Well, I just got back from my 341 and everyone says it is quick and painless, and you know what? They are right!
I took the train downtown so I wouldn't have to worry about parking, etc. I got there about an hour early so I could watch some cases. They were held in 2 separate rooms, the room I was in had about 30 chairs, so I felt a little better about that.
Most people were dressed business casual, although there were a few in shorts and jeans. Even some of the attorneys were wearing business casual. I dressed business casual, slacks and a nice shirt, and wore minimal jewelry (not that I have that much anyway!)
After watching the first three cases I felt much better as they were challenging. One person gave different responses than what was on her petition and her attorney didn't provide any assistance. Another was very vague in her answers and the trustee kept saying, list to my question, you are not answering my question. The third case, a pro se, didn't clearly answer whether a paralegal helped her with the forms. Each of these cases took about 10-15 minutes.
I felt better after seeing these cases. When he called my name, I did get nervous, and thought I was going to blank out on my answers, I didn't. But I did raise my left hand to be sworn in! Fortunately, I quickly realized this and changed to my right hand before the trustee said anything. I kind of chuckled a bit and that took my nerves away.
After I gave him my DL and W-4 for proof of identity, he asked me the following questions:
Did I sign the petition?
Did I read the petition and am I familiar with everything in the petition?
Was I employed at the time of filing?
Is this the correct address for your employer?
Did you list all of your assets?
Did you list all of your creditors?
Was there anything you missed or need to change or add to your petition?
Have you filed BK before?
Did you take out any cash advances in the last 90 days?
Do you have any investments in oil, gas and minerals?
Do you have any investments in land?
Are expecting an inheritance or life insurance payments?
Do you have any investments in recreational vehicles?
Did you give away or sell any personal property in the last two years?
Is your income tax for the current year?
Did you give away, sell or trade any property to friends or family?
Are there any creditors here?
These were the primary questions he asked everyone. There were some situations that varied.
For me when he asked me about selling personal property in the last two years. I told him I have sold some stuff on Craigslist and Amazon.com. He asked how much I sold in the last year? I said about $400. He asked what I sold. I told him books and old small kitchen appliances. I made sure to list things that are exempted. I also sold some golf clubs (which are not exempt), but I didn't mention that. Although I'm not sure if that would have mattered. He seemed fine with my answer.
When he asked about being employed when filing. For those that answered yes, he went on to the next question. For those that said no, he asked if they found a job, all said no. So I don't know what would have happened if someone found a high paying job. My impression was he was really interested in the status of things on filing day. He did not ask the question if anything has changed since filing. I was laid off 10 days ago and it never came up.
He didn't ask anything about rent. I have a rental lease, that was not listed under contracts (so my landlord was not notified), nothing was ever said about it.
I have a very part-time business, he didn't ask anything about that either.
He did ask me for paystubs that include the filing date up until the 341 and for bank statements that include filing date. He didn't ask anyone else for this information. I think that is because my attorney list "unknown" for bank account balance on filing day. I had a few hundred dollars in there, hopefully he won't want that.
He also didn't mention anything about student loans. I got a huge student loan disbursement, which was not on the statment I had to give him, but that is it. The only question he asked about student loans was to another debtor the previously filed bk. He asked if he still had those loans.
He didn't ask anything about expenses or specific assets, like my car. This surprised me.
Just some observations. There were several Pro Se filers. The only additional questions they were asked, if they had some help with the documents. He also asked if they understood the bk process. If the debter was vague with their answers and not prepared, he asked them a lot more questions.
No creditors showed up. In fact, when the trustee asked if there were any creditors, he barely gave anyone time to acknowledge before moving on to the next question.
The trustee was very nice as long as the debtor answered the questions asked and didn't answer the question before he finished asking it. Many people would nod their heads, which doesn't record very well, so he had to correct them.
What helped me relax besides raising the wrong hand to be sworn in ;^), was getting there early and observing other cases. I had all of the documents I needed to bring ready the night before. I looked through my petition yesterday, just to refresh myself with the figures. Plus I was honest with my petition and didn't have anything to hide. It also helped to go through the questions on the 341 stickies and of course to read everyone else's successful 341 stories! I hope this information helps those of you that are getting ready for yourr 341. It really is easy as long as you are prepared. Good luck!
