Not another 341 report?!
Well, some folks may tire of of seeing everyone's descriptions of their 341 creditors meeting, but I know I received great peace of mind about mine by reading about everyone else's, so I thought I'd add my two cent's worth:
If I can offer any advice from my experience, it's to BE PREPARED and BRING A BOOK. I filed on 1/24 and my meeting was yesterday, 2/22 at 4pm. I showed up to meet my lawyer at about 3:30, and saw on the docket schedule that I was the next to last filer on the schedule for the day. When I walked into the meeting room, I knew I was in trouble. There were at least 30 people sitting in there watching the proceedings and waiting their turn. The trustee was running VERY behind schedule, due in large part to the lack of preparation on the part of the filers and their attorneys. The vast majority of people had filed through an attorney, and almost every one of them was still missing some documentation, in most cases either the means test, their schedules I or J, or their pay stubs. The trustee was extremely forgiving, and only continued two cases in which so much documentation was missing that he couldn't proceed. In most cases though, he kept going, which resulted in a ton of delays as he and the attorney shuffled through their papers to find what they needed. And in EVERY case, he had to ask for a copy of the filer's 2005 tax return.
By the time he got to me, it was 7pm, and I had been there over 3 hours! Thanks to a great attorney AND the information all the great folks here have shared, I was the ONLY person to provide everything the trustee needed prior to the meeting, for which he was very grateful. As a result, my turn lasted all of 5 minutes, and consisted mostly of routine questions like my name, length of residence in my state, confirmation that I had completed the BK counseling, did I read and sign my petition, etc...
Most of the attorneys blamed electronic filing for the absence of the documentation that the trustee needed, but I filed electronically, and it was all there, so whether you file pro se or through an attorney, make sure everything is in order, and make sure to bring copies of everything just in case. And if you've already filed, be sure to send a copy of your tax return to the trustee BEFORE your 341. Unless you have a complicated case, if you do these few things, you will be absolutely fine!
Thanks again to everyone who had previously shared their 341 experiences. It eliminated most of my fears and apprehensions, and made mine a relaxing, if tedious, experience!
Ron
If I can offer any advice from my experience, it's to BE PREPARED and BRING A BOOK. I filed on 1/24 and my meeting was yesterday, 2/22 at 4pm. I showed up to meet my lawyer at about 3:30, and saw on the docket schedule that I was the next to last filer on the schedule for the day. When I walked into the meeting room, I knew I was in trouble. There were at least 30 people sitting in there watching the proceedings and waiting their turn. The trustee was running VERY behind schedule, due in large part to the lack of preparation on the part of the filers and their attorneys. The vast majority of people had filed through an attorney, and almost every one of them was still missing some documentation, in most cases either the means test, their schedules I or J, or their pay stubs. The trustee was extremely forgiving, and only continued two cases in which so much documentation was missing that he couldn't proceed. In most cases though, he kept going, which resulted in a ton of delays as he and the attorney shuffled through their papers to find what they needed. And in EVERY case, he had to ask for a copy of the filer's 2005 tax return.
By the time he got to me, it was 7pm, and I had been there over 3 hours! Thanks to a great attorney AND the information all the great folks here have shared, I was the ONLY person to provide everything the trustee needed prior to the meeting, for which he was very grateful. As a result, my turn lasted all of 5 minutes, and consisted mostly of routine questions like my name, length of residence in my state, confirmation that I had completed the BK counseling, did I read and sign my petition, etc...
Most of the attorneys blamed electronic filing for the absence of the documentation that the trustee needed, but I filed electronically, and it was all there, so whether you file pro se or through an attorney, make sure everything is in order, and make sure to bring copies of everything just in case. And if you've already filed, be sure to send a copy of your tax return to the trustee BEFORE your 341. Unless you have a complicated case, if you do these few things, you will be absolutely fine!
Thanks again to everyone who had previously shared their 341 experiences. It eliminated most of my fears and apprehensions, and made mine a relaxing, if tedious, experience!
Ron
A NEW START!!!
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