Very Nervous About Whole 341 Meeting

[clarkt099]

I am new to this forum, I was wondering if anyone has any pointers or things i should look for during this. I mean is the trustee going to take my tax return which I planned on using as my down payment to get myself a car. How long after my 341 meeting will I be discharged of my debts. Also in my credit report right now is very confusing because not everything states included in bankruptcy?

Thanks.

[kartoons19]

For the most part the 341 is quick and painless. You may want to check out the 341 sub-forum which has a lot of great information that will help you prepare for your 341. I would recommended going early so you can watch some cases, it will help ease the nerves. Just be prepared and answer the questions honestly--yes or no without extra information and you'll be fine.

As for dischange, you will have to wait at least 61 days (one day after the last day for objections) maybe longer if it falls on a weekend. Also, if the New York courts are backed up, it could take longer. I had to wait 81 days for my discharge.

Not sure about credit reports as I haven't pulled mine yet. I do know that it can take 30-60 days for them to be updated, so that may be why your reports are not showing the bk. Hang in there, the 341 will be over before you know it. Good luck to you.

[tobee43]

clark...kartoon gives you excellent advise! as long as you have been honest and as truthful as possible you are good to go!


do yourself and YOUR family a really BIG favor and don't check out your credit report for a while....no need to stress yourself or the ones you love...really...let's face it; it's not going to be great for some time now...i know and understand that's difficult for most of us honest folk out there in cyber space...but it's the truth. so just keep moving on forward and it will be just fine for you!

[tcreegan]

Hi Clark, and welcome!

To calm the pre-341 jitters, go watch a few. Find out where your trustee holds the meetings and go watch. This also helps you know the location, parking situation, etc.

You don't want to do what I did and go to the wrong building !!! Not good.

As to the tax refund, unless you exempted it w/ the wildcard available in NY, the trustee gets 11/12ths of it.

Welcome aboard, keep posting questions, lots of good help around here!

Tom in Colo

[clarkt099]

Thanks for the advice. Ive had what seems to me nothing but a bad experience with my lawyer. Let me get your thought. When I first had sat down with him he stated everything will be ok and that my garnishment would be taken off as soon as i returned my means test cert. Well on 9/16/10 I returned my means test cert thinking my garnishment and filing would take place maybe a week later. Well come to find out it didnt. I had to contact my lawyers office numerous times to get them to even call the garnishment to let them know I was filing so they could cease. And come to find out he didnt even file till 10/24/10 almost a month behind when he stated to me it should only take around 3 days from the time I dropped my cert off. Idk but seems to me like somethings wrong. I want to call and ask him about the wildcard for my taxes but everytime I reach out to him I always feel like I bother him. Is this right?

[tobee43]

welcome clark!!

i'm so sorry to hear about your problems with your atty. many have experience the same level of frustration as you have...believe me. and, although, that doesn't help you much...it's something that at least i learned with my experience...we feel as though we are the ONLY ones going through this...while the atty's this is simply there daily hoe hum regular work...

they forget this is PERSONAL to US...maybe NOT to them...now let's think positively...a bit, at least he did finally file...thanks for small favorites...a month late, but better late than never! not that it's an excuse for the late filing.

i would also let them know you need a bit more input and that you are feeling uncomfortable and would appreciate a bit more communication on their behalf. i did that with the firm we hired...they did respond to a friendly kind reminder that WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS!!!

you paid him to "bother" him...it doesn't matter, i would say...look, i have some questions i'm uncomfortable with and i need YOU to help me answer those questions so i will be more at ease...plain and simple...just tell him how you feel!!

i know it's hard and this is a very emotional time for you. but you'll be fine and thankfully that garnish is on it's way out!!

[kartoons19]

I can't answer about the garnishments, since I wasn't in that situation, but I can relate to your frustration with your attorney. For about two weeks prior to my 341, I tried to get some questions answered but my attorney didn't return my calls or answer my emails. I was really worried about some issues and my attorney's lack of communication only made it worse. I finally just went to her office and I got my questions answered. Although she did apologize and everything turned out fine, I would not recommend her to anyone going through a bk.

Remember, you paid the attorney to file your bk and that includes answering questions about that process. I can't tell you how to feel, but from my perspective answering questions is part of the service and it was a bother to me when my attorney didn't respond to my questions. If you are not getting answers, consider going to his/her office. Good luck to you.

[clarkt099]

yea I'm going to contact him one more time today if no answer I'm going to go there on Monday. Two days before my 341 meeting but I guess better late than never. And a warm thank you for all of you that have responded to this. Hope everything works out.

[janie]

Good luck to you with the 341 on Monday! Hope it's smooth, comforting to read about the easy ones others have been through.

[tcreegan]

Hi all,

Given the posts here, the 'wisdom of the forum' to shop around for attorneys seems apropos. Seems that communication is the #1 source of dissatisfaction; make sure that this is clear before deciding would solve many problems. The #2 source of dissatisfaction seems to be attention to detail, some folks want a high level of detail, all the t's crossed and i's dotted, and some don't want to deal with details, only care about the outcome. The #3 source of dissatisfaction, smaller in occurrence but highest in effect, is simple incompetence.

Some folks report interviewing 6-10 attorneys before finding a good fit. You know the old saying..you have to kiss a lot of frogs...

Tom in Colo

[dumpinmydebt]

I am new to this forum, I was wondering if anyone has any pointers or things i should look for during this. I mean is the trustee going to take my tax return which I planned on using as my down payment to get myself a car. How long after my 341 meeting will I be discharged of my debts. Also in my credit report right now is very confusing because not everything states included in bankruptcy?

Thanks.

It is VERY likely that the Trustee will want your tax refund. About half of the people we saw it seemed they were losing their tax refund because he was very interested in it and is holding their closing until he get a copy of it. However, he did not want ours. When I realized it was a possibility he would take it, I completely removed it from our budget, that way I wouldn't be disappointed if he took it. So just accept and count on him taking it, and if he doesn't, well then that is a nice surprise!

Typically it will be 60 days after the 341 for discharge. But sometimes it is longer. Just depends.

I would wait until 30-60 days after your case is discharged before working on you credit report. It is important to get it corrected, but just wait a little while after discharge as it can sometimes take between 1 -2 months for the credit bureaus to update everything.

Also, show up early so you can sit in on some 341's that way you can have an idea of what to expect. I was nervous too, until I listened to how he interacted with other people. Then I realized he seemed like a really nice guy, and that put me at ease.

Good luck to you!