Strange Attorney Actions

[ladycee]

Hi Tobee,

Thanks for the quick response.

As we have already discussed......Trustees are different .....atty's are different ....Petitioners are different... Districts are different

Atty gave me TWO checklist of questions my Trustee will be asking:

One is a standard list that all Trustees usually ask

the other one is a list which my Trustee personally likes to ask:

#7: Have you come across any assets you forgot to list?...........my atty wrote in NO

#8: Counsel:

a. Do you anticipate any amendments: .......atty wrote in "made em already"

b. Are there any liens to be avoided? atty wrote in NO (but Discover cc has a lawsuit against me)

c. Are there any preferences to be recovered: atty wrote in NO

---------------------------

I was under the impression that amendments can be filed after 341 if mistakes are discovered. So I am surprised that the Trustee is asking for assurance that there will be no more amendments.

But I am really scared that atty's evaluation of my personal belongings does not seem realistic. And if I do not speak up about it at the 341..........I'm screwed.

In addition, I realized that the Amended Schedule C that he filed has the wrong total for Exemptions! After removing the $21,625 exemption he had erroneously filed. Now the house exemption is only $977. making the new total exemptions $7,409.49 NOT $7,338 as my lawyer filed.

Which does leave me about $10,000 wild card to spread around, but why does my Trustee want to be sure there will be no further amendments. Is he saying that if I don't declare amendments will be coming forth at the 341, that I won't be able amend after this meeting?

don't you see? once the clerks do their calculations, IF the #'s don't add up--- a court auditor CAN be ordered. At that time, I can be presumed abuse if I did not properly state my Personal Property, and did not acknowledge there may be more Property than is listed on Schedule B at this 341 Hearing.

He has $7,338, when it should be $7,409.49....the court clerks are sure to spot that miscalculation.

thanks for the input

[tobee43]

usually, unless you have an extremely complex bk...the trustee does not ask you those type of questions....


in as much as your house value...i would simply call a realtor or go on zillow and get some comps in your area....shoot...our house is down now over 350k via zillow....

we were never asked if we rec'd anymore assets since filing....because we filed on THAT day...not the day of our 341...i'm not saying it's impossible that that question is asked...it's just not very likely.

we were asked about employment....and some property we transferred...end of story....every question the trustee had took place prior to our 341 directly by email....there were some clarifications they asked about and we promptly submitted the responses...but that was all before the actual 341...i don't know how it works in your area, but that was how it worked here.

[ladycee]

ok ....well, don't know why nobody can answer me, so I guess I will go on to post new thread.

I could not access forum from 9/14 thru 9/23 and got spooked and thought I was banned for speaking about my atty....

So I contacted the "archives" and they said yes there was a problem but it was available after that....???

Curious as to how you are doing dumpin?

New thread will be about finding discrepancies in personal property Schedule B and yup another calculation mistake re "Exemptions on Schedule C.....and just a little worried how to handle it before the 341 on 10/6.

My atty just listed $2,960 for Household Furnishings etc, but I can't figure out how he came up with that figure ....he never gave me a breakdown ??? so now I am looking at everything in the house and going online to print out how much it gets listed for as "used" etc.

It looks to me like a lot more than $2,950 and I thought I saw another posting where the petitioner's Schedule was not accepted and they sent an auditor who marked up everything much higher.

the dilemna for me is: When Trustee says: Did you find anything else of value since you filed your petition, my truthful answer is going to have to be yes......not too much of a problem, I don't think, as now that the appraisal has lowered the exemptions from $28,000+ to $7,000+ it leaves me approximately $10,000 Wild Card Exemption.

the question is ........what do I do at 341? I am listing EVERYTHING on a sheet of paper to bring with me.....left a msg for atty Thursday, but he did not answer me yet.

Any advice appreciated....

Chris

[ladycee]

Hello all,

Got a question for the forum....re 341 questions from Trustee. The other attorney asked me what would you respond to Trustee who asks why were you originally filing a Chapter 13? and I replied:

Because I was afraid with the old appraisal giving me $30,000 equity I would lose my home..

He said no, that's the worst answer you could give......but he did not tell me the "right" answer cause he was not my atty at the time.

Now, my own atty just told me that is what I should answer. That I had to wait until I had a new appraisal.

Anybody can help me make sense of this?

tia,

Chris

[ladycee]

Update ...was given an appt to "prep" for 341 Meeting with Senior atty.

Surprise....tomorrow is date to meet atty....got a call from atty office that this meeting will NOT be with SENIOR atty but with miscreant who misfiled Schedules!

We'll see tomorrow..

Chris

[justfiveofus]

Chris,

Yes we had a home and two vehicles. The home we were 60K upside down in and the cars we broke even on so we're keeping those but not reaffirming them.

[ladycee]

Hi Justfiveofus,

That's great!.......wonder why my attorney told me not to include the collectors?...They all have stopped bothering me tho....no more letters, no more phone calls. My attorney told me that if anyone bothers me he knows how to deal with them.

