Post about your 341 experience

[alice0427]

How nervous were you going into the meeting?
What, specifically, were you worried about?
What actually happened?
What was your final outcome?

Maybe reading these will make me feel better! I am SO scared about my 341 next Monday (the 14th)

[Bizeeparnts]

Nervous too.

Our 341 is today at noon PST. I am a nervous wreck, even though I'm trying to remain calm and positive. I just found a calendar that lists everyone on the docket for today and there are 12 other people scheduled during the same hour as we are. So, that means they allow 5 minutes for each case. I know they can go longer and ask for the meeting to be continued at a later date, but I am hoping we sail through like the majority.

We did receive a letter from the US Trustee a couple of weeks ago that wanted documentation of our expenses because some of them are high. I was able to show proof on 99% of them and really only had one that I overestimated. But then I also realized I'd forgotten a few things and once I added those, I was just about back where I started. I figured they would look at us a little more closely because together, my hubby and I make some pretty good money. But on the down side of that, we are raising 4 teenage boys that eat us out of house and home and have lots of school expenses on top of all the normal expenses.

So, I just am hoping for the best outcome and will try not to make myself sick over all this. I was honest in my petition/schedules and that's all I can do.

I'll post again after the meeting to let everyone know how it went. Wish me luck!

Bizeeparnts

[Pinktiger]

I have been around courts for many years as a legal secretary and then as a news reporter, but I was a nervous person at my 341. I didn't know how to act, so I was very quiet (unlike me, lol), and I watched and listened to everything that went on. My case was one of the last (my lawyer's name starts with a Y and it was alphabetical by lawyer) so I sat and waited for three hours. The actual thing only lasted a minute. I felt that the trustee was rude and did his best to embarass everyone; but others say their trustees were nice. So I guess it depends on the person. I can tell you this -- my trustee had no class. He was of the same ilk as an ambulance chaser. His staff were even lower class looking. I expected more, I suppose. I don't mind answering questions, but when they do their best to embarass you, it is bad.
For example, he asked me where I worked, and I told him, and then he wanted to know what I did there, and I told him, and then he asked about my part time job. I didn't want to give the name of my employer in there - everybody knows them. So instead, I gave him my card. I felt he was being very rude.
And now, that it is over, it really isn't. He extended the discharge date a month and asked me for more paperwork than was necessary just to harrass me. I really think he resented me, because I'm obviously white collar and educated. Does he think only the poor and uneducated run into financial trouble? If he had asked me, I would have explained about my husband's heart attack and how I have had to take on the entire burden of supporting us and paying the bills. But he didn't ask me that, and I wasn't going to offer him anything. He really pissed me off. I hope sometime I'm in a position to pay him back the favor. I'm looking forward to it.

[aoccc]

walked in, waited for an hour, trustee joked about me being able to fill out the forms correctly pro-se when half the attorneys couldnt. Asked me like 15 questions, told me to speak up once. I think he knew i had nothing for him so it took less than 5 minutes total. Lots of preperation and research pay off.

[SleeplessInMI]

Link to my experience in my signature below

[nervousinohio]

I was very very nervous for our 341. When we got there, it was nothing like I expected. There was a lot of people gathered in the hallway. .and of course the first person I see is someone that I went to school with. Yikes. .talk about embarassing. I guess the trustee was very late so everyone was backed up. We were there for an hour and a half past the time of our appt. It was very nerve racking. I read about some of you having to sit in a big room with all of the cases. That would be awful, at least we got to go in by ourselves, lawyer and trustee.
Anyway, the actual meeting was pretty short. The trustee just asked us the standard questions as well as what we did with the $$ from our home equity loan. We answered honestly of course and we were all done. Thank goodness.
Good Luck to you all that have yet to have your meeting, hope it goes smoothly.

[Bizeeparnts]

341 Over and Done

Well here it is, 1:13 PST. The 341 was scheduled for noon. We got there about 1/2 hour early to observe. The trustee was very nice and was running about 20 minutes behind. He asked us about our property (house). The forms I did online were incorrect and just showed the equity of $26K and not the full market value. I didn't catch it, so my error too. Yikes! I did tell him the true value of the home is about $110K and we owe about $84, so that does show the figure of $26K equity, which is exempt. He said he may send someone out to look at the property, which will be fine because he's not going to find anything here to take that's worth anything and not exempt. So, other than that little nerve wracking moment, it was very easy. Same quick questions about reading and signing the forms, did we list all debts and assets, was everything true and correct to the best of our knowledge.

So now we wait to see if he is going to send someone out, which I don't think he will once he verifies the current tax assessed value and to see if the US Trustee contests our expenses, which I had completely documented.

I am just going to try to forget all about it until I either hear something from one of the trustees or get my discharge letter. No sense worrying about something that MAY happen but most likely won't. If it does, I'll deal with it then.

