Move the Trustee Along

[possumfat]

If you think the trustee is not working quick enough can you get the judge to speed him up a bit ?

My case will be 1 year old on Oct 5th, 2006, case has been discharged but not closed due to a preferential payment made according to him, we met on May 9th about the situation and the amount, he said make him an offer because he would accept a discount.

I made the offer two weeks later and as of today he has not accepted or declined the offer.............is there anything I can do to get this thing moving ?

[FilingOnMyOwn]

Maybe. If the case is already discharged, he would have to either close it or reopen it by october 5. Sounds like hes just toying with it, and doesn't care too much either way. I would maybe contact him and state that your offer is contingent on you having the money, and you're expecting some large bills soon that may interfere with your ability to uphold this offer in the future.

[spongenotbob]

Maybe. If the case is already discharged, he would have to either close it or reopen it by october 5. Sounds like hes just toying with it, and doesn't care too much either way. I would maybe contact him and state that your offer is contingent on you having the money, and you're expecting some large bills soon that may interfere with your ability to uphold this offer in the future.

Nope. possumfat's case remains open (much like mine) ... Trustee can take as long as he wishes, up to I think 2 years after filing. Welcome to the club.

I filed 10/12/05, was discharged 3/06 ... case still shows as no-asset (the only thing he could possibly collect would be some credit card payments I made during the preference window) ... but it remains open. My last contact with the trustee was in late December, 2005. So here I sit... waiting...

The other question is - if this 'preferential payment' was to a regular creditor, WHY would you want to 'make him an offer'? He has avoidance powers to get the money back from the creditor directly - let him.

[possumfat]

why do you not get hold of the trustee to see what the holdup is ?

[spongenotbob]

why do you not get hold of the trustee to see what the holdup is ?

My lawyer seems to believe in the the "let sleeping dogs lie" approach and he's been right on the money thus far ... so I will just wait.

It's really no problem just a huge psychological/emotional drain.

[possumfat]

thats what my lawyer says to.................but I need to do a second mortgage to pay off some of spouses credit cards and I hate to do anything until the case is closed.

[spongenotbob]

thats what my lawyer says to.................but I need to do a second mortgage to pay off some of spouses credit cards and I hate to do anything until the case is closed.

Hmmm. I really don't like the sound of that - it sounds like the maneuvering I used to do pre-filing. Perhaps it's a good time to step back and consider the spouse's debt load, etc...? Maybe she also is a BK candidate?

Just be careful not to fall into the same traps that brought all of us here (balance transfers, 0%, easy home equity, etc etc)

Best of luck, possumfat!

[possumfat]

the amount is not enough to have her file, just want to get rid of the high interest and the payment that goes nowhere toward the principal.

I have had advice both ways about the second mortgage, some say its ok and others say wait.................not sure what to do. I will not ask my former lawyer due to the bad advice from the past.

[FilingOnMyOwn]

Good idea, I'd stay quiet about it until you've been closed.

[anonymuse]

Another option is to call the clerk to ask for status--very politely, non-confrontational--just play dumb. It might be that someone hasn't dotted their i's or crossed their t's and he/she will catch it and say "oh, let me make sure this is taken care of." I've read enough cases on here where people approached it this way and the case was closed on the phone.

[SinkingFast]

Bump

[spongenotbob]

I finally got an update on PACER...

Exactly one year and 5 days post-filing... it looks like the trustee is going to pursue some preferential payments (to credit cards).

Ah well at least I know where I stand now!

Hey possumfat - what's new in your case?
- spongenotbob

[HHM]

You need to realize, DISCHARGE is all you care about, for you, receiving your DISCHARGE is the effective end of your case. You don't need to worry about when your case officially CLOSES. After discharge, you can go about and live your life as normal.

The only thing that typically happens between Discharge and closing is that that Trustee is administering non-exempt bankruptcy assets and making distributions to creditors.

In a true No-Asset case, the case will close around the same time as discharge because the trustee has no assets to distribute to creditors, so the case gets closed, there is nothing more for the Trustee to do.

