Bankruptcy records have revealed that Teresa Giudice spent $60,000 on high-end furniture just days after filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last year. The Giudices who are $10.85 million in debt have agreed to have their bankruptcy auction postponed from August 22nd to October so that the bankruptcy court can reevaluate the value of each of their personal belongings. Bankruptcy Judge Morris Sterns said that since the items were high-end and being used by celebrities it could significantly increase their value and fetch more at a bankruptcy auction. But the bankruptcy attorney representing the Giudices argues that some of the items that the bankruptcy court wants to auction would normally be exempt and that his clients could be harmed if the items are sold for bargain basement prices. The bankruptcy attorney has also complained that selling off some of the proposed items such as furnishings could leave the Giudices with an empty house and no extra cash to replace the items. However, the bankruptcy judge argued that while the Giudices might not be able to replace the items with the same quality furnishings, that does not mean that they could not replace them with lower quality and lower priced furnishings. The argument is that while the Giudices do need furnishing, they don’t need high priced furnishings to live a decent lifestyle.
Any personal belongings that are found to be worth more than the allowable exemption will be auctioned off in the Giudice bankruptcy. Items that are not worth more than the exemptions will not be auctioned. However, it is not clear how the bankruptcy court will objectively determine what impact, if any the Giudice’s celebrity has on the value of the property.