Preparing to be reamed

[jdcat]

We are second time filers and as the date of our 341 draws nearer we are becoming more and more nervous. It will be be plain for the trustee to see in our petition that we truly are in a bad financial situation and bk is a must for us at this time, but I'm dreading the "lecture".

Hubby and I are stealing ourselves for the humiliation of our lifetime. It's hard enough having to do this again but knowing that we could be walking in to face one of the harshest criticisms we may ever face is wearing us down. The weight of the unknown is unbearable.

Any second time filers out there with any words of advice? Am I being overly paranoid? I just want to be emotionally prepared in case we do get the reaming we are fearing.

[CanBreathe]

Don't beat yourself up! Someone in the group at my 341 has previously filed and the trustee asked her if she had filed previously, when and for how much and that was the end of it.

[bluejeans]

At day of my 341 the Trustee just asked the question to everybody when it was their turn and if he got a 'yes' answer his demeaner did not change one bit. He just continued going through the questions. No lectures, funny looks or anything.

If you feel this way perhaps you can use this as a learning situation so that you never have to put yourself in this position again. You will be fine-it's just a process.

[SMinGA]

Discharged ch. 7 end of 2005, attended the 341 for ch. 13 (since dismissed) and nothing whatsoever was said about it at the 341. I don't recall 'have you ever filed' as being one of the standard questions they asked, actually. The petition does require that you list any cases filed in the past 8 years. If one had filed 8+ years ago, and were filing again, I don't think it would even come up.

[frogger]

Lecture? For following the law? I doubt it........

[jdcat]

Ok, I'm feeling a bit better after reading all of your responses, so thank you very very much.

I guess a big part of the way I feel is probably some shame I didn't realize I was holding on to. That mixed with not knowing what kind of person our trustee is.

I just want this over with.

And I hope our trustee wakes up in an awesome mood the day of our 341!

[kornellred]

Nobody cares why you are in debt, except maybe friends or family members. There will be no lectures from the attorney, the trustee, or the BK judge. If you are feeling a little bit guilty it is because you long ago deliberately crossed a line that you knew should not have been crossed.
I am a second-timer myself. My first BK was a Chapter 7 in 1994 - made inevitable due to divorce, alimony and child support. I am now in a Chapter 13 plan which, although it was not inevitable, would have eventually become so. I had virtually maxed out my credit cards years ago and was paying the minimum payments on most, with only a little bit of headroom for emergencies. I had paid my creditors far more than they ever gave to me, and I decided that it was time to stop paying them since my only reward would be to remain in debt until the day I died. My creditors have not lost one penny on my account. Fortunately, I am in a position where I no longer need credit.