I believe the automatic stay takes care of any collection action. I had a call few days ago, and the woman identified herself as "Consumer .....something" and then asked me "how are you doing today?" and I replied "I'm fine thank you, and how about you?" and then , and I asked her if she wanted my attorney's name + telephone #.....so she asked me if I filed bankruptcy, and when I replied yes....she got really angry and said "Why didn't you say that before?" and hung up....haha

So, far as I know they cannot bother me because they are not the original lender, no matter whether they bought the debt outright, or they are just representing the lender, they are still not the original lender, and if they wanted to sue me they would have to prove they are the original lender, else they get penalized and have to pay my court costs once I prove they are not the original lender. [I think]

But I guess the difference for me is, that if they do bother me, all I have to do now, is give them my atty's name and #.....the atty's office has a file which they consult and then advise the idiot that it has been discharged. Unless they can prove it was "activated" after the discharge. But they better have good proof, else they are in mucho trouble if they continue to contact me.

btw, you say you have a no-asset case? Mind if I ask if there is a home + car involved?

Thanks for your post,

Chris

[justfiveofus]

I caution against pro se........

You will only aggravate the court if you bog them down with 79 creditors. They will HATE you. Think of all the work you are forcing onto them. Most likely the bk database will identify the duplications for you. They have them all on their database.

Just interview LOTS of attorneys before you choose one. I was pressed for time because I was facing a Lawsuit also. that is why an emergency Face Petition was needed. To activate "stay" right away.

Plus......you need an attorney who has a "relationship" with the Trustee. It's as simple as that. They are a very tight knit community and watch each other's backs.

Trying pro se is like a lamb to the slaughterhouse.

Many let you pay in 3 installments.

Think carefully and don't wait until a lawsuit prevents you from choosing the right lawyer.

Chris

Actually, we filed pro se, a true no asset chapter 7. We had a few bumps in the road, but the court clerks office was VERY helpful! We had A LOT of creditors, and yes we listed every single collection agency. If you don't, they won't get notice of your BK then it's YOUR job to send them the notice, instead of the court clerks job. If you have an excessive amount of creditors sometimes they'll ask for them on a CD or disk, but that's not too terribly difficult. Our trustee was helpful, we had the wrong exemptions listed and after our 341, she told us to fix them before we were discharged so we didn't lose anything. They let us pay our filing fee in 4 installments (one on the day we filed and 3 after). The only thing is they won't discharge you until you're paid in full with the court. Yesterday was our last day for anyone to file objections and we should get our official discharge either this week or next.

[ladycee]

Hello all,

All is going smoothly, Chapt 7 Schedules are filed, Notices to Creditors have been mailed and it looks like they have categorized me as a "no-asset" case (thanks to corrected appraisal) YAY!

@dumpin.....thanks for the NOLA book Link....too bad I did not have enuff time to go that way.

Anyone else have trouble accessing forum lately?

Cheers all...

[UghUghUgh]

Whoops! Thanks! I think you are right, lol. My bad! LOL. I edited my post. Sorry about that OP! Just ignore it please OP! Ha ha.

Sorry, my brain's a little fried from trying to gather all of my collection notices and filling out this paperwork, ha ha.

Actually it was easy to read it as you did the first time. When I read it the second time that is when I realized she was talking about the attorney.

[dumpinmydebt]

and 30 collectors is better than 79 lol.......btw ..have you checked out the term limits for debts in your state?......

15 years here. I know, fantastic, right?? haha


Make sure that you register for PACER. that is the only way I noticed 2 cockroaches filing for Noticee of Appearance. Certainly my atty did not tell me.

I know about PACER, I'll be all over PACER once we file.

You might even find it handy to monitor the CMC case you are involved with too.

There isn't anything to monitor on that case. I know why we're being sued and I expected it for a while. I already looked over like 100 case dockets that this lawyer and his plaintiff have filed against people, I know exactly what to expect. But I do have access to the court's website to see the docket whenever I want.


Don't need cc's anymore cause I have a combination atm/debit card with my bank. the debit card goes thru anywhere that accepts VISA. Just have to make sure the monies are in the bank. I also set up automatic payment for mtg, car, car insurance thru bank.

We have the same thing. We mainly do it so they can verify our expenses and we pay all of our bills online. I don't like mailing checks. lol


So what is NOLA? Never heard of it....I am new here...

thanks again dumpin,

Chris

It's the NOLO book on How to File for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. It's the most helpful resource for me. Pretty much tells everything in plain English.

http://www.nolo.com/

[jmjm]

ok thank you

[tobee43]

yea but isnt ch.13 have to do with your home? She just claimed for bankruptcy to wipe out her credit card debt thats all.

no

[tobee43]

once again....you have not provided enough information...if your mom is in a chapter 13...it is possible for the courts or the trustee to continue to breath down her neck until her payment plan is fulfilled.

first ask your mom if she's in a chapter 13...

if she's been discharged from a chapter 7, 2 years ago, then something is not right....go to the chapter 13 area of the bkforum....because i do not think your mom was discharged from a 7 and they are now asking for more info 2 years later.

in that forum they would most likely let you know what the courts can or will do while your in the payment plan time period.

[jmjm]

yea but isnt ch.13 have to do with your home? She just claimed for bankruptcy to wipe out her credit card debt thats all.