341 Was 30 Seconds of Nothingness

[freedomnow7]

I had my 341 this morning at California Central District Court - Riverside. I have to admit, I was pretty nervous driving to the court. It's just me---no husband or kids, nor do I have an attorney since I felt my case was fairly simple. So I would have to go alone this morning.

When I drove up to the stall, I was so nervous that I had forgotten how to work the electronic parking meter. A couple came up behind me, and I asked them to go ahead and put their money in so that I could watch what they do which would hopefully trigger my common sense, lol. They said..."well, we don't know how long we're going to be here". And I said I didn't either. The husband said, "We're hear for BK court..." and I said, "So am I".

As soon as I said that, the woman burst out laughing---she had the wildest laugh I've ever heard, and it put me at such ease. We walked to court together and they proceeded to tell me that their daughter, had filed as well. Their daughter is around my age.

We walked into the room, and the trustee (a middle aged guy who looked like he walked straight out of a saloon from the California Gold Rush years) was sitting at a long table with a court reporter. He wore a bow tie. He was firm, but a nice guy.

When it was time for our group to go, he asked me if I had brought my tax returns to which I replied "yes" and he gave me the thumbs up. Even though you may have submitted them to your attorney OR sent them straight to the trustee, ALWAYS bring copies of EVERYTHING, including your most recent tax return. My trustee sent a lady home to retrieve hers because she didn't bring them.

Everyone in the room approached the table to pick up a phamplet, and if they were not being represented by an attorney, a document that stated they did not have representation. I think I was the only one who picked up that document. Everyone else had attorneys.

I think they called the cases of those who had children first, and then after that, call the easiest cases first. I was called third although I was number twenty something on the list.

The trustee swore me in, asked me the basic yes/no questions and then dismissed me...all in less than 30 seconds.

Before he started the precedings, he had asked everyone to be proud and speak loud and so that's what I did. I spoke so that the whole room could hear me....I wasn't ashamed at all to be there.

Overall, it was a smooth, easy and thankfully uneventful 341. Make sure you are 100% honest on your paperwork and you will have NOTHING to worry about at your 341.

[professorkev]

thanks!

[screentest]

You were one of the lucky ones. I envy you.

Good Luck!

ST

[ryan]

Glad to hear it went well ...can I ask a question? How difficult did you find the preparation of documents etc, seeing as you did not use an attorney? Did you get help from other sources? Thanks and Good Luck in the future.

[freedomnow7]

I didn't find this forum, nor hear of the NOLO books, until after I had already purchased another book on filing ch. 7. The book that I purchased came with a CD with most of the forms that I needed and detailed instructions on how to fill them out. However, in hindsight, I would've just used the forms on the court's website, since they were the most updated, as some of the forms on the CD were outdated.

I estimate that by using the book, and this forum, I probably saved about $1200 in legal fees. I tried Legal Aid, but they were not very helpful at all.

I also need to say that I am not married, have no kids, had two houses but they were taken away by a foreclosure and a short sale prior to the bk and my lease on the car ended a few days before I filed. I also had about less than 10k in assets, but about 200k in debt, including the two homes.

So, I had a pretty easy case, and because I filed pro se, I feel as though I understand the process better than if I had used an attorney. I feel so empowered.

I'm also a very independant and the kind of person that would rather take good care of myself than depend on a doctor to prescribe meds and other stuff. I look at doctors and lawyers as partners, but I maintain control of me and ultimately my fate.

Do as much research as possible to decide if you want to do it yourself. Sometimes professionals have a way of making you think that it is much more complicated than it really is and some cases are quite difficult. However, if you are dealing with very little assets and don't have much to lose anyway (because you've already lost it all), I would do it pro se.

Long answer to a short question.