341 on November 7th....questions

[CindyLou]

Bring all the stuff that was mentioned but don't EVER EVER EVER offer it up. Keep it in the bag unless they specifically ask to see it. Be organized so you can go straight to it and don't have to fumble over other stuff! I wouldn't bring copies, just the origninal!! That way its more trouble to obtain a copy and gives them more reason to just look at it right then and there when they are in a hurry. I think its better to have it if they ask because they might just glance at it and say, "ok". If you have to send it in later, then it is in hard copy in front of the trustee and opens it up for more scrutiny. The only thing I was asked for was my most current bank statement. She merely glanced at it and said, "discharge in 60 days if no objection, NEXT"

[psirasmom]

I'll definitley do my homework this weekend and get my folder together....calling my attorney today - man, he isn't very good at keeping in touch - he still hasnt even given me a copy of the packet that was filed

[psirasmom]

Another question...good god what would I do without ya'll

Someone (either in this thread or another) mentioned the trustee asking the debtor if they read the trustees statement or something to that effect - what is that???????????????????

[SinkingFast]

That was me. Our Trustee was on that kick here.

You probably have read it and you probably did sign it. All attnys are required to show it to you, have you read and sign it.

Most attnys we Consulted with had us read and sign all the mumbo jumbo pages prior to our Consult. There's one that says "Attnys are Debt Relief Agencies and as such blah blah blah".

I think the Trustee's Statement is the statement about the different types of BK relief available and describes each type. Ch 7 is this. Ch 13 is this.

[psirasmom]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh that one - whew, thought I missed something!

[psirasmom]

Ok NOW I am really starting to freak out - I have called my attorney FOUR TIMES and basically begged for a call back, a copy of our packet filed, info on what to bring with me - and HE STILL HASNT CALLED ME BACK. I just checked Pacer, and it has the list of creditors....now, if we are reaffirming our mortgages and auto loan, why are they listed on there????????????????????????????????????????????? I am seriously close to having an anxiety attack and this JERK can't be bothered to call me

[lrprn]

Ok NOW I am really starting to freak out - I have called my attorney FOUR TIMES and basically begged for a call back, a copy of our packet filed, info on what to bring with me - and HE STILL HASNT CALLED ME BACK. I just checked Pacer, and it has the list of creditors....now, if we are reaffirming our mortgages and auto loan, why are they listed on there????????????????????????????????????????????? I am seriously close to having an anxiety attack and this JERK can't be bothered to call me

Did you get anything from the trustee's office about your 341? If not, then this link will give you a good idea about what to expect - http://www.moranlaw.net/341.htm .

Bring along a copy of your social security card and your driver's license, and just to be on the safe side, copies of paycheck stubs you've received since your filing. The chances of your trustee asking for anything other than your driver's license and proof of SSN are almost zero.

All creditors have to put in their claim to be paid, even if you plan to reaffirm. That's why they are showing up on your creditor list. You can take this off your worry list

Understand your frustration about your attorney not calling you back after four messages left. Since your 341 is Tuesday, it's likely too late to make an appointment for Monday, but still call the office early Monday morning and see if they can slip you in for a quick reassurance visit in person.

Hang in there - take a deep breath - as long as your filing was honest and above-board, everything will go smoothly!

[yomama]

I'm not sure exactly what all people here are referring to when they say don't offer anything up more than they ask for. Don't they ask for practically everything already in the paperwork, i.e. bank accounts, life insurance, etc. When my husband and I were at the lawyer's we didn't want it to be found out later and we'd possibly get into trouble for not mentioning, so he disclosed the fact that our daughter's bank CD was in both of their names up until about two months ago when he put it entirely in her name. One of the questions was have you transferred any property....and I guess that would be considered that, so we mentioned it and he included it even though it is out daughter's money and always has been. Just exactly what all would you leave out? I would think that it would look like a person is trying to hide something. We're pretty much an open book and listed everything we could think of. Neither of us want to be accused of lying/trying to hide something.

[yomama]

Ok NOW I am really starting to freak out - I have called my attorney FOUR TIMES and basically begged for a call back, a copy of our packet filed, info on what to bring with me - and HE STILL HASNT CALLED ME BACK. I just checked Pacer, and it has the list of creditors....now, if we are reaffirming our mortgages and auto loan, why are they listed on there????????????????????????????????????????????? I am seriously close to having an anxiety attack and this JERK can't be bothered to call me

I must say, I'd be very upset if I had your lawyer. Both my husband and I like to have our questions answered and get annoyed when someone puts us off. Fortunately, this isn't the case with our attorney. He printed out all the paperwork and sent it to us for review before he actually goes ahead and files it. We looked over it all, made a few changes, and gave him the changes when we met with him this past Thursday. I guess he's probably already filed it and said he'd send us the updated papers and said that even if something else would come up, it's not like something can't be changed in the next couple months. Our 341 will probably be on January 3rd. We haven't had a whole lot of experience with lawyers, just two other ones (one unrelated to our filing). We didn't care for either of those but really like this one. We did meet with one about our bankruptcy prior to meeting with this one and that didn't feel right at all. His fees seemed way too high, and we felt rushed through, so we shopped around. I hope that your lawyer calls you soon.

[SinkingFast]

Yomama,............

CindyLynn is talking to Psirasmom about the pile of stuff they would take with them to the 341 Meeting. Have it available if need be, but don't offer up anything to the Trustee unless the Trustee askes for it. That's what Cindy meant.

