341 meeting

[bejam]

So can anyone tell me how long this meeting might go for. Best case scenario? Worst case scenario? There are at least 8 cases along with ours on Tuesday. Starts at 8:30 am. Any chance it wil finish by noon?

bejam

[FilingOnMyOwn]

If all 8 cases were in front of you its still likely you'd be out by 10. Most cases last less than 5 minutes. Mine took barely one minute.

[lrprn]

So can anyone tell me how long this meeting might go for. Best case scenario? Worst case scenario? There are at least 8 cases along with ours on Tuesday. Starts at 8:30 am. Any chance it wil finish by noon?

bejam

We were the last case in our block of 10 cases, so we were able to watch everyone go in front of us. It's just like an assembly line. Best case scenario - 3 minutes. Worst case scenario - 30 minutes, and the case we saw that lasted that long was because a creditor and/or their lawyer showed up and asked the filers a lot of questions (they had mixed their business with personal debts). And even with this, the whole block of ten separate cases was done in an hour.

Here's the pattern we saw over and over....your name is called, you go forward to the trustee's table and sit down. You are sworn in. You answer a few questions - a typical one we heard over and over was "has your income changed since you filed?" If the trustee has any specific questions about your case, he/she asks those. Last thing is the trustee wishes you good luck and you're done. Chances are 99% that you will sail through in less than five minutes - try not to worry!

[quest4me]

Fortunately for me I was scheduled second. The person scheduled first didn't bother showing up and so the trustee immediately dismissed his case. But the actually "grilling" took less than two minutes but it happened so fast I can't remember if I even took a breath within that time frame. Right after I took a long drive to absorb what just happened. T'was a small moment in time.

They basically just had me state my name, SSN#, home and work address, etc. They swore me in. Then they ran through a list making sure I had turned in everything I that was required, which was taken care of by my lawyer. It was a piece of cake.

[bejam]

Thank You all. I'll post something on Tuesday after our 341.

bejam

[bethe23432]

A funny thing happened at my 341 last week. Well, it's funny now but at the time it totally threw me!

The trustee asked me all the usual questions, then he said, "I see you sold a 92 Volvo, when did you sell it?" I had listed this on the paperwork, but my lawyer did not mention that he might ask me about it so I was unprepared. I said, "Uh, last year." He says, "When last year?"

I said, "Uh, let me think..." because I originally tried to trade it in on a new vehicle in July, they wouldn't give me what I wanted and they suggested I put the downpayment on my Visa card (aren't car dealers great?) and then sell the car myself and use the money to pay the Visa.

So that was my plan, but the car didn't sell quickly and although I finally sold it a few months later, I didn't get what I asked for it. So anyway, I'm thinking about all this and trying to recall exactly when I did sell it when he says, "Was it hot outside or cold outside?"

A funny trustee! How lucky can I get! So I say, "It was kind of cold, it was fall!" He looks at the paperwork he has, looks at me, and says, "How much did you sell it for?" I still wasn't sure, but I vaguely remembered a number, so I say, "Three thousand dollars." He looks at his paperwork again, looks at me for awhile, and says, "What did you do with the money?" I said, "Uh, well, I paid some bills with it, but not all of it, and to tell you the truth I don't remember exactly what I did with it."

He studies on that for awhile, looks at his clerk and says something like, "I'm not going to pursue this" and that was the end of the meeting!

Later I remembered that I ASKED $3000 but only got around $2000, which I'm sure was the number he had. He must have thought the reason I'm in BK is because I'm kind of retarded.

So, moral of the story, if there is ANYTHING the trustee might ask you about, have your information with you on paper so you don't look like an idiot, like I did. Thankfully it didn't hurt me in the end.

[CATCHMEIFYOUCAN]

Didn't Like My Plan

My Trustee didn't like my plan so now he is sending to the judge to confirm one! $250 originally .. now he wants $800 other than than I was real nervous cause I'm a gambler, that's why I'm filing. But no questions asked but the standard, being sworn in and all, GOOD LUCK, it should be a breeze, just don't forward any info and answer the questions in short.

Catchmeifyoucan

[anonymuse]

Catch, did the gambling thing come up in your 341? Did the trustee ask if you were in GA?

[CATCHMEIFYOUCAN]

Anonymous

nooops .. nothing mentioned about my gambling .. even the lawyer had said "there are no laws about gambling in VA," for whatever that is worth .. also i read in some post if one has a negative balance (due to gambling) what is there to question? im curious had I filed in a gambling state, if things were to be different? even if i win money inbetween the Bk, i don't think it would be an issue as long as my taxes show i'm still at a loss? i had told my lawyer i had won $1600 but that all went to necessary expenses and i have receipts to prove it, he said "nope," i even won money $2000 to pay lawyer ahead of schedule, i was soppose to file in Sept but ended up filing in July!

I have a meeting with the Judge, this wednesday, since the trustee didn't approve of my original plan, WISH ME LUCK, my lawyer will argue "the law is the law, but my gut feeling, if i can "show them the money," they'll take it !

Catchmeifyoucan

[bejam]

341 meeting done

Well our 341 sailed through for the first 9 cases, we were number 11, second to the last. I'm not even sure there was a last person because it went so far over the hour that the next group was starting to come in one at a time. The case before mine was a griller and went to "investigation". I tell you I was weak at the knees when we had to go up after them but it went well for us and lasted about 4 minutes.

I think I have a new appreciation for the system and although we still have a mortgage and a HELOC (glorified credit card if you ask me) I feel like we have been given a second chance. It was not an easy road as you all know, and I feel grateful that this system has such relief in place.

This forum has been a great place to come and just read and write and relate to other people's stories. Thanks all.

bejam

PS, I went to pick up my Pell Grant check today after the 341 meeting and there was a whopping unexpected leftover $1300 for me!!! I called the trustee and left a message reporting it just in case because I had no idea I would get so much and when he asked the question whether I was expecting any money from anywhere I said no because the last time I barely had enough left over for books.

[tradewiz50]

So can anyone tell me how long this meeting might go for. Best case scenario? Worst case scenario? There are at least 8 cases along with ours on Tuesday. Starts at 8:30 am. Any chance it wil finish by noon?

bejam

What's your hurry?