just back...

[onacliff]

Ok we are just back from the 341. We were sooo nervous. We are over median and have way over $100k in debt. Well, the USTrustee was there and she drilled us and then gave us a list of further documentation that she needs.
Can anyone that has a similar experience chime in and let me know how it all goes from here??? Is that the only time we see her -- Do they usually show up to the 341?? Any info would help me calm my nerves...

[kathy4530050]

Yikes! What kind of documentation did she ask for? Had your lawyer prepared you for this possibility?

[onacliff]

yes.. Our attorney had stated b/c of our numbers we could be audited. But trust me you are never "prepared"... We were so nervous I thought I was going to cause an earthquake-- I was shaking so much.

But now that it is over and I am sitting down-- I must say - it could have been worse. I just answered the questions as well as I could and of course as honestly...

She asked specifics about the figures in our case. plus a whole list of almost every entry on Schedule J needing supporting documentation. tax returns...six months of statements from all financial institutions, credit reports copies of checks etc...

We have that info-- so it is just gathering it-- putting it together and getting it back to them. which is also stressful..but hopefully the "hard" part is over!

We will see!

[kathy4530050]

Best of luck with all of this. I just said a prayer for you. I hope that soon this will all be behind you and you'll remember it like a bad dream. Take care.

[ska]

Wow. Did they state why they wanted copies of the credit report? Copies of all checks or certain checks? I am filing in April and it sounds like my case is very similar to yours. I have given my attorney copies of my tax returns, statements and credit reports already. So, hopefully if the US Trustee asks us for them we will be prepared. My attorney has told me to save all of my receipts in case the US Trustee asks for them. Did they ask you for receipts for things such as food and gas?

[onacliff]

Ustrustee was there...

Bumping this up hoping someone has had similiar experience and can share experience.

[jessegirl]

Ok we are just back from the 341. We were sooo nervous. We are over median and have way over $100k in debt. Well, the USTrustee was there and she drilled us and then gave us a list of further documentation that she needs.
Can anyone that has a similar experience chime in and let me know how it all goes from here??? Is that the only time we see her -- Do they usually show up to the 341?? Any info would help me calm my nerves...

Ok, when we filed after 2 weeks the UST stepped in. We have been dealing with the UST for 6 months now. We just had an 2004 examination deposition with the UST, an attorney for the UST and an Bankruptcy analyst. THey asked us for additional information like. 2 years of cc statements, 2 years bank statements, all loan applications, 1 year of gas and electric bills, gas receipts, food receipts, lease application, mortgage applications, 2nd mortgage application, 3 years of income tax paperwork, 1 year of pay stubs, etc. It was a shxx load of stuff. I was very nervous too. We thought everything was fine and then the day we were to discharge the UST extended our discharge for another 90 days. You should read up on all the shxx we went thru.

Our UST never showed up at the 341, so we thought OK they must be satisifed with what we sent. I will say that it is very very common for anyone over the median and with high cc debt to be audited.

If you need to ask me any questions you can PM me anytime. I know exactly how you feel. We are going thru it right now. Hopefully, coming to the end of it soon.

Goodluck and be strong that is the most important thing.

[StartingOver08]

I had the UST at my 341 by phone. Yes, there were loads of detailed questions on every expense. I was forewarned by my attorney that this would happen right from the beginning.

So the attorney had me provide to him the following: 10 yrs of real estate transactions (purchases, sales, mortgages) where I was a principal; 4 yrs tax returns both corp and personal (because I had an S-corp); 3 yrs cc statements; loan documentation for any loan within last 5 yrs; 12 months utitlities; 2 yrs bank statements; credit reports; vehicle info, insurance info etc. etc. Amounted to about 2000 pages of documents.

UST was at the first 341 by phone and it lasted at around 30 minutes - then the meeting was continued until Nov 24 and only lasted a few minutes. Less questions. According to my attorney, they just needed additional time to review the documentation. I was over median and filed on a large amount ($1 M total) mainly secured but well over $100k unsecured.

The UST was looking for assets, transfers and insider payments. I was declared no asset, no distribution and was successfully discharged.

It was very detailed. The paperwork gathering is rough, but really in the end it is what saved me.

I did not have to go thru a 2004 like Jessiegirl, thank goodness. So I think they do see the paperwork - although they may ask for it several times. That may be a function of the attorney's office! IDK.

Good luck on your getting your paperwork to the Trustee - I think the trigger is large unsecured debt and over median income for these types of intensive financial UST involvments.

[Duke89]

The UST showed up at our 341 meeting because we were over the median by a large amount and had a considerable amount of debt. The UST asked several very pointed questions and after about 5 minutes requested that our meeting be put on hold and adjourned at a later date. In our case there were two issues. First, she wanted documentation of our charitable contributions and proof of our childcare expenses. These two items were budgeted in our schedules to take up over $2,000 per month so she wanted to make sure they were real (they were). The childcare was easy to prove and we had to prove our budgeted church contributions by showing that we had given an amount in the prior year that was at least equal to what we were stating we would be doing in our budget. The second issue that the UST had with our filing was that she did not believe that our budgeted living expenses were reasonable for a family of four. Outside the meeting and off the record the UST told us that she had two kids and knew for a fact that our budget was low and could easily go up by several hundred dollars without being questioned. We took the hint and set it at a reasonable amount for food, utilities, toiletries, and clothing. After we had faxed the documentation to her and submitted new budget schedules she told us she was satisfied and we were excused from attending the follow-up 341 meeting. Shortly thereafter the report of no distribution was entered and the discharge happened in the due course of time. It was a nervewracking experience at the time, but at the end of the day the UST was just doing her job and she showed a compassionate side as well. We felt very blessed to have the UST that we did.

