Not so great 341 meeting today

[Mi Bankruptcy]

That is terrible, I feel for you and your husband.When you listed everything in your apartment were you honest or did you fudge it a bit? I guess my point is if you filled out the paperwork truthfully I would think you would be O.K. ? I guess it boils down to in addition to the BK process you now have to deal with the humiliation of someone rummaging through your possessions.

Your husband may actually have the right idea here.. Throw your hands in up in the air do what's asked and if your truthful you should land out on top. Please know I not am not implying you were being untruthful, I am just thinking if you were truthful..then this is just another step towards resolving the BK. Of course, in my life if everything takes 3 steps I always will be required to take 4.. So, when I go to meet my Trustee it would not surprise me one bit to have to deal with something such as this. Good luck and my prayers are with you and your family.

[b_girl]

I am so sorry to hear that your husband and you are suffering throughout this process. I hope he will also come to this board and read some of the posts showing that things can and do work out in the end--I'm thinking particularly of AngelinaCat/Hub's as well as Help's cases, but there are others which didn't go smoothly but which did end up in successful discharges....so take heart!

I'm just guessing, but I think this increased scrutiny may be due to your above median income and the fact that you don't own a home....the trustee must be thinking that the $80k in debt had to go somewhere tangible, hence the inspection of your property. I know it's uncomfortable, but please don't let this discourage you. Do be proactive and get appraisals for your items as well as your car...use Kelley Blue Book's trade in value for the car as well as local dealer appraisals. Go to local resale shops/flea markets and get quotes for how much they would offer you for your larger items and anything worth any value. Have them ready when the appraiser shows up and give them a copy, keeping one for your own records. Remember, the trustee is just doing his/her job, so don't take it personally, but fight like hell to keep what is yours.

[Footprints1973]

Thanks again for your advice and support.
Yes, I guess to some it could look suspiously that we have so much debt and no home. But we even told her in the 341 meeting that it is 10 years worth of debt/interest....living with the delusion that we could pay it all off someday.

Heck, the trustee/court whoever can pull our credit card statements for the last 10 years and see that there is no extragavance on there...maybe a few trips to visit family out of state...but the rest is really just ordinary stuff.

I hope I can read some insprational stories on here of people who overcame all this stuff, had to overcome losing a car or house, and came out stronger.

Thanks all,

[Cali]

Preparing for BK and hiding assets are two different things. If you are hiding anything, that is illegal.

So how do you prepare before you file? Isnt that illegal, like hiding things? So new at this so I hope thats not a really dumb question.

[Footprints1973]

No....we are not hiding anything. Except the yacht in our closet.

Seriously, they can go through every single drawer and nook and crany in our apartment. They can check my family and friends places for our stuff. There's nothing there.

[paintinrosesred]

What do they do when they come? Do they open drawers? Or do they just walk through and only look at items in plain sight?
Wishing you all the best in your inspection.

[JRScott]

Well in the case of a house appraisal they do a walk through like a real estate agent and figure up a value. It is helpful to point out everything that is wrong with the place in that instance.

Since we are talking about an apartment they most likely will do a walkthrough, no opening drawers. They will be looking for something like a big screen TV, large entertainment center, possibly look at jewelry, in other words things that might be of value. They will not look through your underwear drawer.

[cool33097]

Sorry to hear you are going thru this.

[BigJohn]

When the appraiser came to our house, the dog (west terrier) had destroyed a roll of toilet paper on the couch several days before her arrival. We forgot to let the dog out to go poop so she pooped on the floor (ceramic tile) several times and for some reason nobody mopped the floor whih they should have beause I was coming in and out of the house with dirty shoes on. Ooooh I forgot, nobody bothered to take the garbage out for a week or two and what did go out, got piled up outside the back door. No one bothered to wash the dishes nor take the crap of the stove. Remind you, the temperature when the appraiser arrived was about 100 degrees. Needless to say, we did not get a good appraisal.

The outside was not much better. I will leave that for another discussion.

[Footprints1973]

Thanks Big John....I am definitely going to keep those tips in mind. I have 2 cats, and if I forget to change the litter box...hmmm oh well.

When the appraiser came to our house, the dog (west terrier) had destroyed a roll of toilet paper on the couch several days before her arrival. We forgot to let the dog out to go poop so she pooped on the floor (ceramic tile) several times and for some reason nobody mopped the floor whih they should have beause I was coming in and out of the house with dirty shoes on. Ooooh I forgot, nobody bothered to take the garbage out for a week or two and what did go out, got piled up outside the back door. No one bothered to wash the dishes nor take the crap of the stove. Remind you, the temperature when the appraiser arrived was about 100 degrees. Needless to say, we did not get a good appraisal.

The outside was not much better. I will leave that for another discussion.

[Help!]

Footprints... Not to incite paranoia or anything, but you've really given a lot of information that could identify you in your posts. You might want to edit out some of it.

[Lajazz947]

Footprints... Not to incite paranoia or anything, but you've really given a lot of information that could identify you in your posts. You might want to edit out some of it.

Thanks for pointing this out. I think that most (me included) do not think that anyone else reads these posts.

[UpACreek]

So how do you prepare before you file? Isnt that illegal, like hiding things? So new at this so I hope thats not a really dumb question.

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare Hide nothing. Disclose everything. Preparation is not illegal.

Get with your attorney. By the time you file make sure that you are below the line on all deductions.

Deductions for auto vary quite a bit from state to state. One place to research is: http://www.bankruptcyaction.com/

Link down to your state and then find another link to your state's deductions. As stated above by another user, Florida only allows $1000 for a vehicle deduction. Some states allow none.

I was able to combine allowable vehicle deduction with wildcard deduction to keep a vehicle that I own outright and is worth almost $10000.

For those of you who are still planning, and have not filed yet, consider optimizing your vehicle equity prior to filing. For example, if your state only allows a $1000 vehicle deduction and you own a $10,000 vehicle outright, you might consider borrowing $9000 against it, credit score allowing. This will bring your equity in the car down to match your allowable deduction. You would then reaffirm that loan during your process.

Remember that the $1000 (still the Florida example) is the equity, not the value of the vehicle.

Another option would be to sell the $10000 vehicle, use $1000 for a down payment on a new car (leaving the equity correct) and then put the $9000 into another exempt asset: fix the roof on the house, fix the broken air conditioning system on the house etc.

UAC

[Footprints1973]

Footprints... Not to incite paranoia or anything, but you've really given a lot of information that could identify you in your posts. You might want to edit out some of it.

Now I am paranoid. What should I do?

[Help!]

Now I am paranoid. What should I do?

I look at it this way. Someone starts a "341 hearing today" thread. That could be thousands of people anywhere in the country. Then a specific district is mentioned. That narrows it down to a hundred or so depending on the size of the district. Then specifics of the case are mentioned, such as "my husband and I". That narrows it down to joint filers, maybe 50. Then something very specific like an unusual question asked by the case trustee or discussion in the courtroom could identify you. I'm not saying case trustees lurk in BK forums, but I think it's best to remain as anonymous as possible until discharge. I'd rather be too careful than not careful enough.