341 Meetings

[inhocknow]

Hello folks, thanks for all of your great help.
I have a question about 341 meetings.
When you are talking, other people can hear everything that your saying? How are these meetings set up?
Thanks for your great help.

[whatamess]

You go to a smaller room in the courthouse, with anywhere from 10-50 others. The trustee calls your name one by one, and then you go up to the desk with your attorney (if you hired one) in front of the trustee and sit down. No, there is no privacy but at ours the trustee and lawyers spoke so softly nobody from the middle to the back could hear anything but mumbled speach. Nobody looked as though they cared anyhow. I thought I would be humiliated but after listening on bits of others I knew I was just one of many BK's, not a big deal. The trustee makes you swear on the oath of honesty and your recorded. It took five minutes, longest I saw was 10 and it was a complicated case with sold off assets and lost real estate over 1million. After your done, you walk out and thats it. The judge isnt there nor anyone else except other bankrupt people, lawyers and a trustee. It was really not that intimidating and I'm a wuss.
WAM

[LisaM]

Our 341 was held in a small courtroom and the seats were full of people in the same position as us. There was a trustee and jusge at the front of the room and our attorney was seated at a table at the front of the room. Our names were called, identities verified, and we were seated (my husband at the stand and myself beside the attorney). We had to speak into microphones to answer questions. The people in the room could hear us, but I'm not sure they were eally paying attention to us. They seemed pretty focused on preparing themselves.

It was a piece of cake. Really, I have anxiety issues, and it was nothing to be up there!

[rilbrianne]

Ours was held in a small room, with a big table at the front and rows of seats (kind of like a tiny church, lol) The trustee was at the front, with all his paperwork and computer and all. He announced what he would be asking, what he needed, asked that everyone have ID and SS card ready, that we were going to stand, take oath, sit, .... etc.

Then he called people up. We were all in the same boat so it wasn't embarrassing. Unless you have a lot of money and your up there begging the man that holds your life in his hands to have pity on poor you. There was a guy that made 900/wk and was filing. He must have had 2 houses or something. I don't know but be glad you won't be interrogated in a tiny room with the Trustee breathing over you like a mad ware wolf. Believe me, it's not near as bad as we all thought before hand. I was scared to death.... scared that the trustee would glare at me with evil eyes and break my neck if I stuttered on an answer. It was more like a city hall meeting, you just kind of voice your say when asked to do so. No big deal.

I'm sure you'll do great, relax... and come back here and tell the next "nervous Nelly" how easy your meeting went!! Good Luck!

[imbroke2]

We are in a 13, but at ours we all gathered in one courtroom and then when our names were called we went with our attorney, since we had one, into an adjoining private room with a representative of the trustee. She asked all the questions and recorded all our answers. I don't even know what our trustee looks like!

[CATCHMEIFYOUCAN]

Yeah after awhile the humiliation wears off when you know the person in front of you owes way more than what you filed for, or your payment plan is way less than the other guys, etc.

CMIYC

[JollyGG]

We were all in the same boat so it wasn't embarrassing.

There were actually many people there in worse possitions than us. We actually felt alot better about our situation.

Our trustee groups the 341 meetings by lawyers. So the lawyer that was there when we got there had several complicated cases - second or third filings, back child support owed, second homes being surrendered, ect. The next lawyer was just an incompetent lawyer. Very simple chapter 7 cases that he kept bungling. I felt horrible for his clients.

Our lawyer watched with us and quickly assured us that ours would go much quicker and that we had so much easier cases. He was right. It was over and done with in no time flat.