Just got done with the 341.
The trustee was drilling people before us pretty hard. The case just before ours was a couple who had just bought a second house in March and also received a $5k tax return that they couldn't account for. Also, their lawyer didn't have their tax returns or all of their bank statements. It was nerve wracking to watch. We heard their lawyer advising a conversion to a 13 as we were leaving.
We were the only pro se debtors in our time slot. The trustee actually seemed friendlier with us than the others, but maybe that's my imagination. She asked my husband the required 10 questions, then asked me if I would answer the questions the same way. Then she asked us about the house we abandoned (trying to find out if we were receiving rent). Then she asked about my exempted engagement ring (see below). Then she asked about our income and my future income that I had reported I would be receiving (verifying how much it was). Then she asked us how much our student loan debt was (just under 100k, btw - we're getting a not-so-fresh start!)
My husband and I both dressed as if we were going to a casual business meeting, we were dressed better than some of the lawyers, actually. I carried a cheap fabric tote instead of a handbag. I wore no jewelry except for my engagement and wedding rings. My engagement ring is um...not small...I had hemmed and hawed about wearing it, but ultimately I decided to wear it because I had exempted it. I was SO GLAD I wore it because she asked me about it and how I had valued it and I was able to show it to her because I was wearing it and explain how I had found similar sales on ebay. If I hadn't have been wearing the ring it would have been *very* awkward.
At the end, she handed us back our tax returns and pay stubs that we had mailed to her and told us we were excused.
I'm so glad it's OVER!
The trustee was drilling people before us pretty hard. The case just before ours was a couple who had just bought a second house in March and also received a $5k tax return that they couldn't account for. Also, their lawyer didn't have their tax returns or all of their bank statements. It was nerve wracking to watch. We heard their lawyer advising a conversion to a 13 as we were leaving.
We were the only pro se debtors in our time slot. The trustee actually seemed friendlier with us than the others, but maybe that's my imagination. She asked my husband the required 10 questions, then asked me if I would answer the questions the same way. Then she asked us about the house we abandoned (trying to find out if we were receiving rent). Then she asked about my exempted engagement ring (see below). Then she asked about our income and my future income that I had reported I would be receiving (verifying how much it was). Then she asked us how much our student loan debt was (just under 100k, btw - we're getting a not-so-fresh start!)
My husband and I both dressed as if we were going to a casual business meeting, we were dressed better than some of the lawyers, actually. I carried a cheap fabric tote instead of a handbag. I wore no jewelry except for my engagement and wedding rings. My engagement ring is um...not small...I had hemmed and hawed about wearing it, but ultimately I decided to wear it because I had exempted it. I was SO GLAD I wore it because she asked me about it and how I had valued it and I was able to show it to her because I was wearing it and explain how I had found similar sales on ebay. If I hadn't have been wearing the ring it would have been *very* awkward.
At the end, she handed us back our tax returns and pay stubs that we had mailed to her and told us we were excused.
I'm so glad it's OVER!
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