Wife and I filed for Chapter 7, 341 meetong on 12/11

[jbjints]

Hello:

I received a letter from bankruptcy court that my hearing is on 12/11 and I am a little nervous. I am not nervous because I have anything to hide but my lawyer mentioned that trustees sometimes go hard and heavy on those that are self employed which makes me a little nervous. I was wondering if any of my creditors will be present at the hearing? If so what do they do at the hearing exactly? Will try to get the trustee and judge to not allow me to file for chapter 7? The only item of asset that I have is my car which I need to keep.

Wish me luck but I am nervous but I need to get my finances on the right track especially because I am paying back school loans up the wazoo and I have a son who will be attending college in 2 years so now is the time. I really wish I wasn't so careless with credit cards and if I could do it all over again I would have one card only for emergencies. Lesson learned that is for sure.

Thanks.

[LadyInTheRed]

Welcome to BKforum!

Creditors rarely show up at 341s. If they do, they will just ask you questions. It is not a time to make motiosn to the court. They may later decide to petition to have their debt ruled not dischargeable if they have a basis to do so (e.g., you charged over $600 to one creditor within 90 days of filing BK). If there is some reason you don't qualify for a Chap 7, it is the U.S. Trustee who will object to your discharge.

Don't be nervous about being self-employed. Yes, there will be more scrutiny. But it is not anything to worry about if you have been honest on your petition and can document your income and business expenses.

Most people worry about their 341, then it last less than 5 minutes and they laugh at how worried they were. Read some stories in the 341 subform. It should help put your mind at ease.

You probably don't need it, but good luck!

[jbjints]

Hello:

Thank you so much for responding. I have been checking my credit alerts and I did see that two of my creditors (Paypal and a collection agency) did file petitions. Does that mean they will be present at the hearing? I am guessing the collection agency will be present because they have a judgment against me but I was never served by them, will this be a problem? The Paypal account was an account my son used to buy sports cards with from E-bay. I realize now that this was dumb of me but he was too young to have an E-Bay account so I tried to be a nice father, not such a smart move. Will this be a problem?

I am nervous but I can tell you I am struggling and school loans are killing me as are bills. I am sure many of us are in the same boat but I am wondering if mine will be sunk by the trustee.

[Drazil65]

Hi and welcome,

Do a search on this forum for questions and responses regarding self employment. It will ease your mind greatly to have additional knowledge as well as realizing you are not alone. You are right many of us been there or are presently there so read all the stickies and search for your specific issues. The 341 is usually a piece a cake and even if they throw a few questions at you it is typically nothing you cannot handle (that is why reading and searching this forum is a must).

Sounds like you are learning your lessons already and as long as you continue to learn the lessons and adjust your thinking you should be just fine. One of the best lessons and outcomes of filing and starting over is learning how to live on a cash basis. It is very freeing and literally the stress just falls away from feeling trapped and burdened. You will get there. Good Luck!!!!