Our 341 Meeting is complete! Tips and Notes
Hey all, I just wanted to let you know about our 341 meeting. I'm posting to share our experience and to ease your worries if you haven't completed your 341 yet!
What did the room look like?
It was the 11th floor. Signs pointed to the room. There was a table with Chap 7, Chap 13 (and 2 other) informational sheets. The sheet was two-sided, and it described what a CH 7 and 13 were, and that it would affect credit reports, and stay on records for 10 years. Later when we had the actual meeting, each person was asked if they read the info sheet.
It was just a large room with about 50 chairs. In the 'front' was a large table with 8 chairs around it. (1 for trustee, lawyer on the left, us on the right.) There was a 'waiting room' connected to a 'Meeting Room'. You could sit in either, but you could only talk to your attorney in the 'waiting room' to keep noise down.
The Trustee was a gentleman (50s-60s?). He had a laptop on the table, and a tape recorder to his right. When a meeting started, he simply hit 'record', and entered info into his laptop. He had a minimal amount of paperwork with him (1 briefcase hardly even filled from what I saw).
When was the meeting? When did you arrive?
Our meeting was at 9:00 AM. We arrived at 8:30AM to watch others go ahead of us. I highly recommend you go early. There were only 4 cases at 8:30 (took 15 minutes total, so you can see how quickly they go.)
What kind of cases did you hear while you waited for your case?
Each case lasted no longer than 3 minutes. 1 woman's case was a 're-filed' case. So, her employment info was missing-- presumably filed on the 1st case but didn't transfer to the 2nd case. The trustee simply used her attorney's copy.
Did any creditors show up?
Nope! Of all the cases at 8:30 and ours at 9:00, no creditors showed up. In fact, I didn't even see any in the 'waiting room' either.
How did YOUR case go?
We (wife & I) filed Chapter 7 in Middle District of PA. We were called 2nd at 9AM. (1 couple went before us.) We simply got up from the chairs (10 feet from the table) and sat in the chairs AT the table. The Trustee hit 'Record' on the recorder sometime while we walked up, I believe. We were asked to raise our right hand and swear that our answers were truthful, etc.
He asked for our proof of Identity. I handed both Drivers License and Social Security to Trustee. He said "They have provided photo ID and social security cards which match that which is shown on the 341 notice." (He handed them back to us.)
He asked (if I can remember them all):
- Have you read the Info sheet? (from the table outside the room)
- Have you sold/transferred any property in the last 4 years?
- Did you read the petition you signed?
- Is everything correct to your knowledge?
- Do you own any assets?
- Do you own any real estate?
- What were the circumstances which caused you to file? (I gave a 2 sentence summary of getting laid off and having to move to a location with more expenses)
- Are either of you employed? (Wife: No, Me: Yes)
- Who do you work for? (I answered)
- And, what do they do? (I answered what my job function is)
- The trustee asked our attorney whether or not he knew if our car lease creditor planned on showing up. Attorney said "I haven't heard anything."
The trustee said "This is a No Asset Case [...] Thank you." and that was it! This all happened very quickly (4 minutes or so).
Were you nervous?
Not really. I read a lot on the BKForum and realized it wouldn't be a big deal. Sitting through the 4-5 cases prior to ours helped a LOT, especially my wife. She was afraid they'd ask her questions that she wouldn't know the answers to, or that she'd answer them 'wrong'.
I thought to myself (prior to the meeting): We've had bad luck this year... it will be JUST our luck that our meeting won't go smoothly. I felt that our case would somehow be the ONLY meeting that would stick out, and somehow go wrong.
Well, NONE of our 'fears' came to be! Should YOU worry about yours? Nope. If you've lost 1 minute of sleep over the meeting, that's 1 minute too much.
An interesting side-note: After our meeting, we pulled out of the parking garage, and our Trustee was walking on the sidewalk! He must have finished the meetings and went for a morning walk somewhere.
I hope that the detail I provided was helpful. If you're like me, I like to know the tiniest detail, so that I can be fully prepared with no surprises. Feel free to reply with any questions!
Good luck at your 341 (or discharge!)
What did the room look like?
It was the 11th floor. Signs pointed to the room. There was a table with Chap 7, Chap 13 (and 2 other) informational sheets. The sheet was two-sided, and it described what a CH 7 and 13 were, and that it would affect credit reports, and stay on records for 10 years. Later when we had the actual meeting, each person was asked if they read the info sheet.
It was just a large room with about 50 chairs. In the 'front' was a large table with 8 chairs around it. (1 for trustee, lawyer on the left, us on the right.) There was a 'waiting room' connected to a 'Meeting Room'. You could sit in either, but you could only talk to your attorney in the 'waiting room' to keep noise down.
