Had 341 this morning - recap and advise

[FLbeachlvr]

This is my first post although I have been reading everyday since I filed for chapter 7 liquidation on 3/20/12. The previous posts really helped me get a feel for what this meeting would entail and how it would proceed. Having said that I still had a tough time sleeping (got maybe 3 hours) and I was a nervous wreck when I arrived 90 minutes early. My meeting was in a small room with a desk and three chairs at one end and approx. 15 chairs at the other end. When I walked in the room there were only two other people, an 89 year old lady and her attorney. A little later the trustee came in and called them to his desk, he asked for her ID, asked her 5 or 6 simple questions, and then told her that a letter would arrive in the mail. When she walked out of the room the trustee looked at me and my attorney that had just arrived, and said, "bless her heart".

I didn't get it quite that easy, he asked a few more questions than he had previous, but they were simple questions that were needed for a clear understanding of my circumstances. Then I had a creditor from Best Buy, that I was expecting, and I had to verify my charges from 2009! Funny the lady representing Best Buy was almost apologetic about being there. The trustee then told me that we were all done and that a letter would be coming. My attorney and the Best Buy lady went outside to exchange phone numbers. As I was leaving the room the trustee told me not to be so hard on myself that there but by the grace of god go I, or anyone else in this economy. Maybe it was because I looked like a hot mess because I hadn't slept but I actually got sympathy from a trustee!

So my advise to anyone like me that have been prowling these posts is, don't stress it like I did. It was totally unnecessary, these folks see people just like us all day long. If you are honest, they have so much experience they will see it from the get go. I don't know exactly what I was expecting but I couldn't have dreamed of a better experience.

[tobee43]

we experience a very nice trustee in florida's middle district. didn't have a problem at all. some of us get lucky while others have a very difficult time. i have heard both stories like mine and yours and i have also heard horror stories! it seem to be the luck of the draw.

glad you made it through it! and welcome to the forum or for your first post!

[LadyInTheRed]

Welcome to the Forum, FLbeachlvr. Glad things went smoothly and that you have a sympathetic trustee.

I think a lot of people have too much fear of trustees, judges and even attorneys. It is important to remember they are human just like the rest of us. Some will be kind and compassionate. Some will be uncaring and mean. Most will fall somewhere in between. Give even the most kind and comapassionate persoan reason to believe you are lying and you can count on seeing a change in their attitude. Some will just start with the attitude that everyone is lying. If a trustee chooses to be uncaring, mean and/or suspicious of everyone, a debtor can't do much to change it. What the debtor can do is to answer each question honestly and try not to be intimidated.

[FLbeachlvr]

Thanks for the responses and welcomes Tobee and Lady. Of course you are both right, my experience was on the lucky end of the spectrum, Thank God I thought all my luck had run out. I know that there are others that had a really rough time and that was more like what I was expecting. The sweet little 89 year old probably helped us all today

[tobee43]

Thanks for the responses and welcomes Tobee and Lady. Of course you are both right, my experience was on the lucky end of the spectrum, Thank God I thought all my luck had run out. I know that there are others that had a really rough time and that was more like what I was expecting. The sweet little 89 year old probably helped us all today

yes, that most likely left the trustee with a smile in his/her heart! good for you

[justbroke]

What I have found from the Florida bankruptcy court, is that the Trustees are highly intelligent and have indeed seen everything. They know instantly -- it seems -- whether you're trying to squeeze a number or undervalue things. The Trustees appreciate and give deference to the well prepared cases; meaning that the paperwork is nearly flawless and detailed. They hate cases where the assets look suspicious or that the debtor -- or the attorney -- has fudged numbers.

I expected a lot more scrutiny during my Chapter 13 341 and my Chapter 7 341. Both were pleasant and liked my paperwork. I was openly honest and my paperwork reflected such. For example, every "single" asset that I owned that was worth more than $400 was listed separately on the schedules!

Luck of the draw? Possibly. From what I have witnessed, it appeared that well prepared, clean, open, and humbly prepared petitions received less scrutiny and questioning.

[tobee43]

What I have found from the Florida bankruptcy court, is that the Trustees are highly intelligent and have indeed seen everything. They know instantly -- it seems -- whether you're trying to squeeze a number or undervalue things. The Trustees appreciate and give deference to the well prepared cases; meaning that the paperwork is nearly flawless and detailed. They hate cases where the assets look suspicious or that the debtor -- or the attorney -- has fudged numbers.

I expected a lot more scrutiny during my Chapter 13 341 and my Chapter 7 341. Both were pleasant and liked my paperwork. I was openly honest and my paperwork reflected such. For example, every "single" asset that I owned that was worth more than $400 was listed separately on the schedules!

Luck of the draw? Possibly. From what I have witnessed, it appeared that well prepared, clean, open, and humbly prepared petitions received less scrutiny and questioning.

excellent point jb, and it does remind me of what happened when the trustee's office contacted us via email via our atty's office to ask a list of questions and wanted information provided and some back up documents. it was done in approx. 10 minutes and sent back promptly.

a day later an email was sent to us from atty's office from the trustee's office (we were copied the email), with the trustee's paralegal stating what an excellent job we did and how much easier their job is because we provided the necessary documents and responses they required. so, jb, i think you have a point there, that's is what they want to see, order, truthfulness, and as perfect paperwork as possible.

[ohiogal]

I filed two years ago, and was lucky enough to get a very nice trustee. He was businesslike, of course, but friendly to people who showed him respect and were well-prepared. Like every other working Joe, he likes it when his job is easy, and gets frustrated when other peoples' incompetence makes his job harder. So, incomplete paperwork, forgotten documents (the applicant behind me didn't have his ID with him, and the trustee didn't seem very happy about that), and sloppy dressing which indicates a lack of respect are definite no-no's. The trustee doesn't want to drag this out any more than you do, so efficiency is the key.

Good luck!

[Dan76]

I was a little nervous about my 341, but it went very smooth. When I found out who the trustee was I read his profile online and it said he was "extremely aggressive" and is "not afraid to take chances." I was thinking to myself: "just my luck I get stuck with the worst possible trustee on the list." Everyone else sounded like they were nice, but this guy was just possibly the worst one to get stuck with. It wasn't too bad and everything went great. I actually showed up an hour early to watch the other meetings, and as soon as I walked in this guy was screaming at this debtor. I was like "damn, this is going to suck!"