In an Asset case, where the trustee was able to get some money to pay creditors, i.e. a tax refund, a refund of preferential payments, and old car, whatever...the trustee keeps the case open so he can get the proof of claims from creditors, give creditors their priorities, sell hard assets, so he can distribute the funds to the creditors. That is all that happens between discharge and closing, and its nothing you need to worry about at all.

In short DO NOT LOSE ANY SLEEP over the fact that your case has not CLOSED, it's not big deal. As long as your bankruptcy is discharge, you can care less about what happens after that day.

[mystery]

You need to realize, DISCHARGE is all you care about, for you, receiving your DISCHARGE is the effective end of your case. You don't need to worry about when your case officially CLOSES. After discharge, you can go about and live your life as normal.

The only thing that typically happens between Discharge and closing is that that Trustee is administering non-exempt bankruptcy assets and making distributions to creditors.

In a true No-Asset case, the case will close around the same time as discharge because the trustee has no assets to distribute to creditors, so the case gets closed, there is nothing more for the Trustee to do.

In an Asset case, where the trustee was able to get some money to pay creditors, i.e. a tax refund, a refund of preferential payments, and old car, whatever...the trustee keeps the case open so he can get the proof of claims from creditors, give creditors their priorities, sell hard assets, so he can distribute the funds to the creditors. That is all that happens between discharge and closing, and its nothing you need to worry about at all.

In short DO NOT LOSE ANY SLEEP over the fact that your case has not CLOSED, it's not big deal. As long as your bankruptcy is discharge, you can care less about what happens after that day.

HHM, this is almost identical to my case, but mine is no asset. My case was discharged Feb 06, but still not closed. What do you mean that Discharged is all we should care about? I thought you should wait to make any financial moves until your case is closed? Also, just because your case has been discharged, can't the trustee make a motion to have the case dismissed? Or once discharged, is it final? Thanks for you help. I know you answered my thread yesterday, but this thread touches on my case more accurately. Thanks to all!!!

[HHM]

Once you are Discharged, YOU ARE OUT OF BANKRUPTCY. You can do whatever you want financially. Strictly speaking, you can do whatever you want financially the day after you file for BK (with some caveats, but that is not important).

Here is why...When you file BK, you create a Bankruptcy Estate that is made up of all your assets and liabilities, or right to assets that exist, and here is the important part, AS OF THE DAY YOU FILE. The Bankruptcy Trustee is the person who is placed in control of this "Bankruptcy Estate". Anything you get AFTER you file BK is yours and not part of the BK estate and cannot be touched by the trustee (there are some exceptions, but they are few, i.e. proceeds from life insurance when someone dies etc).

For example...
File BK: 6/1/06
Discharged: 9/1/06
You get a significant pay raise on 9/15/06, there is nothing the Trustee can do about it. With few exceptions, the Trustee can ONLY go after assets that you had, or had the right to that existed on or before 6/1/06.
Now, let's assume that when you filed BK, you forgot to mention on your BK Petition that you had a CD worth $5000 that you have had for a few years, and the trustee finds out on 9/15/06, the trustee can go get that money even if your case is post discharge becuase it was part of the BK estate since it existed (you had it) before you filed BK.

For 95% of cases, the Debtor will know whether there are any hicups or issues with their BK by the time of discharge...and nearly anything that happens between discharge and closing is unimportant to the debtor.

Before you ask about Tax Refunds, remember what they are, you EARN a tax refund during the TAX year (but you only get it the following year when you file your taxes...thus, you have earned the right to the tax refund, that right to the refund is part of the BK estate, (at least up to the date you file).

Here is a tip for you, if you know for a fact that your case is NO ASSET, and it hasn't closed, try calling the BK Clerk of Court...not the Trustee, if they see no reason for a case to remain open, they will get on the Trustee's back to close it. (I don't guarantee this will work, but it has worked for some). This tactic especially works if your Discharge is late.