The Trustee was a gentleman (50s-60s?). He had a laptop on the table, and a tape recorder to his right. When a meeting started, he simply hit 'record', and entered info into his laptop. He had a minimal amount of paperwork with him (1 briefcase hardly even filled from what I saw).
When was the meeting? When did you arrive?
Our meeting was at 9:00 AM. We arrived at 8:30AM to watch others go ahead of us. I highly recommend you go early. There were only 4 cases at 8:30 (took 15 minutes total, so you can see how quickly they go.)
What kind of cases did you hear while you waited for your case?
- We saw a single man who converted a 13 to 7. The trustee asked 6 questions or so. The only 'oddball' question was: why he was converting from a 13 to 7. He said he converted because he couldn't afford to continue paying. He originally filed his 13 because he wanted to keep his house. Trustee said "This is a No Asset case [...] Thank you."
- A single woman who lived with her fiance (employed) filed Chap 7. She DID have a home which I believe she was surrendering. He asked her why she filed, and she said she got 75% of her pay cut, and her new job makes less than unemployment.
- A single man (dressed in shorts & tshirt with many tattoos) filed Chap 7 for credit card debts which he could no longer pay. He had some kind of payment obligations (like child support). He also had someone living with him who shared expenses. Trustee said: "This is a No Asset case [...] Thank you." (I mentioned the tattoos & clothing only to show that the trustee really didn't react any differently to him than those dressed in 'business casual'.)
- Lastly, a couple who filed Chap 7 filed. They couldn't keep their house (surrendered it) due to job loss. The woman had a fancy purse which she placed on the table near the Trustee. Trustee didn't question it at all. The only 'oddball' question was what his previous employer was, and why he left (he resigned) and moved to another state, and have lived in the state for only 6 months.)
Each case lasted no longer than 3 minutes. 1 woman's case was a 're-filed' case. So, her employment info was missing-- presumably filed on the 1st case but didn't transfer to the 2nd case. The trustee simply used her attorney's copy.
Did any creditors show up?
Nope! Of all the cases at 8:30 and ours at 9:00, no creditors showed up. In fact, I didn't even see any in the 'waiting room' either.
How did YOUR case go?
We (wife & I) filed Chapter 7 in Middle District of PA. We were called 2nd at 9AM. (1 couple went before us.) We simply got up from the chairs (10 feet from the table) and sat in the chairs AT the table. The Trustee hit 'Record' on the recorder sometime while we walked up, I believe. We were asked to raise our right hand and swear that our answers were truthful, etc.
He asked for our proof of Identity. I handed both Drivers License and Social Security to Trustee. He said "They have provided photo ID and social security cards which match that which is shown on the 341 notice." (He handed them back to us.)
He asked (if I can remember them all):
- Have you read the Info sheet? (from the table outside the room)
- Have you sold/transferred any property in the last 4 years?
- Did you read the petition you signed?
- Is everything correct to your knowledge?
- Do you own any assets?
- Do you own any real estate?
- What were the circumstances which caused you to file? (I gave a 2 sentence summary of getting laid off and having to move to a location with more expenses)
- Are either of you employed? (Wife: No, Me: Yes)
- Who do you work for? (I answered)
- And, what do they do? (I answered what my job function is)
- The trustee asked our attorney whether or not he knew if our car lease creditor planned on showing up. Attorney said "I haven't heard anything."
The trustee said "This is a No Asset Case [...] Thank you." and that was it! This all happened very quickly (4 minutes or so).
Were you nervous?
Not really. I read a lot on the BKForum and realized it wouldn't be a big deal. Sitting through the 4-5 cases prior to ours helped a LOT, especially my wife. She was afraid they'd ask her questions that she wouldn't know the answers to, or that she'd answer them 'wrong'.
I thought to myself (prior to the meeting): We've had bad luck this year... it will be JUST our luck that our meeting won't go smoothly. I felt that our case would somehow be the ONLY meeting that would stick out, and somehow go wrong.
Well, NONE of our 'fears' came to be! Should YOU worry about yours? Nope. If you've lost 1 minute of sleep over the meeting, that's 1 minute too much.
An interesting side-note: After our meeting, we pulled out of the parking garage, and our Trustee was walking on the sidewalk! He must have finished the meetings and went for a morning walk somewhere.
I hope that the detail I provided was helpful. If you're like me, I like to know the tiniest detail, so that I can be fully prepared with no surprises. Feel free to reply with any questions!
Good luck at your 341 (or discharge!)
- Report of No Distribution 
Actually I think forum rules require names and such to be removed or "X'd" out.
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