That's what we did. I was the only person at our 341 lugging around a bag of papers. No other filers brought anything. They totally relied upon their attnys. Our attny had his copy of our papers filed with the BK Court. He could flip and follow along as the Trustee referenced things. I was prepared with our bag of papers, but we were never asked about anything we had to prove by showing originals.

In regards to your daughter's CD,.......... Was Daughter's name on it as well as yours and you simply removed your names off the acct?? That's one thing. Whereas the CD being in your names solely and then changing the acct to her name is a whole different can of worms.

Psirasmom,..........

Your attny hasn't given you a copy of your petition?? That's all we got from our attny. Also, we got back all the originals we'd given the attny to scan and copy into their system as part of our electronic file.

As far as the pre 341 Meeting with your attny,........... We spent about 5 minutes with our attny, outside the 341 Room, in the hall, going over what the attny expected the Trustee would ask us about. Also, per the paralegal's advice, I gave our attny a printout of our bank acct statement effective the day we actually filed our Petition.

Our attny knew the Trustee was on the "Did you see the Trustee's Sheet" kick so he showed us that to remind us what it was. Our attny also pointed to some key areas he expected the Trustee to address during our 341. Except for the income tax issue, our attny nailed all the key points that the Trustee hit on during our 341.

The Trustee will have a copy of your Petition, your schedules, your pre BK Cert, you last 2 years income taxes, and I think copies of your most current paystubs. Maybe 2 months worth of paystubs. Not sure. I didn't see anything more than that at the 341. Typically, your attny keeps copies of all the other stuff available incase he/she get's questioned by the UST's Office or your case get's pulled for Audit.

Hope this helps calm your nerves a bit this weekend.

I know exactly how you feel. Even tho I'd researched and pretty well knew what to expect, until you're actually done with the 341, it's nerve wracking.

Hang in there! You'll do fine!

[yomama]

SinkingFast,
Oh, now I know what everyone meant. I guess you're talking about proof to back up what you have in the filing papers then. Thanks for clearing that up. It sounds like you really went well-prepared. That's the way I'd probably be because I hate to not be ready to answer questions and have paperwork to back it up. On the other hand, our lawyer seems very on top of things and I think he'd be ready to answer those things. I guess we don't have anything more than what he has. We made copies of things and gave them to our lawyer, i.e. income tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements, etc.

Regarding our daughter's CD, it has always been in her name and my husband's name. It's always been her money. She turned 21 yesterday and we felt it should just be in her name now. My name wasn't on the account, just my husband's and my daughter's. I don't know why he set it up that way, probably just so he could everything done while he was in the bank and I wouldn't have to sign anything. We explained all this to our attorney, but he still said to include it in our paperwork and it is. He said it would fall under exemptions anyway, so I hope he's right. It would upset me to see our daughter lose the only money that she's had since Day 1.

[CAB_44]

I'm sure it presents itself a good impression when you come into your 341 with a mound of papers/folders/file cabinet LOL.....that seems to show the trustee that you are somewhat ready to show anything they might ask for, probably makes them "less likely" to badger you with questions~

Another thing someone told me the other day~
There is a herb in a liquid form that you can purchase at any health food store called "rockrose" ...you put five drops under your tongue~ it helps fight nervousness/anxiety/panic attacks/ all the way to night terrors.....~ kind of like an over the counter zanax......!!!!!!
Just a suggestion!

[SinkingFast]

If your attny says the CD can be covered with an Exemption, Yomama, then I wouldn't worry about it. You're declaring it. You're not hiding anything, and you've got the Exemption to protect it. Sounds like the CD is a non issue.

Yep, CAB!! I felt kinda stupid on one hand, but I know my own luck. If I hadn't wagged that bag with me, sure enough the Trustee woulda asked for proof of something and there we woulda sat. Empty handed.

That bag of papers was like an insurance policy that we wouldn't be asked to show anything!

[brainless twit]

Thought I'd jump in with the questions we were asked at our 341 in case it helps. This is NOT abbreviated - this is all he asked us after we were sworn in.

- Please state your name, address, and SSN for the record.
- Did you review your petition and schedules before they were filed? Yes.
- Did you sign your petition? Yes.
- Are you aware that you have the option to file Chapter 13, where you repay a portion of your debts? Yes.
- Have you transferred any property in the past year? No.
- Are you reaffirming any property? Yes.
- Has your house been appraised since the 2004 appraisal I have here? No.
- Did your attorney explain to you that BK will have a major effect on your credit? Yes.
- Do you have any questions for me? No.

There may have been 1 or 2 questions I left out, but that's basically it. You could tell the trustee was so bored he wanted to go to sleep. We were kicking ourselves for being nervous about it!

If you can, try to go about 30 minutes early and listen in on some of the hearings. Most of them will probably sound the same, and you'll get an idea of how nitpicky the trustee is.

[psirasmom]

Thank you guys for all of the quick responses....it's just nerve wracking, not to mention ANNOYING that my attorney is ignoring us basically. I'm starting to wonder if he is going to bother showing up Tuesday. I am going to bring as much as possible with me in my gigantic briefcase like pocket book to the meeting, just in case. I should have known, I am a paralegal and been working with attorneys for 11 years....lol (I do real estate though, and didn't want to involve my boss who knows next to nothing about the new laws)