Hello,
I have been a long time lurker. I finally decided to post about my experience so far.
I filed at the end of October. I am going through a divorce and decided that Chapter 7 was a way to get a good start. I have home that's upside down by about 20 grand and well as Credit Card debt, etc.
Since my income is more than double the state median, it took me a few tries before I found a lawyer who would even consider doing a chapter 7.
To make a long story short, I more than passed the means test. One of the more interesting things my attorney did, was to include both of my vehicles in the B22 form. Even though I am single, I have a 2008 Nissan Altima and an old 2000 VW Jetta with 250,000 miles. Even without declaring two vehicles I was $100 negative, but the attorney wanted to include them anyway.
A month has elapsed. Durring that month, my credit scores have actually gone UP. they were around 640 before I filed and are now in the 680s. I attribute this to paying all of my bills up to the filing date.
Now for the 341... I had the meeting last Thursday. The trustee was VERY nice to me. I saw some people go before me and after me that didn't get treated as well. When I walked up, she motioned to the chair beside her (But on the other edge of the table.) I sat down close to her, but I noticed that most people sat far away, closer to their lawyers. When I sat close, she seemed to relax a bit. I made sure to look her into the eye, and I told the truth. She asked me questions about my house and whether I lived there. I told her that I was renting a room until my divorce was final because my wife was causing havoc at the house. She asked my if I still had any property to get in the divorce. I said that I only had a small DVD collection. She got a good laugh out of that.
Overall, it was a positive experience that only took around 5 minutes. I walked out and felt like I needed one of those "easy" buttons from staples. She wished me good luck, and gave me a smile on my way out. She also handed my back ALL of the paperwork I had given the attorney (And that he had sent to her.) She declared the case as a "no asset."
Best of all, my attorney said that she probably isn't even going to want any tax money I get back! Not that it matters since I will probably end up owing.
I have been a long time lurker. I finally decided to post about my experience so far.
I filed at the end of October. I am going through a divorce and decided that Chapter 7 was a way to get a good start. I have home that's upside down by about 20 grand and well as Credit Card debt, etc.
Since my income is more than double the state median, it took me a few tries before I found a lawyer who would even consider doing a chapter 7.
To make a long story short, I more than passed the means test. One of the more interesting things my attorney did, was to include both of my vehicles in the B22 form. Even though I am single, I have a 2008 Nissan Altima and an old 2000 VW Jetta with 250,000 miles. Even without declaring two vehicles I was $100 negative, but the attorney wanted to include them anyway.
A month has elapsed. Durring that month, my credit scores have actually gone UP. they were around 640 before I filed and are now in the 680s. I attribute this to paying all of my bills up to the filing date.
Now for the 341... I had the meeting last Thursday. The trustee was VERY nice to me. I saw some people go before me and after me that didn't get treated as well. When I walked up, she motioned to the chair beside her (But on the other edge of the table.) I sat down close to her, but I noticed that most people sat far away, closer to their lawyers. When I sat close, she seemed to relax a bit. I made sure to look her into the eye, and I told the truth. She asked me questions about my house and whether I lived there. I told her that I was renting a room until my divorce was final because my wife was causing havoc at the house. She asked my if I still had any property to get in the divorce. I said that I only had a small DVD collection. She got a good laugh out of that.
Overall, it was a positive experience that only took around 5 minutes. I walked out and felt like I needed one of those "easy" buttons from staples. She wished me good luck, and gave me a smile on my way out. She also handed my back ALL of the paperwork I had given the attorney (And that he had sent to her.) She declared the case as a "no asset."
Best of all, my attorney said that she probably isn't even going to want any tax money I get back! Not that it matters since I will probably end up owing.
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