sale value (i.e. garage sale, auction etc.) not replacement value. As a result we find that very rarely is there much people have to worry about.
For more information on how this is going to be treated you are best to simply contact a local trustee and discuss how things will be treated in your area.