[SubPrimeME]

The UST showed up at our 341 meeting because we were over the median by a large amount and had a considerable amount of debt. The UST asked several very pointed questions and after about 5 minutes requested that our meeting be put on hold and adjourned at a later date. In our case there were two issues. First, she wanted documentation of our charitable contributions and proof of our childcare expenses. These two items were budgeted in our schedules to take up over $2,000 per month so she wanted to make sure they were real (they were). The childcare was easy to prove and we had to prove our budgeted church contributions by showing that we had given an amount in the prior year that was at least equal to what we were stating we would be doing in our budget. The second issue that the UST had with our filing was that she did not believe that our budgeted living expenses were reasonable for a family of four. Outside the meeting and off the record the UST told us that she had two kids and knew for a fact that our budget was low and could easily go up by several hundred dollars without being questioned. We took the hint and set it at a reasonable amount for food, utilities, toiletries, and clothing. After we had faxed the documentation to her and submitted new budget schedules she told us she was satisfied and we were excused from attending the follow-up 341 meeting. Shortly thereafter the report of no distribution was entered and the discharge happened in the due course of time. It was a nervewracking experience at the time, but at the end of the day the UST was just doing her job and she showed a compassionate side as well. We felt very blessed to have the UST that we did.

Wait, the UST gave you advice as to how to handle the expensives? How come I have a very hard time beliving this....

[WayTooMuchDebt]

Over the median by 13,000 (but did not include my bonus of around 9,000 since it was more then 6 mos before filing)
Debt over 100K

We had the UST at our 341.

We went to the meeting and a lady walked in with a huge file and said this is for the "our last name" meeting. The trustee laughed and said yes I have all of that as well. I think our lawyer was good and sent them everything before our meeting. The UST requested a specific credit report that detailed our balances for the last two years. I think this was so they did not have to get the statements. But they could see if there were any months where the balances went up in comparison to the month before.

We gave tax returns, support for mortgage/car/utility bills, bank statements, pay checks etc but honestly I had all this neatly for the lawyer at our first meeting. She had us give her updated bank statements and pay stubs right up to the 341 so I am not sure what was sent to the UST and what was just for the lawyer but based on the size of our file I think the UST had it all. I was not hiding anything so it was best to give it all to them!!

At the 341 she asked us specific questions about items on our bank statements and I had brought support knowing they would be questioned and offered that to her right on the spot. We had done some small renovations on the house so she saw 5-6000 going out at two different times. She had some more questions Honestly I was so nervous I hardly remember but I had nothing to hide so I just told it like it was as embarrising as it may be! Like how did I get into this debt, how much did I owe on house did I refinance questions about 401k loans etc etc.

At the end she said thanks and we will let you know if we have any further questions. The night of the 341 the trustee just marked us as "Meeting of Creditors Held and Examination of Debtor as scheduled" no report of no distribution yet.

A couple weeks after the 341 my lawyer emailed the UST asking if there was anything else they needed as we wanted to finish the reaffirmations and the UST said they we no longer interested in our case.

Discharged on time, waiting on closing!!

I have been a mad person through the whole process and felt like we would be converted to a 13 but we were discharged on time now I just keep waiting on the day it says case closed!!

[onacliff]

I am just soooo confused... I checked pacer today and it says our trustee (not the UST) filed the 341 held and concluded and no report of no distribution.

The UST handed us a list of extra info need(support for numbers on the schedules)... Wouldn't they need the info requested before he would give a report of no distribution? Could it be an error???

[jessegirl]

I am just soooo confused... I checked pacer today and it says our trustee (not the UST) filed the 341 held and concluded and no report of no distribution.

The UST handed us a list of extra info need(support for numbers on the schedules)... Wouldn't they need the info requested before he would give a report of no distribution? Could it be an error???

No - Our reg trustee did what he had to do and put in a no asset on pacer and even abandoned our property and also said on pacer that he sees no abuse. The UST never put anything on pacer other then the extension and the presumption of abuse claim. They never put anything on about the 2004 deposition or the audit. We thought we were going to discharge like everyone else being the UST hadn't put anything on Pacer. But that was not the case.

[Duke89]

I don't know why you would have a hard time believing this unless you have a perception that ALL UST's are cold, heartless people that are completely incapable of exhibiting any type of compassion towards the debtors they come in contact with on a daily basis. While some UST's do probably exhibit that behavior not all of them do.

[SubPrimeME]

I don't know why you would have a hard time believing this unless you have a perception that ALL UST's are cold, heartless people that are completely incapable of exhibiting any type of compassion towards the debtors they come in contact with on a daily basis. While some UST's do probably exhibit that behavior not all of them do.

? First of all that wasn't my point, but the point of the UST is to ensure that the creditor's are paid- and that the law is followed. They are there to ensure that the creditor's interests are fullfilled, as the debtor is the one that is trying to get out of it. SO when a UST basically tells you how to up your rates to basically screw the creditor, I just have a hard time believing this....