Whew...
We had our 341 meeting a few days ago. I think it went well, especially compared to *some* people in there. Yikes.
We showed up half an hour early and there was only one other couple in there when we showed up. They were on lunch so there were no other cases going on, but slowly people started to file in. My first thought was surprise: so many people showed up in t-shirts and jeans, dirty clothes, wearing hats, etc. It was our experience that the trustee did NOT like that...
Our trustee was half an hour late, so the tension started to dissipate as time went on. We were 6th in line, so we felt great about that. Finally the trustee showed up and the first four cases were all the same lawyer. All I can say is that I'm so glad this guy was NOT our lawyer! Holy goodness, that man was...wow. The trustee kept getting after him about how the paperwork was all screwy, how there were assets that should have been in X category because they would have been exempt. As a result of one of the paperwork issues, one couple has to pay the trustee a couple grand in order to get one of their vehicles (that should have been exempt) and a few other things back from the trustee. The trustee was so hard on this lawyer and most of his clients that we were really nervous!
Finally we were called up. Our attorney was out of town so we had a stand-in and she was great. The trustee asked the standard questions, then asked if we have any claims against anyone. We answered that we did against the tire shop when my husband's wheel fell off, and he asked if we had any other claims aside from that. We didn't so he moved on. He then asked about our tax refund; I came prepared with all of our receipts and set the clear folder down on the table (so he could *see* that I had documentation as to how we spent it). He said something about us filing on April 16th, and asked when we received our refund. I told him we received fed/state refunds on February 17th, and he was like "okay, so you spent all that on living expenses". He grilled everyone else as to how they spent their refund and if they had documentation. I was glad I came prepared...I feel like me being prepared and coming with receipts made a difference. He asked us about our schedule J because we have two sets of living expenses, so I explained that we are in the process of relocating at the end of June, so that was the expenses associated with securing a place to live. I was *so* worried about that, and to a degree I'm still a little worried about that. He then said "As the owner of the estate and therefore legally entitled to the money they will receive from the tire shop to fix/replace the vehicle that was damaged, I am going to ABANDON THAT CLAIM. They can go ahead and have the check sent to them and fix/replace their vehicle." He then said "Thank you, have a great day".
That was it.
I'm still on edge because I'm afraid something will still go wrong, but our stand-in attorney pulled us aside after the hearing and said we did great, that we got phenomenal news and we're free to go! She said we were "so cute" and we did very well
She also said we should hear from our attorney next week to follow up.
My question is this: what happens next?
My other question is...will we receive a notice from the trustee if they expect any money from us? We got a letter right after we filed that we owe them our tax refund, but I cleared that up almost right away. The trustee never mentioned us owing him any money at the 341, so can we expect another letter telling us if we owe him anything and how much?
Also, we got a call from our attorney's office yesterday that our mortgage company was granted a relief from stay to pursue a foreclosure on our home. I know that means that they will begin foreclosure proceedings, but I'm not sure that I understand how long that will take. My husband and I are planning to move our family at the end of June, so we don't know if we should call the mortgage company or just let it be.
We had our 341 meeting a few days ago. I think it went well, especially compared to *some* people in there. Yikes.
We showed up half an hour early and there was only one other couple in there when we showed up. They were on lunch so there were no other cases going on, but slowly people started to file in. My first thought was surprise: so many people showed up in t-shirts and jeans, dirty clothes, wearing hats, etc. It was our experience that the trustee did NOT like that...
Our trustee was half an hour late, so the tension started to dissipate as time went on. We were 6th in line, so we felt great about that. Finally the trustee showed up and the first four cases were all the same lawyer. All I can say is that I'm so glad this guy was NOT our lawyer! Holy goodness, that man was...wow. The trustee kept getting after him about how the paperwork was all screwy, how there were assets that should have been in X category because they would have been exempt. As a result of one of the paperwork issues, one couple has to pay the trustee a couple grand in order to get one of their vehicles (that should have been exempt) and a few other things back from the trustee. The trustee was so hard on this lawyer and most of his clients that we were really nervous!
Finally we were called up. Our attorney was out of town so we had a stand-in and she was great. The trustee asked the standard questions, then asked if we have any claims against anyone. We answered that we did against the tire shop when my husband's wheel fell off, and he asked if we had any other claims aside from that. We didn't so he moved on. He then asked about our tax refund; I came prepared with all of our receipts and set the clear folder down on the table (so he could *see* that I had documentation as to how we spent it). He said something about us filing on April 16th, and asked when we received our refund. I told him we received fed/state refunds on February 17th, and he was like "okay, so you spent all that on living expenses". He grilled everyone else as to how they spent their refund and if they had documentation. I was glad I came prepared...I feel like me being prepared and coming with receipts made a difference. He asked us about our schedule J because we have two sets of living expenses, so I explained that we are in the process of relocating at the end of June, so that was the expenses associated with securing a place to live. I was *so* worried about that, and to a degree I'm still a little worried about that. He then said "As the owner of the estate and therefore legally entitled to the money they will receive from the tire shop to fix/replace the vehicle that was damaged, I am going to ABANDON THAT CLAIM. They can go ahead and have the check sent to them and fix/replace their vehicle." He then said "Thank you, have a great day".
That was it.
I'm still on edge because I'm afraid something will still go wrong, but our stand-in attorney pulled us aside after the hearing and said we did great, that we got phenomenal news and we're free to go! She said we were "so cute" and we did very well
She also said we should hear from our attorney next week to follow up. My question is this: what happens next?
My other question is...will we receive a notice from the trustee if they expect any money from us? We got a letter right after we filed that we owe them our tax refund, but I cleared that up almost right away. The trustee never mentioned us owing him any money at the 341, so can we expect another letter telling us if we owe him anything and how much?
Also, we got a call from our attorney's office yesterday that our mortgage company was granted a relief from stay to pursue a foreclosure on our home. I know that means that they will begin foreclosure proceedings, but I'm not sure that I understand how long that will take. My husband and I are planning to move our family at the end of June, so we don't know if we should call the mortgage company or just let it be.
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