Gulp! I filed!

[LifeNLemons]

I filed this morning. I only did the emergency filing so I still have to finish up the paperwork, but its done. Can I breathe now?

[WantToBeDebtFre]

It's your first step. Congrats! Good luck to you.

[FreshLikeADaisy]

Yaaaay!!! Good luck to you!!!

Your next step might be to call the trustee's office and ask what further paperwork they will want from you, and to be getting that together along with what you know you will need to file but haven't yet. (Don't forget that credit counseling certificate!)

If you have a PACER account (there's a sticky somewhere around here that explains what that is) you can look up your case and not have to wait to receive notices from the trustee by mail. That will help, because you're at something of a disadvantage by having done an incomplete filing: now you have to play catch up. But you will. You pretty much already know what you need to do.

One thing I noticed when I was looking up cases to study was that many pro se filers got deficiency notices very quickly (deficiency notice = an official letter saying you didn't file this form, this form wasn't in the right format, etc.) and since you're filing an emergency petition you'll probably get a few too. They send one for each mistake, too, from what I saw, so if you're missing five forms you'll get five letters.

Don't panic, just read it carefully to find out what they want, and then file what they want at the courthouse or send it to the trustee as soon as you can. Call the trustee's office if you have any questions about what exactly they want, and whether to file it or send it to them. A deficiency notice doesn't mean your case is going to be dismissed, it just means you have to file or send additional stuff as necessary. I'm telling you this because they look really scary: when I first saw one in a case, I thought for sure that guy's case was over, but it wasn't. I was just overreacting. Again. And it wasn't even my case!

Make absolutely certain the car company has your case number, too, so they can't claim ignorance and come get the car anyway.

Once you get all your paperwork in, then relax, because the hard part's done. Then it's the 341, and then you wait for discharge. Good luck!

[guzzie]

good luck.......