Just got home from my 341 meeting! *DONE* I just wanted to collapse into a puddle of tears and nerves when it was over, from all the stress and anticipation building-up to the date. It was fast, easy, quick, and done in about 3 minutes, but I *DO* have some funny stories to tell..........
We arrived an hour early to get a good idea of how it all worked, which was a really good idea. I was SOOOOOOOOOOO scared and nervous, but everyone else in there looked like they felt exactly the same. The Trustee was an older fellow and VERY laid-back and nice and even had a funny, dry sense of humor. Definitely put me at ease. They were hammered with cases and pushing them through rapid-fire. We were surprised to see alot of seemingly "Asset" cases ruled as "Non-Asset" cases. People who owned real estate and had other assets worth alot of money were ruled as no-asset. There were no problems or asset cases or dismissals all morning and everything was going fine......... until....... the couple right before me!!
By then my attny had arrived and carefully re-reviewed *ALL* the paperwork, signatures, whispered some things to me to make sure I was ready and prepared, and asked if I was ok and had any questions. I had a couple, and he put me completely at ease. He really *IS* an awesome attny and is really organized and thorough and it was such a relief to have him there. He was intently watching and listening to the case before mine and just shaking his head in wonderment and disbelief.
First of all, their attny seemed like a real shady character and seemed all out of sorts. Theirs' was the only case (while we were there) that had a creditor show up....... quite eagerly, I might add. He was from their bank and it turned out that his presence was NOT expected by the couple or their attny. The guy filing was allegedly going bk on a personal business (tree cutting, mulching, landscaping, etc.), but he sounded as shady and crooked as the day is long. We were EMBARRASSED for them and actually (silently) cheering on the bank creditor because he made all 3 of them looks like complete idiots. He apparently had liens on HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of dollars worth of equipment, trailers, and trucks....... all of which had magically disappeared. The banker was all OVER it with questions about the locations of xxx-items on his detailed list. He hammered the guy with questions about the locations of each of the items and they guy either couldn't answer or wouldn't answer and was very vague every time. It was like pulling teeth!! He'd say one minute that the item was on someone's property at x-address, but the banker would counter with - "What would you say if I told you that I was AT that property and talked to x-person yesterday, along with a equipment specialist to determine the value of the equipment, and x-person at x-address said it is NOT on their property?!" And then he'd say that he never owned x-piece of equipment, so the banker would counter again with - "Well, then why did you list that item as an asset when x-person from the bank came out to take inventory of your assets?!" He pushed and pushed and pushed and the guy just stuttered around or wouldn't answer AT ALL !!!
The stupid attny kept interrupting and yelling that his clients don't have to answer xxx-questions, etc. etc. or he'd say to the man - "If you don't know where it is, just say you don't know!!" The Trustee finally had to tell him that they do not want the attnys answering for the debtor and that they MUST answer the questions. It started to get ugly and the Trustee just sat back and watched and listened with a smirk on his face til he finally put a stop to the circus and said the case was tabled and demanded that their attny AMEND the schedules to show all these assets that had apparently disappeared, "fallen apart," "gone to the junk yard," etc. etc. This included a $400,000+ piece of machinery that shreds and chips large pieces of shrubbery, wood, trees, etc. The value of the assets that had mysteriously fallen apart (many of the models were in the early 2000's !!) was unreal.
The stupid part was when the Trustee asked for their ID and SS cards, they gave him their Drivers Licenses and their PASSPORTS !!!!!! My attny was grumbling the whole time under his breath about the whole sham and started whispering (to no one in particular) - "It's not IN the passports, you idiot!!" The Trustee was un-ruffled and searched and searched through paperwork to finally find something to indicate their SS #'s, but my attny grumbled that he should not have done that, nor did he HAVE to!! The Trustee was gracious through the whole thing...... probably because the whole scene was so laughable. I don't know who was more bamboozled..... the couple filing or their hap-hazard attny, but it was downright hilarious and embarrassing to watch!! We were almost CHEERING for the bank creditor because he didn't miss a beat and kept backing them into a corner with VERY logical questions and wouldn't let up until the Trustee put an end to it and sent them away. They were STILL in the parking lot in a huddle when we left. It was sad and very pathetic.
So.... while we were waiting and watching, I heard a question repeated regarding the "transfer" of any assets or property during the last x-number of years. I asked my hubby and he thought it meant literally "TRANSFERRING" something to someone and not a sale, so I assumed that was correct. Thank goodness for my attny because he saved me from an embarrassing situation!!!
My turn comes and the questions are very quick and easy:
*Name / Address
*Did you read the bk information and also the schedule that was filed
* Is it true, etc. etc. etc.
