I finally feel that I can completely write about my whole story because I just finished my 341 meeting. I have asked questions on here and it has helped me so much in many ways. So let me say first that if you are someone who is beginning the journey, use this site and all the great people as a tool, everyone's case is different, but the people on here can give you great tips. I am someone who does a lot of research so this website was a God send to have so much info in one place.
So here goes:
I am a business owner (hair salon) , the only assets we have are 11 year old stations and dryers.. I have been in business with a partner for 11 years and we were doing great until the recession hit and then the age old story.....used credit cards to maintain business and then interest rates skyrocketed and the whole cycle began...... I won't bore you with the details because you are probably in the same boat in one way or the other. Between my personal debt and my business debt I had about $100,000 in unsecured debt and about $103,000 in secured debt.
It was probably the first of this year when I seriously started thinking I might have to declare bankruptcy. I had played with the idea the year prior, but I always talked myself out of it and told myself things would get better. I have always paid my bills on time , never had a late payment and like many people on here thought that declaring bankruptcy was somehow morally wrong. Before I started doing a lot of research, I thought , like a lot of people that I would lose my home, my car and my business. I was terrified. I made appointments with 3 attorneys in June to start the process. Because of the advice on here I had all of my paperwork in order and a list of all of my debts, and my assets, so the attorney would be able to quickly look over what I had and tell me what his opinion was. I ended up going with the first attorney I saw and I am so glad I did. He was a attorney who had his own practice and he had a secretary in the office with him. Very small practice, which for me was the best thing, because every time I emailed him or called him , he personally got back with me, in the whole process I got one email from his secretary that rest were from him directly. I am so glad I went with someone like this because I felt there was much more of a personal feel about the whole thing. It cost me $1500, the court cost and the 2 online classes I needed to take were included. He asked that the balance be paid by the 341 meeting, so I knew I wasn't going to file until October and the 341 was in November so I had a few months to pay him. It was nice to be able to pay what I could, when I could. He put my mind at rest. There were a few problems that I felt would be an issue, such as.... my name was on a checking account with my sister, I never put any money in the account, but I was concerned that they would want the money because my name was on it.. also, my sister had loaned my business $40,000 about 4 years ago and we have been paying her up until June when I stopped paying all of my debt, so I was worried about them considering that a preferential payment. And of course I was so worried that they would close my business. My attorney put my mind at ease and told me that the trustee is looking for things to liquidate for cash ( that is what he is interested in) not 11 year old salon furniture. lol But I still had a little anxiety.
I stopped paying all of my debt in June, which was ridiculously hard. I had never missed a payment , or been late on a payment in my life. I was so worried about the phone calls that I knew would start. I had seen on this website that people used Google Voice to set their phone system up with so that was my plan. I think it really worked well for a lot of people. But what worked really well for me, was I have a Samsung galaxy and everytime a phone call came in that was a number I didn't recognize I just rejected it. After about the first couple of weeks after my first missed payments I had them all rejected, so I could see who had called me that day but it didn't ring through on my phone, they could leave a message but only one or two creditors did that. So the time between filing and my 341 was relatively quiet.
After I filed until today it has been relatively easy and uneventful. If your attorney suggests you wait a few months to file, don't fret about it , I waited 4 months and I didn't have a lawsuit or anything. Listen to your attorney. I waited because I had taken out a loan thinking it would help me get through another rough period in March (stupid I know) so I wanted to give it some time between he loan and the actual filing.
Fast forward to today.... my 341 meeting was this morning. I did what everyone one here told me to do ..... get there early so 1. you won't have to worry about traffic, 2. you won't have to worry about parking and 3. you can possibly hear other people go ahead of you so you know the personality of the trustee.
