So, we had our 341 meeting today. For those who aren't familiar with my case, we are $20k under the median, and could have filed ch. 7, but chose to go the ch. 13 route solely for the lien strip of our 2nd mortgage...We are paying 0% to unsecured creditors, and just paying our car payment into the plan (plus attny fees & trustee fees of course)...
The trustee went thru the standard questioning--easy peasy. We thought we were done. THEN she turned to our attorney and said that just as a heads up, these "disguised chapter 7 filings" are beginning to get more scrutiny. Basically, since we are paying 0 to unsecureds yet still reaping the benefits of a chapter 13 lien strip, that it can be considered filing in "bad faith" and that we are basically a chapter 7 masquerading as a ch. 13.
She did go on to say that upon reviewing our case, and our "totality of circumstances" that she didn't feel that we were filing in bad faith and that she is approving and confirming our case. She went on pretty extensively for several minutes about this issue and in particular a Judge "Lee" in Northern CA that is siding with the TT when these cases are taken before him.
Later dh said she pretty much made him feel like a criminal, which is always fun
BUT, hey, we're approved and confirmed (or will be, i guess, not sure why she said confirmed right away, as I thought that happens a few months from now???) and the 341 is behind us.
As a positive, she didn't question anything in our petition. She didn't care that we have 4 vehicles or that our tax refund of $5400 was spent up in 4 short days, lol. Aside from her lecture on our "disguised chapter 7" she was very pleasant...
The trustee went thru the standard questioning--easy peasy. We thought we were done. THEN she turned to our attorney and said that just as a heads up, these "disguised chapter 7 filings" are beginning to get more scrutiny. Basically, since we are paying 0 to unsecureds yet still reaping the benefits of a chapter 13 lien strip, that it can be considered filing in "bad faith" and that we are basically a chapter 7 masquerading as a ch. 13.
She did go on to say that upon reviewing our case, and our "totality of circumstances" that she didn't feel that we were filing in bad faith and that she is approving and confirming our case. She went on pretty extensively for several minutes about this issue and in particular a Judge "Lee" in Northern CA that is siding with the TT when these cases are taken before him.
Later dh said she pretty much made him feel like a criminal, which is always fun
BUT, hey, we're approved and confirmed (or will be, i guess, not sure why she said confirmed right away, as I thought that happens a few months from now???) and the 341 is behind us.As a positive, she didn't question anything in our petition. She didn't care that we have 4 vehicles or that our tax refund of $5400 was spent up in 4 short days, lol. Aside from her lecture on our "disguised chapter 7" she was very pleasant...
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