The deed is done...
Our 341 was yesterday. Overall, I think it went well for us, so that's a load off...now for the homestretch. 
Just some observations of our experience...maybe it will help others to be informed about what happens in a 341, at least in our district (NE Arkansas). It was a PACKED courtroom...they actually had to move it to another area of the federal building because of the large number of cases to be seen that day. Initially we weren't even able to find a seat and had to wait outside for the first half hour. Eventually, we worked our way in and I finally got a chance to view the proceedings so I could get a sense of how it would go for us when our names were called. Fortunately (and unfortunately at the same time), we were one of the last ones called to meet with the trustee, so we got to witness ALOT of 341s, which helped us to gage how well our meeting went (which was pretty well..only the standard questions--5 minutes and we were done.) I was really surprised to see that there were 3 different trustees holding 3 separate meetings in the same courtroom. One appeared to be the CH13 trustee, and from the questions he asked, he appeared to be extremely thorough...I was SO glad he wasn't our trustee.
For the most part, no creditors showed up...only 3 out of the almost 100 people seen while we were there, but the ones who did show up were serious. I didn't get to hear the first 2 speak, but the 3rd was there to force a re-affirmation from a person, or he was going to take the car right then. I was surprised to hear this, as I didn't think creditors would be so forceful, until I witnessed this person's 341. It was a highly contentious one, the most involved of the day, with question's from an attorney for the estate of a deceased family member asking questions like 'where are the albums?', 'where are the guitars?', 'where are the rings?'--all the while the trustee just sat back and watched as the attorney and this person argued over whether he did or did not take these items. Bizarre to say the least. That meeting concluded with the trustee warning the person that he clearly had assets and that they would be hearing from him again. Made my 341 look like a walk in the park.
Luckily, they don't require bank or credit statements in our district, only 2 forms of ID. One piece of advice I would give is to make sure you do your pre-discharge education before the meeting--one couple had not completed it yet and it was clear that the trustee did not like hearing that.
Just some observations of our experience...maybe it will help others to be informed about what happens in a 341, at least in our district (NE Arkansas). It was a PACKED courtroom...they actually had to move it to another area of the federal building because of the large number of cases to be seen that day. Initially we weren't even able to find a seat and had to wait outside for the first half hour. Eventually, we worked our way in and I finally got a chance to view the proceedings so I could get a sense of how it would go for us when our names were called. Fortunately (and unfortunately at the same time), we were one of the last ones called to meet with the trustee, so we got to witness ALOT of 341s, which helped us to gage how well our meeting went (which was pretty well..only the standard questions--5 minutes and we were done.) I was really surprised to see that there were 3 different trustees holding 3 separate meetings in the same courtroom. One appeared to be the CH13 trustee, and from the questions he asked, he appeared to be extremely thorough...I was SO glad he wasn't our trustee.
For the most part, no creditors showed up...only 3 out of the almost 100 people seen while we were there, but the ones who did show up were serious. I didn't get to hear the first 2 speak, but the 3rd was there to force a re-affirmation from a person, or he was going to take the car right then. I was surprised to hear this, as I didn't think creditors would be so forceful, until I witnessed this person's 341. It was a highly contentious one, the most involved of the day, with question's from an attorney for the estate of a deceased family member asking questions like 'where are the albums?', 'where are the guitars?', 'where are the rings?'--all the while the trustee just sat back and watched as the attorney and this person argued over whether he did or did not take these items. Bizarre to say the least. That meeting concluded with the trustee warning the person that he clearly had assets and that they would be hearing from him again. Made my 341 look like a walk in the park.Luckily, they don't require bank or credit statements in our district, only 2 forms of ID. One piece of advice I would give is to make sure you do your pre-discharge education before the meeting--one couple had not completed it yet and it was clear that the trustee did not like hearing that.
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