* Why are you filing (my attny had coached me very well in this response / short and sweet)
* Are you married
* Do you live with your spouse
* Does he have his own income
* Any domestic obligations (child support, alimony, etc.)
THEN..... he asks...... "Have you transferred anything including your husband in the last x-years?" He had a super-dry, funny sense of humor and I THOUGHT he was joking and I didn't understand that "transfers" meant "SALE" of something. I thought he was asking if I had transferred anything INCLUDING my husband!!! *LOL* So, nervous little me, CHUCKLED and said "no." My attny looked up quick and winked at me and raised his hand and said....... "Um, yes sir, just to clarify - there was a sale of x-vehicle and x-trailer, etc. in x-year, etc. etc." I was HORRIFIED and looked at my husband who's eyes were as wide as saucers. He was asking if I OR my HUSBAND had transferred (sold) any assets or property !!! I felt soooo stupid. I meekly whispered to the Trustee - "I'm sorry, Sir. I didn't understand that meant the SALE of property." He just smiled and went right on through, while I stared frantically at my attny who just smiled and nodded reassuringly at me.
Then.......... the Trustee IMMEDIATELY mumbled about "No Asset case" and said "Good Bye and thank you."
That whole thing happened in about 3 minutes!! I was amazed and SOOOOOOOO relieved !!!
So now I guess I've officially joined the 60-day club and will wait til early September for the final verdict. My PACER acct hasn't been updated yet, but I'm not worried. The Trustee seemed pretty on the ball with everything. And there were no creditors to show up for my case. The only creditor that was there during the first 2 hours of cases was that banker for the crooked businessman (and rightfully so!!!).
Well, hopefully my story gives encouragement to some others who are anxiously awaiting their big date! I wish I could say that the sleepless nights, upset stomachs, frazzled nerves, and raised blood pressure would all go away, but it doesn't. You just have to sweat it out and pray alot until you get to the actual event and if you have a good attny and have prepared VERY well and honestly, it truly *WILL* be a breeze. But unfortunately most people are like me....... won't believe it til we see it for ourselves and finally understand. I could *NOT* have gotten this far without the love and support of my husband, the help of our awesome attny, and the prayers of our dear friends and family who didn't know what was going on, but understood that we were dealing with something big and difficult...... and MOST importantly - not without all YOU wonderful people on this forum, from which I gained SO MUCH encouragement, advice, support, information, and helpful preparation for this challenging process. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU !!!!!!!!!
Love and {{Hugs}} to you all and I will surely keep you posted if anything changes and/or on my grand 60-day discharge celebration !!!
We arrived an hour early to get a good idea of how it all worked, which was a really good idea. I was SOOOOOOOOOOO scared and nervous, but everyone else in there looked like they felt exactly the same. The Trustee was an older fellow and VERY laid-back and nice and even had a funny, dry sense of humor. Definitely put me at ease. They were hammered with cases and pushing them through rapid-fire. We were surprised to see alot of seemingly "Asset" cases ruled as "Non-Asset" cases. People who owned real estate and had other assets worth alot of money were ruled as no-asset. There were no problems or asset cases or dismissals all morning and everything was going fine......... until....... the couple right before me!!
By then my attny had arrived and carefully re-reviewed *ALL* the paperwork, signatures, whispered some things to me to make sure I was ready and prepared, and asked if I was ok and had any questions. I had a couple, and he put me completely at ease. He really *IS* an awesome attny and is really organized and thorough and it was such a relief to have him there. He was intently watching and listening to the case before mine and just shaking his head in wonderment and disbelief.
First of all, their attny seemed like a real shady character and seemed all out of sorts. Theirs' was the only case (while we were there) that had a creditor show up....... quite eagerly, I might add. He was from their bank and it turned out that his presence was NOT expected by the couple or their attny. The guy filing was allegedly going bk on a personal business (tree cutting, mulching, landscaping, etc.), but he sounded as shady and crooked as the day is long. We were EMBARRASSED for them and actually (silently) cheering on the bank creditor because he made all 3 of them looks like complete idiots. He apparently had liens on HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of dollars worth of equipment, trailers, and trucks....... all of which had magically disappeared. The banker was all OVER it with questions about the locations of xxx-items on his detailed list. He hammered the guy with questions about the locations of each of the items and they guy either couldn't answer or wouldn't answer and was very vague every time. It was like pulling teeth!! He'd say one minute that the item was on someone's property at x-address, but the banker would counter with - "What would you say if I told you that I was AT that property and talked to x-person yesterday, along with a equipment specialist to determine the value of the equipment, and x-person at x-address said it is NOT on their property?!" And then he'd say that he never owned x-piece of equipment, so the banker would counter again with - "Well, then why did you list that item as an asset when x-person from the bank came out to take inventory of your assets?!" He pushed and pushed and pushed and the guy just stuttered around or wouldn't answer AT ALL !!!