[Becky C]

Ours was different than I expected -- our attorney told us it lasted about 5 minutes -- I was expecting five minutes of one on one with the trustee, not a room full of people. We were on the docket with about 12-16 others, all for 9 am. At 9, they opened the room where the meeting was held, called the roll from the docket, and seated us all according to where our name was on the list. We were all sworn in as a group, then each person was asked for photo i.d. and questioned individually about whether they had listed all their assets, etc. So each person's questioning took less than 5 minutes, but we ended up having to sit there for an hour and 1/2 waiting for our turn to be questioned.

Becky

[dumbpig]

1. I was really nervous before the meeting. I have been seperated from wife but nothing official. Was worried about questioning income and living expenses
2. Went to the meeting and they trustee was 45 minutes late. This gave him about 3 minutes per a case
3. Got called in and he asked me for ss card and dl. I provided.
4. Sworn in
5. He asked if everything was true and I told him I paid one cc 850 dollars and that there was a typo by the lawyer regarrding living in a community property state
6. He informed me he would unlikely sue visa for 250 so forget about it
7. He then informed me its ok about the typo and he would take note
8. He then informed he would reccomend this be a no asset case. \
9. IT WAS SO EASY THAT IT ONLY TOOK 3 MINUTES
B. I HOWEVER AM NOT DONE BEING NERVOUS BECAUSE
1. I am still nervous because Im worried they are going to question seperation from my wife as togother we have large disposable income. But without her I can barely pay all the bills as they are in my name.
2. I used to gamble and thought they would question life style
after the fact.


C. THINGS THAT EASE MY MIND A BIT
1. REVIEWED ALL CASES FILED FROM JUNE1ST TO AUGUST 30TH IN OUR AREA ONLY 15 HAVE BEEN DISMISSED. THE ONLY REASON IS THAT THE PEOPLE DID NOT SHOW UP.WHICH IS A GOOD SIGN.

GOOD LUCK ALL
1

[AAAArt]

1. REVIEWED ALL CASES FILED FROM JUNE1ST TO AUGUST 30TH IN OUR AREA ONLY 15 HAVE BEEN DISMISSED. THE ONLY REASON IS THAT THE PEOPLE DID NOT SHOW UP.WHICH IS A GOOD SIGN.

GOOD LUCK ALL

I assume that you reviewed them on PACER. How do you call up othre cases to review? Did it cost you $.08 per case to review them? About how many cases were there? 100/300/18,000,000?
Thanks for any guidance. I'd like to do the same, but get confused around PACER and am too lazy to read the 180 page instruction manual. Art

[jennga]

I found my 341 to be nervewracking and embarassing. I was in a courtroom with 15 others and thier lawyers, didn't really know anyone personally but hey, since we were all there for the same purpose no biggie. The embarrasing part for me was that the Trustee was a brother to my exhusbands best friend who is also an attorney. So I KNOW the man knew me, just not personally. Oh well, sure he could care less. Plus I have now been married for 20 years so doubt that he and my ex have much to say about me LOL.

We were each sworn in individually, mine was definitely a no asset case. My husband and I do own our house but it was exempt and we reaffirmed on the equity loan. So no problem there, in fact our lawyer was very good. He had called the Trustee ahead of time to ask him if he would have any interest in the house if we were going to reaffirm on it and he said no. I was asked lots of questions about my husbands income and where he works etc although all the dischargeable debt is in my name not his. His credit is very good, in fact he doesn't use credit cards at all and has bailed me out a few times but wanted me to have a come to Jesus experience this time, which I did.

I did have a gambling loss on my filing and was asked about that and if that contributed to the bk, which yea, it surely did but so did the bilateral hip replacements I had last year. No more questions after that, he declared it a no asset case and we left. The lawyer said he asked me about the gambling debt because there is some research being conducted on percentage of bkers who have gambling losses.

SO yes, the 341 is stressful but worth the relief you feel afterwards. From what I have read on this board there are numerous similarities and differences in 341's and Trustee's. Just be prepared, check, check and double check your paper work. KNOW your paperwork, my trustee asked me questions straight off my paperwork and my lawyer just told me which page to turn to. However, I did not take all that stuff that everybody talks about, 3 months bank statements, w2's, income tax papers. My lawyer told me that I absolutely did not need that and not to bring it. SO I didn't and he was right. But everyone has to do what they feel they need to do on that one.

Good Luck and know that it will in the long run work out if we are honest and diligent and really want to turn our lives around. Whew, I sound like a preacher!!

[bkfiler]

if i may, and if you will...

how much was your ganbling debt listed as? how much was total debt discharged including gambling?

also, how much time after the last time you gambled and lost big did you file?

[jennga]

Hey bk, I will send you a PM.

[bkfiler]

i was just thinking it would help others know what was allowed because gambling debts can get trustees attention quick from my understanding.

if you dont want to post then i understand.

thanks

[jennga]

BK, I see what you mean, if it would be helpful I will be glad to PM anyone who has questions. Not a problem