I took the train downtown so I wouldn't have to worry about parking, etc. I got there about an hour early so I could watch some cases. They were held in 2 separate rooms, the room I was in had about 30 chairs, so I felt a little better about that.
Most people were dressed business casual, although there were a few in shorts and jeans. Even some of the attorneys were wearing business casual. I dressed business casual, slacks and a nice shirt, and wore minimal jewelry (not that I have that much anyway!)
After watching the first three cases I felt much better as they were challenging. One person gave different responses than what was on her petition and her attorney didn't provide any assistance. Another was very vague in her answers and the trustee kept saying, list to my question, you are not answering my question. The third case, a pro se, didn't clearly answer whether a paralegal helped her with the forms. Each of these cases took about 10-15 minutes.
I felt better after seeing these cases. When he called my name, I did get nervous, and thought I was going to blank out on my answers, I didn't. But I did raise my left hand to be sworn in! Fortunately, I quickly realized this and changed to my right hand before the trustee said anything. I kind of chuckled a bit and that took my nerves away.
After I gave him my DL and W-4 for proof of identity, he asked me the following questions:
Did I sign the petition?
Did I read the petition and am I familiar with everything in the petition?
Was I employed at the time of filing?
Is this the correct address for your employer?
Did you list all of your assets?
Did you list all of your creditors?
Was there anything you missed or need to change or add to your petition?
Have you filed BK before?
Did you take out any cash advances in the last 90 days?
Do you have any investments in oil, gas and minerals?
Do you have any investments in land?
Are expecting an inheritance or life insurance payments?
Do you have any investments in recreational vehicles?
Did you give away or sell any personal property in the last two years?
Is your income tax for the current year?
Did you give away, sell or trade any property to friends or family?
Are there any creditors here?
These were the primary questions he asked everyone. There were some situations that varied.
For me when he asked me about selling personal property in the last two years. I told him I have sold some stuff on Craigslist and Amazon.com. He asked how much I sold in the last year? I said about $400. He asked what I sold. I told him books and old small kitchen appliances. I made sure to list things that are exempted. I also sold some golf clubs (which are not exempt), but I didn't mention that. Although I'm not sure if that would have mattered. He seemed fine with my answer.
When he asked about being employed when filing. For those that answered yes, he went on to the next question. For those that said no, he asked if they found a job, all said no. So I don't know what would have happened if someone found a high paying job. My impression was he was really interested in the status of things on filing day. He did not ask the question if anything has changed since filing. I was laid off 10 days ago and it never came up.
He didn't ask anything about rent. I have a rental lease, that was not listed under contracts (so my landlord was not notified), nothing was ever said about it.
I have a very part-time business, he didn't ask anything about that either.
He did ask me for paystubs that include the filing date up until the 341 and for bank statements that include filing date. He didn't ask anyone else for this information. I think that is because my attorney list "unknown" for bank account balance on filing day. I had a few hundred dollars in there, hopefully he won't want that.
He also didn't mention anything about student loans. I got a huge student loan disbursement, which was not on the statment I had to give him, but that is it. The only question he asked about student loans was to another debtor the previously filed bk. He asked if he still had those loans.
He didn't ask anything about expenses or specific assets, like my car. This surprised me.
Just some observations. There were several Pro Se filers. The only additional questions they were asked, if they had some help with the documents. He also asked if they understood the bk process. If the debter was vague with their answers and not prepared, he asked them a lot more questions.
No creditors showed up. In fact, when the trustee asked if there were any creditors, he barely gave anyone time to acknowledge before moving on to the next question.
The trustee was very nice as long as the debtor answered the questions asked and didn't answer the question before he finished asking it. Many people would nod their heads, which doesn't record very well, so he had to correct them.
What helped me relax besides raising the wrong hand to be sworn in ;^), was getting there early and observing other cases. I had all of the documents I needed to bring ready the night before. I looked through my petition yesterday, just to refresh myself with the figures. Plus I was honest with my petition and didn't have anything to hide. It also helped to go through the questions on the 341 stickies and of course to read everyone else's successful 341 stories! I hope this information helps those of you that are getting ready for yourr 341. It really is easy as long as you are prepared. Good luck!
- Report of No Distribution 
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Trustee's report of no distribution Aug 20, 2010 
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