The stupid attny kept interrupting and yelling that his clients don't have to answer xxx-questions, etc. etc. or he'd say to the man - "If you don't know where it is, just say you don't know!!" The Trustee finally had to tell him that they do not want the attnys answering for the debtor and that they MUST answer the questions. It started to get ugly and the Trustee just sat back and watched and listened with a smirk on his face til he finally put a stop to the circus and said the case was tabled and demanded that their attny AMEND the schedules to show all these assets that had apparently disappeared, "fallen apart," "gone to the junk yard," etc. etc. This included a $400,000+ piece of machinery that shreds and chips large pieces of shrubbery, wood, trees, etc. The value of the assets that had mysteriously fallen apart (many of the models were in the early 2000's !!) was unreal.
The stupid part was when the Trustee asked for their ID and SS cards, they gave him their Drivers Licenses and their PASSPORTS !!!!!! My attny was grumbling the whole time under his breath about the whole sham and started whispering (to no one in particular) - "It's not IN the passports, you idiot!!" The Trustee was un-ruffled and searched and searched through paperwork to finally find something to indicate their SS #'s, but my attny grumbled that he should not have done that, nor did he HAVE to!! The Trustee was gracious through the whole thing...... probably because the whole scene was so laughable. I don't know who was more bamboozled..... the couple filing or their hap-hazard attny, but it was downright hilarious and embarrassing to watch!! We were almost CHEERING for the bank creditor because he didn't miss a beat and kept backing them into a corner with VERY logical questions and wouldn't let up until the Trustee put an end to it and sent them away. They were STILL in the parking lot in a huddle when we left. It was sad and very pathetic.
So.... while we were waiting and watching, I heard a question repeated regarding the "transfer" of any assets or property during the last x-number of years. I asked my hubby and he thought it meant literally "TRANSFERRING" something to someone and not a sale, so I assumed that was correct. Thank goodness for my attny because he saved me from an embarrassing situation!!!
My turn comes and the questions are very quick and easy:
*Name / Address
*Did you read the bk information and also the schedule that was filed
* Is it true, etc. etc. etc.
* Why are you filing (my attny had coached me very well in this response / short and sweet)
* Are you married
* Do you live with your spouse
* Does he have his own income
* Any domestic obligations (child support, alimony, etc.)
THEN..... he asks...... "Have you transferred anything including your husband in the last x-years?" He had a super-dry, funny sense of humor and I THOUGHT he was joking and I didn't understand that "transfers" meant "SALE" of something. I thought he was asking if I had transferred anything INCLUDING my husband!!! *LOL* So, nervous little me, CHUCKLED and said "no." My attny looked up quick and winked at me and raised his hand and said....... "Um, yes sir, just to clarify - there was a sale of x-vehicle and x-trailer, etc. in x-year, etc. etc." I was HORRIFIED and looked at my husband who's eyes were as wide as saucers. He was asking if I OR my HUSBAND had transferred (sold) any assets or property !!! I felt soooo stupid. I meekly whispered to the Trustee - "I'm sorry, Sir. I didn't understand that meant the SALE of property." He just smiled and went right on through, while I stared frantically at my attny who just smiled and nodded reassuringly at me.
Then.......... the Trustee IMMEDIATELY mumbled about "No Asset case" and said "Good Bye and thank you."
That whole thing happened in about 3 minutes!! I was amazed and SOOOOOOOO relieved !!!
So now I guess I've officially joined the 60-day club and will wait til early September for the final verdict. My PACER acct hasn't been updated yet, but I'm not worried. The Trustee seemed pretty on the ball with everything. And there were no creditors to show up for my case. The only creditor that was there during the first 2 hours of cases was that banker for the crooked businessman (and rightfully so!!!).
Well, hopefully my story gives encouragement to some others who are anxiously awaiting their big date! I wish I could say that the sleepless nights, upset stomachs, frazzled nerves, and raised blood pressure would all go away, but it doesn't. You just have to sweat it out and pray alot until you get to the actual event and if you have a good attny and have prepared VERY well and honestly, it truly *WILL* be a breeze. But unfortunately most people are like me....... won't believe it til we see it for ourselves and finally understand. I could *NOT* have gotten this far without the love and support of my husband, the help of our awesome attny, and the prayers of our dear friends and family who didn't know what was going on, but understood that we were dealing with something big and difficult...... and MOST importantly - not without all YOU wonderful people on this forum, from which I gained SO MUCH encouragement, advice, support, information, and helpful preparation for this challenging process. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU !!!!!!!!!
Love and {{Hugs}} to you all and I will surely keep you posted if anything changes and/or on my grand 60-day discharge celebration !!!
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