What to do when a Trustee does not respond/file - 10 days after 341 and not a peep...

[gman]

What would be the best way to check on Pacer, the status of other debtors that had their 341 the same day as me in my district? When I go on Pacer, I only look up my case, but now I'm curious if other debtors had any activity on their case after the 341 meeting yesterday. I don't want to get charged just for trying to figure this out!!

There is a way to do this! Note that PACER can be free if you spend less than $10.00. Charges are 8 cents a "page."

YOU SIMPLY NEED TO FIND THE NAMES OF THE OTHER PEOPLE WHO WERE IN THE SAME SESSION AS YOU WERE AS THEY WILL HAVE THE SAME TRUSTEE.

So - how do you do that?

I am in Georgia - and this is where I found that information:

1. Log into PACER
2. Choose my local district.
3. On my local district page - there was an option to run a REPORT.
4. I chose the REPORT showing the DAILY CALENDAR.
5. I chose the DATE of my 341 HEARING.
6. I chose the TYPE and set it to HEARING.
7. I chose the LOCATION (being the room where they had the 341s).
8. I ran the report - and it showed me the names and case numbers for everyone who had a 341 that day.

PRINT THESE OUT SO YOU CAN THEN USE THEM TO LOOK UP CASES.

If you get "stuck" - simply call your bankruptcy courthouse and ask a clerk for advice. I have found them to be very helpful.

[gman]

gman,
That definitely does shed some light on your situation and I see now that is your best option at this point. We plan to ride and pay as long as they let us, which the lender said that we could do. We have really no equity in our vehicles and although we got reaffim offers, our attorney advised against it, so as long as they let us "pay and ride" that is what we will do. I must mention though, our reaffirm offer is very nice, saving a few hundred dollars a month and a much lower interest rate.

Sounds like your offer is what you needed - which is great.

I have yet to receive an "offer" - but am not worried.

I failed to mention that people should not worry if their lawyer REFUSES to sign a reaffirmation agreement. This happens all of the time. They are simply covering their a$$e$. Ultimately - the judge and creditor decide if it gets approved or not.

I am filing Pro Se - so the lack of signature by a lawyer is not an issue. If I had a lawyer, I would have fully expected that he/she would NOT have signed mine due to my unemployment.

[nervous1]

There is a way to do this! Note that PACER can be free if you spend less than $10.00. Charges are 8 cents a "page."

YOU SIMPLY NEED TO FIND THE NAMES OF THE OTHER PEOPLE WHO WERE IN THE SAME SESSION AS YOU WERE AS THEY WILL HAVE THE SAME TRUSTEE.

So - how do you do that?

I am in Georgia - and this is where I found that information:

1. Log into PACER
2. Choose my local district.
3. On my local district page - there was an option to run a REPORT.
4. I chose the REPORT showing the DAILY CALENDAR.
5. I chose the DATE of my 341 HEARING.
6. I chose the TYPE and set it to HEARING.
7. I chose the LOCATION (being the room where they had the 341s).
8. I ran the report - and it showed me the names and case numbers for everyone who had a 341 that day.

PRINT THESE OUT SO YOU CAN THEN USE THEM TO LOOK UP CASES.

If you get "stuck" - simply call your bankruptcy courthouse and ask a clerk for advice. I have found them to be very helpful.

I tried this - said "No schedules found."

Weird - just hoping I've got one of the Trustees who is slow to update ;).

I

[gman]

I tried this - said "No schedules found."

Weird - just hoping I've got one of the Trustees who is slow to update ;).

I

Next step = call the clerk at your BK courthouse

[nervous1]

Next step = call the clerk at your BK courthouse

I called the number on the back of the form that was sent to me by the court. As I suspected, it was basically a recording of what was on Pacer ;).

I'll just try to be patient and wait it out. My lawyer told me that my case was about a "3" on a 1-10 scale of difficulty. Also, the TT didn't really grill me too much and, during the meeting, handed my 2009 tax forms back to me. Would he do that if he was *that* interested in my case?

A side note: he asked if our home was in good condition. I thought this was interesting since we are surrendering our home and are going to let it foreclose. Why would the TT be interested in the condition of the home?

[gman]

I called the number on the back of the form that was sent to me by the court. As I suspected, it was basically a recording of what was on Pacer ;).

I'll just try to be patient and wait it out. My lawyer told me that my case was about a "3" on a 1-10 scale of difficulty. Also, the TT didn't really grill me too much and, during the meeting, handed my 2009 tax forms back to me. Would he do that if he was *that* interested in my case?

Just my experience - but from what I have seen in 341s (and I literally sat in on over 35 of them BEFORE going to my own - I did this because I was filing Pro Se) - Trustees seem to be primarily interested in people's ASSETS - not in their income and expenses. Why? Who knows...but I sense they are so overwhelmed with cases they simply rubber stamp Means Tests unless something is really out of whack. I never was asked for bank statements and/or proof of expenses (though I had them ready if they asked.) He also just looked at my tax return and gave it right back - and I made over 6 figures in 2009.

A side note: he asked if our home was in good condition. I thought this was interesting since we are surrendering our home and are going to let it foreclose. Why would the TT be interested in the condition of the home?

His question might be related to what I observed time and again - the Trustee wanted to know what value there was in assets for every person they spoke with. I sense they get a "bonus" in Chapter 7 cases for recovering assets for debtors.

As they say in politics - FOLLOW THE MONEY. The MONEY is obviously in ASSETS - not in APPROVING/DENYING Chapter 7 Means Tests.

Just my 2 cents...take it for what it is worth.

[biotechsolution]

the panel trustee is usually only looking for assets, the UST isn't looking for assets, he's looking for income to force the debtor into chapter 13 or deny.