Timeline question

[scotthay]

I filed ch7 6/4, had meeting 7/10, discharge posted to pacer 9/16

Am I done, or is there something else that needs to happen?

I seem to remember the trustee telling me if I hit the lotto or got an inheritance in 180 days after filing that I needed to let him know, so I guess that is still pending for a few more months, but am I waiting for a notice of closure of the case or something? If so when does that generally happen?

Can I feel free at this point to do some real estate transactions or credit transactions?

Thanks for the help.

[justbroke]

Hitting the lotto is irrelevant and immaterial. The only thing the "bankruptcy estate" includes is any inheritance or property received as a property settlement in a divorce within 180 days. That's it. Lottery is not included. So, win the lottery, please, and enjoy your winnings!

Are you an asset case? Is your case closed?

[scotthay]

no asset, where do I look to see if it is closed?

[justbroke]

It would be in PACER. Right after you search for your case and the screen with all the links appears, just look at the top. You should see "debtor discharged" and then a "date terminated". If it reads "date dismissed" you have an issue of dismissal and not a closing.

[scotthay]

Mine says;

Case type: bk Chapter: 7 Asset: No Vol: v Judge: .........................
Date filed: 06/04/2014 Date of last filing: 09/16/2014
Debtor discharged: 09/16/2014

[scotthay]

I just found this;


Pending Statuses

Status Begin Date Time in Status # Status Set By
Awaiting Closing 09/16/2014 3 days 10 Discharge of Debtor

[justbroke]

Do you have any flags on the Case Summary screen?

Note: in some jurisdictions, the close is not automatic and may be delayed a few days unless there is a flag preventing the case to close.

[scotthay]

It says this in the summary screen;

Pending status: Awaiting Closing
Flags: DISCHARGED

[justbroke]

Looks like nothing would prevent it from closing. You just need to wait until the Court closes the case. You could call the Case Manager and ask if there is anything preventing it from closing. With any luck, the clerk might close the case with you on the phone. (It has been known to happen!)

[scotthay]

I can wait, it just discharged 3 days ago. If weeks go by I will send an email to my atty and see if he can nudge it along.

[justbroke]

Your attorney will probably indicate that the closing takes several days to weeks. It is very normal for the closing to take a week or two.

[flaguy]

I thought it couldn't be closed until the 180 days were up

[justbroke]

I thought it couldn't be closed until the 180 days were up

Many Chapter 7 cases acutally "auto-close" if they are no-asset cases and the case is in a Jurisdiction (District) that allows the system (CM/ECF aka PACER) to close such a case. In some Jurisdictions they like to do this manually. In other cases, if there are FLAGS on the case, then the case will not auto-dismiss regardless of the settings in CM/ECF.

There is nothing in the law that says that a case must be open for 180 days. Theoretically a quick case could be discharged and closed in 90 days. The 180 days you may be thinking about is a special exception for assets acquired within 180 days of filing. The case would be re-opened to administer those late-found assets if the case were closed.