So we got there 45 minutes early found a parking place in Savannah (which isn't easy ) and walked to the building. It was not held in a courthouse, it was in a office building. When we got in the room the trustee was up front talking to an attorney and they were being very informal, talking about vacation , New York and other stuff. So that put my mind at rest a little. They called the first lady up and literally it took about 5 minutes. The second lady went up and it was the same. Then my attorney came in and took me in another room and asked how I was doing (that is why I like him so much there was never any question to stupid or never did I feel like I was getting on his nerves about anything). He went over what he felt the trustee might say and then it was my turn. I was still a little nervous, but I took a deep breath and walked up and sat down. The way it was laid out in Savannah was it was a relatively small room there were probably 15 chairs for the debtors and in front of the room there was a desk that the trustee sat at. There was a long table that sat perpendicular to the trustee desk and I sat on one side of the table and my attorney sat on the other. I had to give the trustee my license and my social security card, he swore me in and the questions started. I had in my mind the things that I thought might be of concern so I was prepared to answer those questions. He asked my name and address. He asked about my house and said my exemptions would cover the house and he was abandoning it. He asked about my car and that the exemptions would cover it. He asked about reaffirming (I said I was going to but I am just going to continue to pay the payments and keep the house and car). I did reaffirm my HELOC because it is from a local bank that I would like to continue to have a relationship with. He asked a couple of more questions and said he found my case to be a non asset case and that is what he would recommend to the US trustee and thank you and have a nice day. He didn't ask me anything that I was worried about, such as my business, the loan from my sister and me being on my sister's checking account. It was much easier that I thought, even though everyone said not to worry I still did and I know you probably will too. But if you have been honest on all of your petitions and with your attorney you will be fine.
So now it is over, I have a couple of months to wait for discharge and I am going to try to stay off Pacer, I will try to keep in my mind that thing are going to happen in the time they are going to happen and stalking Pacer isn't going to make it go any faster. I have learned so much on this journey. First and foremost is that the way that I, and most everyone else felt about bankruptcy is wrong. It is almost like it is a dirty word. It is there for a reason, everyone deserves a second chance to start over and bankruptcy does that. When I started looking at it as a business decision instead of a moral one it helped. Find a great attorney, don't go with the cheapest or the most expensive, or the one with the most paralegals, or the one with the best office. Go with the one that you feel in your heart that you are comfortable telling everything to. There were so many to chose from I thought I could never find the right one, but when I went into his office and set down with him, I just knew. He even talked to me about why I felt it was morally wrong and we talked about what the Bible said about it, that really put my mind at rest, and I am so glad I found him and I was so lucky because he was the first one I talked to. Do your research.. this forum and other forums helped me so much, it I had a question about a certain thing that came up after I talked to my attorney, I would google it and read about it.
Lastly, I want to say, relax, don't over think it. Take your time to decide if it is the right thing to do. Do your due diligence ...research... talk to and find a great attorney and then let him help you through it. It has been an enlightening and stressful journey, but it was one that I made sure I was ready for and I knew every step of the way what was coming. Good luck to you it you are just beginning the journey and maybe this helped you , because when I first began the journey I couldn't really find info that fit my situation exactly, so maybe this will help a little.
I will post when I get my discharge.
I think I am finally in the 60 day club.
So here goes:
I am a business owner (hair salon) , the only assets we have are 11 year old stations and dryers.. I have been in business with a partner for 11 years and we were doing great until the recession hit and then the age old story.....used credit cards to maintain business and then interest rates skyrocketed and the whole cycle began...... I won't bore you with the details because you are probably in the same boat in one way or the other. Between my personal debt and my business debt I had about $100,000 in unsecured debt and about $103,000 in secured debt.
It was probably the first of this year when I seriously started thinking I might have to declare bankruptcy. I had played with the idea the year prior, but I always talked myself out of it and told myself things would get better. I have always paid my bills on time , never had a late payment and like many people on here thought that declaring bankruptcy was somehow morally wrong. Before I started doing a lot of research, I thought , like a lot of people that I would lose my home, my car and my business. I was terrified. I made appointments with 3 attorneys in June to start the process. Because of the advice on here I had all of my paperwork in order and a list of all of my debts, and my assets, so the attorney would be able to quickly look over what I had and tell me what his opinion was. I ended up going with the first attorney I saw and I am so glad I did. He was a attorney who had his own practice and he had a secretary in the office with him. Very small practice, which for me was the best thing, because every time I emailed him or called him , he personally got back with me, in the whole process I got one email from his secretary that rest were from him directly. I am so glad I went with someone like this because I felt there was much more of a personal feel about the whole thing. It cost me $1500, the court cost and the 2 online classes I needed to take were included. He asked that the balance be paid by the 341 meeting, so I knew I wasn't going to file until October and the 341 was in November so I had a few months to pay him. It was nice to be able to pay what I could, when I could. He put my mind at rest. There were a few problems that I felt would be an issue, such as.... my name was on a checking account with my sister, I never put any money in the account, but I was concerned that they would want the money because my name was on it.. also, my sister had loaned my business $40,000 about 4 years ago and we have been paying her up until June when I stopped paying all of my debt, so I was worried about them considering that a preferential payment. And of course I was so worried that they would close my business. My attorney put my mind at ease and told me that the trustee is looking for things to liquidate for cash ( that is what he is interested in) not 11 year old salon furniture. lol But I still had a little anxiety.
