341 meeting

[Confusdnfl]

I filed for bankruptcy on 7/8/05. I had posted a while back that my trustee sent me a letter requesting tons of paperwork such as bank statements, 2 yrs. of tax returns, lot of stuff about my car and house, pay stubs, etc... Also, I had to call him last week so that he could ask me a few questions. They were basic questions about am I involved in any lawsuits, about to inherit any money, transferred anything in the last year, etc... I live in FL and have a car that is a year old and I have $3400 in equity in it. In FL you are only allowed $1000 for a car so I have to buy back the $2400 difference if I want to keep the car. I am going to pay $240 a month for 10 months back to the trustee so he can divide that up between my creditors. I also have to pay GMAC my regular $200 a month car payment so it's going to be tough for the next 10 months but I will just have to do it by cutting back on things, cancelling my cable and phone and buy groceries in bulk and things like that. Yesterday(8/12/05) I had my 341 meeting. There were about 30 of us there for this particular trustee. I was amazed at how some people dressed. The 341 meeting paperwork said dress appropriately and to me that doesn't mean shorts and t-shirts for court. Also, I found out that this trustee requires a phone call and tons of paperwork from everyone so it wasn't just me. Whew!! At least a quarter of the people hadn't called him at their appointed time, didn't send him paperwork and one lady even has a lawsuit still in the works and she never declared that in any of her Schedules. There were all kinds of excuses from the ones who didn't provide the necessary documents: "Oh, I've closed my bank acct." "Oh, I didn't know I had to call you" "Oh, I can't find any of my paperwork so that's why I didn't send any to you" Of course, the trustee was not a happy camper and all of these cases have to be continued and they have to come back for another 341. One couple had sold a house and they couldn't remember when they sold it or how much they made on the sale or what they had done with the profit. One girl got there late because she couldn't find a parking spot and talked to the trustee in a kind of hateful tone. Needless to say, the hour and a half that I sat there was VERY interesting. Most of the sessions went smoothly and lasted only a couple mins. Mine was fast because he had asked me a lot of the questions over the phone plus we had already gone over my car dilemma. Now I'll patiently wait and keep checking Pacer to see what's going on. My lawyer also told me that the trustee will take my tax refund next year for whatever it is from Jan 1st of this year until the date I filed which was July 8th of this year. I should get back a little over $4000 so he'll divide up around $2000 to give to my creditors along with the $2400 I'm paying back for my car. My 21 year old daughter went with me for moral support and thought it was a very interesting experience too. I'm glad that part is over with. Now I'll wait and see if the trustee sends someone to my house to see what I have here and that it matches what I put down on my Schedules. His paperwork says he does this but he hasn't said anything about it yet to me. I read this forum everyday and it has been a great help and support to me. Thanks to everyone!

[hhou812hh]

Despite the 10 months, overall it sounds great for you! Good Deal!!!

As for the other people you described shame on them for not taking this thing seriously. What IDIOTS!




CONGRADS!

[edwards2]

I too am glad the 341 went okay for you. 10 months will be over before you know it. Why does the trustee require phone calls from the filers? What does he ask you? Is it an effort to cut back a lot of the questions, etc., in the 341? Sounds like a very smart way to speed up the process. I also can believe the gall of some people; i.e., the girl who came late because she couldnt find a parking space? And then she cops an attitude with the trustee? Not a smart move. Most parking around the courthouses is at a premium. You have to arrive early so a parking space is not a problem for heaven's sake. I can tell you in Tennessee they have a zero tolerance for being late. When I drove to our 341 I made the mistake of getting on the expressway to go downtown. Wouldnt you know it that day there was a wreck. Fortunately, I left well in advance so I made it on time but when I got to the courthouse my attorney told me to NEVER get on the expressway when you have a court date; you cannot take a chance on something happening like what happened to me. Anyway keep us posted.

[Confusdnfl]

During the required phone call the trustee asked questions like "Have you sold or transferred anything in the last 12 months?" "Have you sued or are you being sued by anyone?" "Do you owe any relative or friend money or has anyone paid you any money owed to you in the last 12 months?" There were a couple of more questions but I can't remember them right now. I believe these are typical questions that they ask in the 341 meeting as he asked them of the ones that didn't call him like they were suppose to. I believe you are right when you said this probably just speeds up the 341 process. Under oath at the 341 meeting I was only asked 3 questions since I had called him earlier in the week and had gotten the others out of the way. Also, during the phone call my trustee asked me why I had taken my name off of my daughter's car a few months ago. I co-signed her car loan a couple of years ago for her but I explained to him that in Jan. she got a better job with more pay, her radio intern job(she works two jobs) now pays her $80 a week and she is almost 22 and wanted to start building credit so she went and tried to refinance the car on her own. The bank approved it and now it's in her name only. He seemed satisfied with that and hasn't mentioned it since. Like everyone has said before "Just tell the truth and you'll be fine." Thanks for all the encouragement and good advice on this board and I will keep you posted on my "progress."

[sunshine08]

Glad things went well for you. I saw some of the same types of things in our 341 meeting. (lack of respect) I, too was also amazed at the lack of preparedness, not only for the courts but for themselves in not being prepared. I guess they thought they might get lucky and think the trustee would forget or maybe they hoped it would all just go away. I just thanked God we had such a great attorney and evidently were prepared already for about any situation, we sure sent in enough paperwork and the documentation to back it up. Good luck to you. We are waiting for the discharge, think we are in the short rows.