New here ... 341 Complete

[mesaverde]

I wish I had found this forum before we had our 341 because I think I would have felt much better going into it. We filed in October, 2011 had our 341 on 11/29/11. We knew we may have an asset case because both of our cars are paid off. We watched our Trustee handle about 5 cases before he called ours. He was very nice and even had a sense of humor. In fact, he swore us in twice and laughed about how he didn't even realize he did it. A little background .. my husband was unemployed for about 7 years and we racked up a large amount of debt living because we didn't want to completely deplete our savings. Unfortunately that happened anyway and we filed bankruptcy when all the money ran out. We probably should have filed sooner but hindsight is 20/20. The only thing the Trustee got hung up on was our Lind of Credit on the house. He wanted to know what we spent that on and my husband and I struggled to remember. It's been years since we used the line and I know we did some upgrades in the house but we couldn't remember what else. He seemed satisfied with our answers. Concluded the meeting by saying no further questions and good luck. Our attorney was elated when we left because he thought he was going to go into our tax returns which have been nice returns for the past couple of years. The only thing he asked us was if we expected to get relative the same return this year. We don't because I am not having a lot withheld in my check because we need the money now. The Trustee even looked at my latest pay check and nodded. Yesterday on Pacer the Trustee filed his Initial Report and on the docket it indicated that the 341 meeting was held and disposition pending. I emailed our attorney about this to see exactly what that meant. He told me that he got notice that the Trustee signed off on the other case he had that morning (he said that was a really simple case and it was) but that ours was marked as pending. I asked what that meant for us and he said that mostly likely since there were assets in our case and the amount of debt was high the Trustee needed a little bit of time to look at it so he marked it pending. I asked the attorney if we should worry and he indicated to me that he thought we did not need to worry, that the 341 went very well, the Trustee didn't ask for any documents at the meeting nor has he requested any of him since then.

Still I am freaking out. I guess mainly because when we left and he didn't ask about the cars or make a big deal about the tax returns that I thought we were golden. The stress left and I thought for the first time in months that we might be on our way to being ok again. Now all those dreaded feelings are back and I've convinced myself that he's going to make a big deal out of the Line of Credit on the house (we are keeping the house and have continued to make payments on the mortgage and LOC).

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

[tobee43]

congrats on completing your 341!

it's hard to say what exactly the trustee is looking at. maybe your cars are over the exempted amount? i don't think a line of credit you spent the money a few years ago is at issue here. if you are over the exempted amount on your cars the trustee may just want you to buy one or both back in the form of a monthly payment. of course, i'm just guessing, since it's really difficult to know exactly what they are looking at.

just remember this. there is NOTHING that cannot be resolved NOTHING. i'm not saying it's always easy, but whatever it is, it will be fine

[filed]

tobee, If the trustee identifies some equity in something like a vehicle, and they want you to buy it back, does this necessarily create an asset case and result in the ultimate closure being a year or more in the future instead of the more standard discharge in 65 days or so, and closure after another month or so?

[GIn]

I would relax. The questions about the line of credit were likely to see if you purchased any major assets that the Trustee could take. Usually the Trustee will say at the meeting that he is going to hold your case open until your tax refund comes in, if he intends to take it.

[tobee43]

tobee, If the trustee identifies some equity in something like a vehicle, and they want you to buy it back, does this necessarily create an asset case and result in the ultimate closure being a year or more in the future instead of the more standard discharge in 65 days or so, and closure after another month or so?

it does turn it into an asset case, however, hopefully it will not take that long to resolve or to do the buy back. the unfortunately part of an asset case, is it will take longer to close depending on the details of the assets and if they have to be sold, etc.

[LadyInTheRed]

Welcome to the board, Mesaverde. I've combined your two threads into one. Please do not post the same question in two places.

I agree that the line of credit is probably not an issue. Try not to worry to much. There is no point in worrying about what might happen until something actually does happen. Deal with things as they come. Sounds like you are already prepared for the possibility of your case being an asset case because of the cars and/or an upcoming tax return. An asset case may take longer to close, but you will still get your discharge pretty quickly.