Today was an excellent day! We had our 341 and were the first in our group’s time slot. Were in an out within 8 minutes from the time everyone began shuffling in. It would have been shorter had the trustee not been disturbed by someone calling the wrong conference room. As with another 341’er I just read today (congrats on a great meeting too!), he seemed to focus on making sure that we were the ones who completed the forms ourselves with no prep services, lawyers etc. I think we were asked that question in 10 different ways AND we had completed a form saying just that too. Other than that, he went through many of the standard questions seen on this forum. The 341 sticky really helped us! He asked nothing out of the ordinary and when he said, “I’m going to dismiss you now…” I was thinking, “Really??”. SO HAPPY!!!
Got to say that I was really nervous, making sure I had a lot of numbers memorized so I won’t have to fumble around papers, if needed. DH and I were getting a little freaked out because we were noting how long it took others in the time slot before us to come out…one couple took almost 25 minutes and they looked pretty upset when they walked out of the room. Before they went in to see the trustee, I heard their lawyer INTRODUCE himself and said that he was representing them instead of the person they’ve been dealing with. So all of that made me nervous seeing that they didn’t seem to have a good 341. No creditors showed up, but when we sat down and the conference room phone rang, DH thought it was a creditor calling in (he read that it happens from time to time) and said he was freaking out inside (I’ve never read that so it didn’t phase me).
Advice summary from the experiences so far (basically, the sticky on this forum):
Filing:
. Have your paperwork in order. Don't miss a beat! Use the NOLO book and this forum! Lawyer or no lawyer, you provide the data and need to make sure it's accurate and explainable.
Before 341:
Get any items your trustee needs to him/her asap. We emailed the requested items and followed up with a phone call to confirm receipt a week after emailing. The more "on top" of it and prepared you are/you appear, the better.
341:
· Be prepared (but yea…no need to memorize things…I’m just that nerdy). Have all paperwork, IDs, etc in order. Eat breakfast or drink water (I couldn't eat) and breathe.
· Get there early. Got there an hour early…it went by quickly and gives you time to settle in and observe. Don't rush or run late.
· Straightforward yes-no answers as emphasized in this forum.
· Business casual.
· Spit out your gum unless you can control the chewing.
· Smile and be polite.
Keeping fingers crossed until discharge, but meanwhile celebrating this step!
Shel
Pro se; filed 12/6/10; 341 1/11/11; tick tock...
Got to say that I was really nervous, making sure I had a lot of numbers memorized so I won’t have to fumble around papers, if needed. DH and I were getting a little freaked out because we were noting how long it took others in the time slot before us to come out…one couple took almost 25 minutes and they looked pretty upset when they walked out of the room. Before they went in to see the trustee, I heard their lawyer INTRODUCE himself and said that he was representing them instead of the person they’ve been dealing with. So all of that made me nervous seeing that they didn’t seem to have a good 341. No creditors showed up, but when we sat down and the conference room phone rang, DH thought it was a creditor calling in (he read that it happens from time to time) and said he was freaking out inside (I’ve never read that so it didn’t phase me).
Advice summary from the experiences so far (basically, the sticky on this forum):
Filing:
. Have your paperwork in order. Don't miss a beat! Use the NOLO book and this forum! Lawyer or no lawyer, you provide the data and need to make sure it's accurate and explainable.
Before 341:
Get any items your trustee needs to him/her asap. We emailed the requested items and followed up with a phone call to confirm receipt a week after emailing. The more "on top" of it and prepared you are/you appear, the better.
341:
· Be prepared (but yea…no need to memorize things…I’m just that nerdy). Have all paperwork, IDs, etc in order. Eat breakfast or drink water (I couldn't eat) and breathe.
· Get there early. Got there an hour early…it went by quickly and gives you time to settle in and observe. Don't rush or run late.
· Straightforward yes-no answers as emphasized in this forum.
· Business casual.
· Spit out your gum unless you can control the chewing.
· Smile and be polite.
Keeping fingers crossed until discharge, but meanwhile celebrating this step!
Shel
Pro se; filed 12/6/10; 341 1/11/11; tick tock...
So glad it went well!!!
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