Discharging Trustee and Closing Estate

[originalhealer]

Okay,

I haven't posted on here in a long time because I am so tired of this never-ending bankruptcy that I try my best to forget all about it.

But to bring you up-to-date, in July of 2005 I filed Chapter 7. I included everything that I owned in my exemptions, most of which is in a storage unit held by a moving company in New Jersey.

I converted my case to a Chap 13 for a short while to keep my car, then decided to give my car back and converted back to a Chap 7.

I filed two adversary proceedings within my case to a pawn shop that had some valuable jewelry and to the moving company.

The moving company threatened to auction my things several times even though they knew they were included in my case. The pawn shop DID sell my jewelry and made no apologies about it, even though the jewelry was a part of my estate.

By the way, I filed pro se before the laws changed. Later, when things got complicated and I needed to file the adversaries, I tried to hire an attorney but no one would touch my case except for one individual, who wanted a large deposit up-front (which I didn't have).

So anyhow, I had to defend myself in the adversaries, provided all the documentation that the judge asked for, and then I just waited.

Then today, I got a letter in the mail saying "Order Approving Trustee's Report of No Distribution, Discharging Trustee and Closing Estate".

It's not a discharge of my case, so then what is it? What does it mean?

[originalhealer]

Update...

This evening I called the phone number that gives you recorded info about your case, and it says that I was discharged in November!!!

Now, I never received anything in the mail (I'm not on Pacer). So, I never knew this.

Secondly, how can they discharge me in the middle of two adversary proceedings? The last one, the local court here sent me a letter last October saying that I needed to cure a deficiency in service, because I didn't list the person that I served correctly on the Certificate of Service. I was given 90 days to cure the deficiency.

Then, they apparently discharged me one month later, which is only 30 days. Early this month, I went to the court and gave them the documentation to cure the deficiency in service. Now, I got the letter that they closed my case. But what about the adversaries? Would they close a case even though they haven't brought down a judgment in regard to the adversaries? This has me going so crazy in my head.

I'm going to have to go down there in the morning to see what I can find out.

[Frank]

I don't think stuff at a pawn shop is considered part of your estate and that it cannot be sold. I think people in the middle of bankruptcy can take stuff there and sell it. I doubt they even hear about someone's bankruptcy. Sorry you lost your jewelry. Just doesn't sound like you had a case.

[originalhealer]

Actually, both the pawn stuff and the storage items were included in my case from the beginning...it's a long story.

Anyhow, I just spoke to an attorney friend of mine and he told me that I CAN be discharged from my case even though the adversary proceedings are still pending.

Also, I realized that my estate has been closed, but that does not mean that the case is closed. Tomorrow morning I am going to the court and I'm going on PACER and I'm going to see for myself (if the case is actually closed or not).