I stopped paying all of my debt in June, which was ridiculously hard. I had never missed a payment , or been late on a payment in my life. I was so worried about the phone calls that I knew would start. I had seen on this website that people used Google Voice to set their phone system up with so that was my plan. I think it really worked well for a lot of people. But what worked really well for me, was I have a Samsung galaxy and everytime a phone call came in that was a number I didn't recognize I just rejected it. After about the first couple of weeks after my first missed payments I had them all rejected, so I could see who had called me that day but it didn't ring through on my phone, they could leave a message but only one or two creditors did that. So the time between filing and my 341 was relatively quiet.
After I filed until today it has been relatively easy and uneventful. If your attorney suggests you wait a few months to file, don't fret about it , I waited 4 months and I didn't have a lawsuit or anything. Listen to your attorney. I waited because I had taken out a loan thinking it would help me get through another rough period in March (stupid I know) so I wanted to give it some time between he loan and the actual filing.
Fast forward to today.... my 341 meeting was this morning. I did what everyone one here told me to do ..... get there early so 1. you won't have to worry about traffic, 2. you won't have to worry about parking and 3. you can possibly hear other people go ahead of you so you know the personality of the trustee.
So we got there 45 minutes early found a parking place in Savannah (which isn't easy ) and walked to the building. It was not held in a courthouse, it was in a office building. When we got in the room the trustee was up front talking to an attorney and they were being very informal, talking about vacation , New York and other stuff. So that put my mind at rest a little. They called the first lady up and literally it took about 5 minutes. The second lady went up and it was the same. Then my attorney came in and took me in another room and asked how I was doing (that is why I like him so much there was never any question to stupid or never did I feel like I was getting on his nerves about anything). He went over what he felt the trustee might say and then it was my turn. I was still a little nervous, but I took a deep breath and walked up and sat down. The way it was laid out in Savannah was it was a relatively small room there were probably 15 chairs for the debtors and in front of the room there was a desk that the trustee sat at. There was a long table that sat perpendicular to the trustee desk and I sat on one side of the table and my attorney sat on the other. I had to give the trustee my license and my social security card, he swore me in and the questions started. I had in my mind the things that I thought might be of concern so I was prepared to answer those questions. He asked my name and address. He asked about my house and said my exemptions would cover the house and he was abandoning it. He asked about my car and that the exemptions would cover it. He asked about reaffirming (I said I was going to but I am just going to continue to pay the payments and keep the house and car). I did reaffirm my HELOC because it is from a local bank that I would like to continue to have a relationship with. He asked a couple of more questions and said he found my case to be a non asset case and that is what he would recommend to the US trustee and thank you and have a nice day. He didn't ask me anything that I was worried about, such as my business, the loan from my sister and me being on my sister's checking account. It was much easier that I thought, even though everyone said not to worry I still did and I know you probably will too. But if you have been honest on all of your petitions and with your attorney you will be fine.
So now it is over, I have a couple of months to wait for discharge and I am going to try to stay off Pacer, I will try to keep in my mind that thing are going to happen in the time they are going to happen and stalking Pacer isn't going to make it go any faster. I have learned so much on this journey. First and foremost is that the way that I, and most everyone else felt about bankruptcy is wrong. It is almost like it is a dirty word. It is there for a reason, everyone deserves a second chance to start over and bankruptcy does that. When I started looking at it as a business decision instead of a moral one it helped. Find a great attorney, don't go with the cheapest or the most expensive, or the one with the most paralegals, or the one with the best office. Go with the one that you feel in your heart that you are comfortable telling everything to. There were so many to chose from I thought I could never find the right one, but when I went into his office and set down with him, I just knew. He even talked to me about why I felt it was morally wrong and we talked about what the Bible said about it, that really put my mind at rest, and I am so glad I found him and I was so lucky because he was the first one I talked to. Do your research.. this forum and other forums helped me so much, it I had a question about a certain thing that came up after I talked to my attorney, I would google it and read about it.
Lastly, I want to say, relax, don't over think it. Take your time to decide if it is the right thing to do. Do your due diligence ...research... talk to and find a great attorney and then let him help you through it. It has been an enlightening and stressful journey, but it was one that I made sure I was ready for and I knew every step of the way what was coming. Good luck to you it you are just beginning the journey and maybe this helped you , because when I first began the journey I couldn't really find info that fit my situation exactly, so maybe this will help a little.
I will post when I get my discharge.
I think I am finally in the 60 day club.
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