I reported how my GF's mtg went a couple of weeks ago. Had mine yesterday. No worries at all.
In our district, the debtor's attorney examines his own client in front of the trustee. I chose well - our att'y really knows his stuff. He prepped me in the hallway 30 minutes prior to mtg, going over all of the questions that he'd be asking. Checked all of my paperwork and arranged it in exactly the correct order and returned it to me. Asked if I had questions (nope).
Things were running behind, so I sat thru 45 minutes or so before it was my turn. After being sworn in by the trustee (a lady trustee with a secretary or clerk that took my papers & checked them before handing them to the trustee), my attorney was blazing thru the questions before I could even sit down. It was kinda funny - we were locked eye to eye, he was talking a blue streak, my answers were just as fast - almost like being at an auction. All the while, the trustee & her secretary were passing papers back & forth, didn't even seem to be listening. This att'y always makes a statement regarding why the client has filed - that way, I guess the client doesn't stammer or go off on strange tangents.
Trustee asked me only two or three questions - she asked if I had another bank account (I wanted to 'editorialize', and say something like 'No, ma'am - I sure wish that I did', but I held my tongue.) ALL of my answers were brief and to the point - most just yes/no.
No creditors were present. I was excused.
A few interesting things - to me anyway:
One couple had an interpreter there. The were hispanic and evidently did not have command of the english language. That case took longer, due to the 'middleman'.
Another couple had two small children - they waited in the hall until called. Big sis (maybe 4 y/o) watched the baby (in stroller) under mom's watchful eye from the trustee's desk. They never made a peep. Trustee did a double take when she saw the kids coming into the room, but did not say anything...
Saw some significant problems with several people due to what I would consider att'y incompetence - clients unprepared, didn't bring bank statements, clients that had not filed tax returns, schedules that reflected an income $1200 per month less than that shown on a debtor's paystubs. She was really po'ed at one att'y - his client's stuff was all screwed up - she didn't even have her car title w/ her, hadn't filed 2004 tax, etc.
This trustee made her opening statements and strongly admonished everyone in the room NOT to cash any tax refund checks for 2004 (late filers) and 2005 - she will be taking those as part of the estate, if they exist. Basically said that if those were cashed, she'd eat you for breakfast. The trustee for my GF's case did not make this statement, so she may be in the clear.
My recommendations:
1) Make sure that you have all of the documentation (for my district, that is car/truck/motorcycle/RV titles, last 2 yrs tax returns, bank statements for 3 months prior to filing, last 2 paystubs, DL & SS card, any retirement/401(k) statements). OK has an unlimited homestead exemption, so in other states you might need deeds, appraisals, etc.
2) Sit in on some meetings - they are open to the public, although I've heard that some are held privately in some areas. It really takes the edge off to see how things go before it's your turn. Nobody is interested in you - they're all sitting there thinking about how they're going to answer those questions. I'm sure that w/in a few days, I won't remember any faces that I saw there.
The only ones that got grilled (not including those that were unprepared or didn't have all docs) were the ones that had time shares or RV's and tried to exempt them, or possibly undervalued them.
It's just like anything else in life - if you're well prepared, have all of your i's dotted/t's crossed, it will go pretty smoothly.
Good luck to those of you that are on deck.
In our district, the debtor's attorney examines his own client in front of the trustee. I chose well - our att'y really knows his stuff. He prepped me in the hallway 30 minutes prior to mtg, going over all of the questions that he'd be asking. Checked all of my paperwork and arranged it in exactly the correct order and returned it to me. Asked if I had questions (nope).
Things were running behind, so I sat thru 45 minutes or so before it was my turn. After being sworn in by the trustee (a lady trustee with a secretary or clerk that took my papers & checked them before handing them to the trustee), my attorney was blazing thru the questions before I could even sit down. It was kinda funny - we were locked eye to eye, he was talking a blue streak, my answers were just as fast - almost like being at an auction. All the while, the trustee & her secretary were passing papers back & forth, didn't even seem to be listening. This att'y always makes a statement regarding why the client has filed - that way, I guess the client doesn't stammer or go off on strange tangents.
Trustee asked me only two or three questions - she asked if I had another bank account (I wanted to 'editorialize', and say something like 'No, ma'am - I sure wish that I did', but I held my tongue.) ALL of my answers were brief and to the point - most just yes/no.
No creditors were present. I was excused.
A few interesting things - to me anyway:
One couple had an interpreter there. The were hispanic and evidently did not have command of the english language. That case took longer, due to the 'middleman'.
Another couple had two small children - they waited in the hall until called. Big sis (maybe 4 y/o) watched the baby (in stroller) under mom's watchful eye from the trustee's desk. They never made a peep. Trustee did a double take when she saw the kids coming into the room, but did not say anything...
Saw some significant problems with several people due to what I would consider att'y incompetence - clients unprepared, didn't bring bank statements, clients that had not filed tax returns, schedules that reflected an income $1200 per month less than that shown on a debtor's paystubs. She was really po'ed at one att'y - his client's stuff was all screwed up - she didn't even have her car title w/ her, hadn't filed 2004 tax, etc.
This trustee made her opening statements and strongly admonished everyone in the room NOT to cash any tax refund checks for 2004 (late filers) and 2005 - she will be taking those as part of the estate, if they exist. Basically said that if those were cashed, she'd eat you for breakfast. The trustee for my GF's case did not make this statement, so she may be in the clear.
My recommendations:
1) Make sure that you have all of the documentation (for my district, that is car/truck/motorcycle/RV titles, last 2 yrs tax returns, bank statements for 3 months prior to filing, last 2 paystubs, DL & SS card, any retirement/401(k) statements). OK has an unlimited homestead exemption, so in other states you might need deeds, appraisals, etc.
2) Sit in on some meetings - they are open to the public, although I've heard that some are held privately in some areas. It really takes the edge off to see how things go before it's your turn. Nobody is interested in you - they're all sitting there thinking about how they're going to answer those questions. I'm sure that w/in a few days, I won't remember any faces that I saw there.
The only ones that got grilled (not including those that were unprepared or didn't have all docs) were the ones that had time shares or RV's and tried to exempt them, or possibly undervalued them.
It's just like anything else in life - if you're well prepared, have all of your i's dotted/t's crossed, it will go pretty smoothly.
Good luck to those of you that are on deck.
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