Hi everyone, and thanks for the good wishes!
We arrived early (about a half hour) to make certain that we were there on time. Went in and sat on a bench outside of the courtroom. There was a session going on already. One couple came out, and we overheard their lawyer talking to them about what the trustee meant when he said "I have no interest" in something. He was telling them that the trustee would not seize any asset worth under $2000, as he would make 10% ($200), and by the time he did the paperwork, it wasn't worth it.
Our lawyer came in about 15 minutes early, and had a couple of new forms to sign with him. They were some amendments that we had made to our schedules... nothing serious.
We went in, and had a seat. The trustee came in, and introduced himself. He gave the normal speech, and got to something about using his recorder during the meeting. He held it up, and said "It is all at my own expense, not taxpayer's expense." Our lawyer had told us about this joke. There was some light laughter in the room at that time. He said, "It is OK to laugh... this is serious business, and I have done over 10,000 of these over he years. I also know that everyone one of us would rather be somewhere else. And my job is to get us all to that 'somewhere else' as soon as possible. "
Then he began to call people. There were four lawyers there, and two of them were representing multiple people (and they were "sitting in" for others as well, sometimes two others... it was like they all have a rotating schedule.)
The first person he called had one of the solo lawyers. I don't think that her meeting lasted more than three minutes. I thought, "That is too easy, but she really does not have many assets at all, nor does she have the income that I have." We were called next.
I think that our hearing took about the same three minutes. He dictated into his tape recorder "This is the 341 meeting of the creditors for xxxx and xxxx xxxxxx. Let it be known that Mrs. xxxx has identified herself with a xxxxx driver's license, and a social security card, and all appear to be in order. Mr. xxxx has identified himself with a xxxx operators license, and a social security card, and all appear to be in order." He handed us a copy of a bankruptcy information sheet. He reviewed our tax return briefly, and handed it back to us. Then, he said "I have provided them with the information sheet, and have reviewed the last year's federal income tax return, which I have returned to them, and all appears to be in order."
Then, he began flipping through paper, reviewing the documents. He asked, "Did you sign your petitions yourself? Did you read them? Are there any changes that you feel should be made to your schedules? Is your house on XXXXXX your residence? Do you own any other real property? I see that you own a (vehicle)? (Flips through more paper)... Any Creditors? (a quarter second pause) I declare this 341 meeting closed. Good luck to you.
We then walked out, and our lawyer said, "Pretty painless, wouldn't you say?" I said, "Yes, but what is next?" He said that we would get our re-affirmation of our mortgage from the mortgage company through his office, and he would be contacting us to sign it. Then, in about 60 days, or maybe a couple of days after, we would get our discharge. I did ask him about one of our creditors selling our account to a collection agency, and he said that if I heard from them, I should refer them to his office. He said not to worry about it a whole lot, but if I received multiple contacts to definitely contact him, as that was a "serious violation" that he would need to handle firmly and decisively. He shook hands with us, and said that he would be in contact soon.
He had told us during consultation that at times, the US trustees office would want to perform an audit, which would require us to send in all of the information. He said that it doesn't happen often, and it was more random to test compliance, or if they see something that really look odd. He did not seem to think that anything with us looked odd.
The whole process was certainly nothing to worry about, and was everything that he told us that it would be. It was nice knowing that we were represented in case something went wrong, but it was very straight forward.
I hope this helps those who are worrying...
We arrived early (about a half hour) to make certain that we were there on time. Went in and sat on a bench outside of the courtroom. There was a session going on already. One couple came out, and we overheard their lawyer talking to them about what the trustee meant when he said "I have no interest" in something. He was telling them that the trustee would not seize any asset worth under $2000, as he would make 10% ($200), and by the time he did the paperwork, it wasn't worth it.
Our lawyer came in about 15 minutes early, and had a couple of new forms to sign with him. They were some amendments that we had made to our schedules... nothing serious.
We went in, and had a seat. The trustee came in, and introduced himself. He gave the normal speech, and got to something about using his recorder during the meeting. He held it up, and said "It is all at my own expense, not taxpayer's expense." Our lawyer had told us about this joke. There was some light laughter in the room at that time. He said, "It is OK to laugh... this is serious business, and I have done over 10,000 of these over he years. I also know that everyone one of us would rather be somewhere else. And my job is to get us all to that 'somewhere else' as soon as possible. "
Then he began to call people. There were four lawyers there, and two of them were representing multiple people (and they were "sitting in" for others as well, sometimes two others... it was like they all have a rotating schedule.)
The first person he called had one of the solo lawyers. I don't think that her meeting lasted more than three minutes. I thought, "That is too easy, but she really does not have many assets at all, nor does she have the income that I have." We were called next.
I think that our hearing took about the same three minutes. He dictated into his tape recorder "This is the 341 meeting of the creditors for xxxx and xxxx xxxxxx. Let it be known that Mrs. xxxx has identified herself with a xxxxx driver's license, and a social security card, and all appear to be in order. Mr. xxxx has identified himself with a xxxx operators license, and a social security card, and all appear to be in order." He handed us a copy of a bankruptcy information sheet. He reviewed our tax return briefly, and handed it back to us. Then, he said "I have provided them with the information sheet, and have reviewed the last year's federal income tax return, which I have returned to them, and all appears to be in order."
Then, he began flipping through paper, reviewing the documents. He asked, "Did you sign your petitions yourself? Did you read them? Are there any changes that you feel should be made to your schedules? Is your house on XXXXXX your residence? Do you own any other real property? I see that you own a (vehicle)? (Flips through more paper)... Any Creditors? (a quarter second pause) I declare this 341 meeting closed. Good luck to you.
We then walked out, and our lawyer said, "Pretty painless, wouldn't you say?" I said, "Yes, but what is next?" He said that we would get our re-affirmation of our mortgage from the mortgage company through his office, and he would be contacting us to sign it. Then, in about 60 days, or maybe a couple of days after, we would get our discharge. I did ask him about one of our creditors selling our account to a collection agency, and he said that if I heard from them, I should refer them to his office. He said not to worry about it a whole lot, but if I received multiple contacts to definitely contact him, as that was a "serious violation" that he would need to handle firmly and decisively. He shook hands with us, and said that he would be in contact soon.
He had told us during consultation that at times, the US trustees office would want to perform an audit, which would require us to send in all of the information. He said that it doesn't happen often, and it was more random to test compliance, or if they see something that really look odd. He did not seem to think that anything with us looked odd.
The whole process was certainly nothing to worry about, and was everything that he told us that it would be. It was nice knowing that we were represented in case something went wrong, but it was very straight forward.
I hope this helps those who are worrying...
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