Does the trustee ask how you got into financial trouble?

[Annika]

Our trustee asked people questions, but didn't "grill" anyone about it.

When it was our turn, he glanced at our paperwork, and said "medical bills, huh?". Page after page of them. We didn't have to tell him about the exact illness/surgery that resulted in all those bills.

He didn't really ask anyone for specific details.

[epiphany]

Sooooo, for those of you who have been there, done that, what types of responses did you hear to this question? And what is considered a vague, acceptable answer?

Is "I kept borrowing to pay bills I couldn't pay because I kept thinking I was gonna get out of this hole" vague enough and acceptable or does one need to feign a tragedy or hardship? Does "I'm a financial idiot" suffice?

Putting this one on a growing list of questions to ask my lawyer.

EP

[FreshLikeADaisy]

Mine asked, but not during the 341; we had a pre-341 telephone call and he asked it then. He didn't delve too deeply at all.

Epiphany, I think that "I kept borrowing to pay bills I couldn't pay because I kept thinking I was gonna get out of this hole," is perfectly sufficient. He may ask you more just to clarify, but I get the strong impression that what my trustee DIDN'T want was to get stuck with having to listen to a hard luck story. So yeah, the shorter the better. If you had unforseen expenses that tipped the balance, throw that in too; it can only help.

What you want to steer clear of is anything that would make him think you knew you were incurring debt you would never be able to pay back. Good luck!!!