Had 341 today- Pro Se Non-Consumer in Cali-Our Experience (Long)
Hello all,
So after months of reading everything I can about Bankruptcy and finally filing Pro Se on October 1, 2008, we had our 341 today. I have been stressing for six weeks trying to make sure we were prepared and that I would not screw it up (major pressure from hubby and my dad...."don't you think you need a lawyer"-my dad says and on last night, my hubby really stressing because he said "I sure would feel a lot better if we had just hired a lawyer" Thanks for the vote of confidence from my two favorite men
.....Anyway, I stayed up until 4:00 a.m. reading over the Federal rules again, reading over the local rules again, reading the Tactical BK Manual again, reading the Nolo Chapter 7 e-book again, and poring over all threads having to do with rental property and non-consumer filings on this site.
Our meeting was at 2:00 p.m. and I thought we would be good, kids would be in school and we would have plenty of time to go early and sit and listen to other cases and get a feel for questions and if the Trustee was in good mood. Well, found out kids were out of school today (teacher planning day) so we had to find a babysitter quick....why I did not know this shows how stressed I have been lately.
My MIL agreed to keep them, so that was out of the way. So we leave the house at 12:30 (husband decides to check tires and oil, etc. and I am getting anxious like why are he doing this now. 
So we get near MIL's house and my husband pulls over and says go feed the kids and drop them off and come back and get me when you are done. He sees a film studio that he has to get information about AN HOUR before we are supposed to meet with the Trustee. I am about to go ballistic, but am forcing myself to breath in and out slowly. So get the kids something to eat, drop them off at my mother in law and go back to pick him up. It is now 1:10 p.m. So I am driving and determined to get there early and not screw this up. He wants to go a route I am not familiar with and says, I know the way, go this way. Okay, I say, why am I being tested today? I go his way and we arrive at 1:40 p.m. We get to the room where we are supposed to go and our name is last on the roster as there were only two couples who filed Pro Se and so we get to go last, which I think is great so everyone will go before us and we can really get an idea what is going on. So the Trustee does his spill and so many people are late or do not have their documents ready and are represented by lawyers. I am like why are they paying these lawyers all of this money and they still do not have their info together....
Finally he comes to us and it is 2:40 p.m. and he swears us in, takes our IDs and SSN and then says....."Okay, let me see if I can untangle this situation" My heart sank and I thought, "Oh No".
He first tells me I filled out the Schedule A incorrectly as I used the exemptions for each respective state I had our rental properties in but should have used the exemptions for California regardless of where we had the properties. We have properties in California, Georgia, and Texas. He then told me that since there was no equity in any of the properties, I did not have to fill out the exemptions, so that was all a waste of time. He then asked me why did we have 4 cars and I started talking too much and that's when my husband kicked me under the table and I ended up saying something quick. My hubby covered the fumble and got us back on track. He then asked the question I had been sweating about all alone, are you collecting rent, and what are you doing with the rents? This one I had prepared for and yet still fumbled when he asked for some reason. I did tell him I included the rents in our Schedule I and even submitted a spreadsheet showing rents and mortgage payments to him. I told him that the mortgage companies were not accepting partial payments, which is true, since most of the payments being made were not covering the mortgages. He asked if some of our units were rented and some vacant and I told him yes, which is true. He then said the magic words, okay, that is all, I am done here with questions. We thanked him and left. Our meeting took 15 minutes, but seemed like eternity. It seemed like we were moving in slow motion when we got up and were leaving.
When we get outside, my "fair weather" hubby now says to me, "Good Job, Honey, I knew you could do it". Go figure!
So, we are finally done and I can breath a little. I cannot believe it, we are now in the 60 day club, right? Pinch me, I still cannot believe it.
I just want to say that this forum is the best forum I have ever seen and I go to a lot of boards. Everyone is so helpful and willing to share their experiences. I truly thank you all for your help, I know I could not have done this without you.
So after months of reading everything I can about Bankruptcy and finally filing Pro Se on October 1, 2008, we had our 341 today. I have been stressing for six weeks trying to make sure we were prepared and that I would not screw it up (major pressure from hubby and my dad...."don't you think you need a lawyer"-my dad says and on last night, my hubby really stressing because he said "I sure would feel a lot better if we had just hired a lawyer" Thanks for the vote of confidence from my two favorite men
.....Anyway, I stayed up until 4:00 a.m. reading over the Federal rules again, reading over the local rules again, reading the Tactical BK Manual again, reading the Nolo Chapter 7 e-book again, and poring over all threads having to do with rental property and non-consumer filings on this site. Our meeting was at 2:00 p.m. and I thought we would be good, kids would be in school and we would have plenty of time to go early and sit and listen to other cases and get a feel for questions and if the Trustee was in good mood. Well, found out kids were out of school today (teacher planning day) so we had to find a babysitter quick....why I did not know this shows how stressed I have been lately.
My MIL agreed to keep them, so that was out of the way. So we leave the house at 12:30 (husband decides to check tires and oil, etc. and I am getting anxious like why are he doing this now. So we get near MIL's house and my husband pulls over and says go feed the kids and drop them off and come back and get me when you are done. He sees a film studio that he has to get information about AN HOUR before we are supposed to meet with the Trustee. I am about to go ballistic, but am forcing myself to breath in and out slowly. So get the kids something to eat, drop them off at my mother in law and go back to pick him up. It is now 1:10 p.m. So I am driving and determined to get there early and not screw this up. He wants to go a route I am not familiar with and says, I know the way, go this way. Okay, I say, why am I being tested today? I go his way and we arrive at 1:40 p.m. We get to the room where we are supposed to go and our name is last on the roster as there were only two couples who filed Pro Se and so we get to go last, which I think is great so everyone will go before us and we can really get an idea what is going on. So the Trustee does his spill and so many people are late or do not have their documents ready and are represented by lawyers. I am like why are they paying these lawyers all of this money and they still do not have their info together....Finally he comes to us and it is 2:40 p.m. and he swears us in, takes our IDs and SSN and then says....."Okay, let me see if I can untangle this situation" My heart sank and I thought, "Oh No".
He first tells me I filled out the Schedule A incorrectly as I used the exemptions for each respective state I had our rental properties in but should have used the exemptions for California regardless of where we had the properties. We have properties in California, Georgia, and Texas. He then told me that since there was no equity in any of the properties, I did not have to fill out the exemptions, so that was all a waste of time. He then asked me why did we have 4 cars and I started talking too much and that's when my husband kicked me under the table and I ended up saying something quick. My hubby covered the fumble and got us back on track. He then asked the question I had been sweating about all alone, are you collecting rent, and what are you doing with the rents? This one I had prepared for and yet still fumbled when he asked for some reason. I did tell him I included the rents in our Schedule I and even submitted a spreadsheet showing rents and mortgage payments to him. I told him that the mortgage companies were not accepting partial payments, which is true, since most of the payments being made were not covering the mortgages. He asked if some of our units were rented and some vacant and I told him yes, which is true. He then said the magic words, okay, that is all, I am done here with questions. We thanked him and left. Our meeting took 15 minutes, but seemed like eternity. It seemed like we were moving in slow motion when we got up and were leaving.
When we get outside, my "fair weather" hubby now says to me, "Good Job, Honey, I knew you could do it". Go figure!
So, we are finally done and I can breath a little. I cannot believe it, we are now in the 60 day club, right? Pinch me, I still cannot believe it.
I just want to say that this forum is the best forum I have ever seen and I go to a lot of boards. Everyone is so helpful and willing to share their experiences. I truly thank you all for your help, I know I could not have done this without you.
Bankruptcy Wizard
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