Paperwork Question

[anonemoose]

Here's the backstory:

I had filed pro se Chapter 7 on April 13th. I had brought in forms that were older ones from the website. The clerk had me refill out the current versions. As a result, I had a good pile and a bad pile.

Gave the clerk the good pile, she went through it, and said everything was fine. So imagine my surprise when I got a motion to dismiss because of missing schedules and financial information. Every schedule was filed, but all I could figure out was that my affidavit was missing. Pacer wasn't very helpful either.

I did go to the hearing and stood up for myself. The judge admonished me for not hiring a BK attorney, gave me an extension to file, then told me to go to the help desk to find out what papers were missing. The trustee's attorney wouldn't tell me what I didn't have.

I sat down with the help desk person and she went through my paperwork. Checked with what I had filled in that looked like it was missing. She said that everything looked like it was in order, that all the papers were there. She felt that the reason why the language said that the schedules weren't there is because my affidavit wasn't in the paperwork.

Now I'm on tenterhooks because the hearing is on Tuesday (time got away from me). Do I call the trustee's attorney to see if she'll tell me I'm OK? To be honest, I don't have much faith in getting an answer.

I do have a screenshot of the Pacer page after I filed the missing paperwork. I'm happy to share it with anyone who would like to take a look at it to see if they spot anything out of place.

[justbroke]

The Trustee doesn't tell you if your paperwork is okay. This is part of the Court procedure. There is no mercy for neither a pro se filer nor an attorney! The duties of the debtor are in 11 USC 521 and failure to perform all those duties results in a case dismissal.

You are learning what many pro se filers learn the hard way. First, that you must be extra diligent. Second, that you need to understand all the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure. And, third, that there is no leniency just because you're a pro se filer. I'm surprised your case wasn't dismissed since you did attend a hearing. Prior to that hearing, all the paperwork should have been corrected and refiled.

Specifically, you should find out who your case manager is and ask what the deficiency is, and then take appropriate action. The Court does not coddle pro se filers and I don't think that it should. Especially since you seem to be in California where the Court actually provides legal "aid" for pro se filers via the help desk.

A "copy" of the screen does not show anything about whether you're in compliance (short of a Notice of Debtor Compliance with Section 521). You probably need to spend Monday at the help desk, making sure your package is all together and filed... BEFORE you even dare step foot back into the courtroom on Tuesday.

If I seem very stern and rigid, it's because procedure is a nitpick thing even for Judges. Being pro se doesn't excuse you from not knowing the forms, rules, local rules, procedure and bankruptcy code. We have all made mistakes and I've had deficiency problems (but not with the petition itself). If you want your case to proceed, you need to take strong steps to do so... not just show up at hearings.

[anonemoose]

Chicago, actually.

The judge was amenable to giving me an extension as was the US Trustee.

There was a grand total of one form missing from the filing. Help desk person said that it looked complete after I filled out the missing form. Her further advice was to take copies to the trustee after I filed them and give the trustee a phone call to follow up.

I have a lawyer friend who knows how to start a bankruptcy, but he's not admitted to the bankruptcy courts. He can walk me through this, but that's about it. The problem didn't arise through any fault of his, but through error of omission. The missing form was with me, but it didn't get into the pile of forms that I had to re-do.

I've gone through the checklist and my paperwork. I was able to check everything off. My problem is is that I'm getting a little panicky. There is simply no money for me to hire a BK lawyer, but I must needs file because of circumstances beyond my control. I'm simply asking if anyone's had experience with this situation.

[justbroke]

The problem doesn't seem to be purely a missing form. The problem seems to be that you went all the way to a hearing on the matter, without actually fixing the issue prior to the hearing. Even attorneys filed papers that have deficiencies, but they check PACER and as soon as a deficiency is filed and served, they correct it... long before any hearing on the matter.

I hope that you have PACER and are logging in daily, for now, to make sure you aren't having any issues. This is procedural and technical, and not a "case" problem.

[anonemoose]

Therein lies the rub.

I never received a notice of deficiency. There's nothing on Pacer either. I received my notice of filing, then the motion to dismiss. Nothing else came to me in between. Had I gotten a notice, I would've been there ASAP to fix the problem so I didn't get as far as I did.

I was told in court that the court has no responsibility to me in terms of informing me if something's missing. Point blank from the judge.

However, the help desk person felt it was odd that I received no notice that anything was missing, so who knows? No idea what happened here.

[justbroke]

Very odd, unless it (the dismissal) came from the Trustee. It is true that the Court doesn't need to coddle a filer, but there are procedures when there is a deficiency in the filing.