TELL ALL!! Discharged already? Please tell us HOW MUCH DEBT AND ANY PROBS??

[Jessika1012]

Just wondering if all of you could share some stories with everyone that has NOT yet been throught the process??
1. How much debt everyone has had?
2. What kind?
3. Did you have any creditor problems at the 341 or after and what were they?
4. Any good broad advice from your experience?


Maybe we can find some common trends that would help us all to calm down as we go along our journey! Thanks!

[pink_amulet]

Just wondering if all of you could share some stories with everyone that has NOT yet been throught the process??
1. How much debt everyone has had?
2. What kind?
3. Did you have any creditor problems at the 341 or after and what were they?
4. Any good broad advice from your experience?


Maybe we can find some common trends that would help us all to calm down as we go along our journey! Thanks!

We filed CH 7 no asset. we had over TOTAL about $81,800.......

$75,000 in medical bills
$1,500.00 in CC bills
$2,000.00 in misc bank NSF and charges
$250.00 for 1 judgment
$3,000.00 for Misc bills and debt

We had about 125 cases at our 341, and Nobody(creditors) showed up at ours or anyones 341. We even brought our 5yrs to our 341, no baby sitter. We walked in to the room and the trustee started a conversation up with my 5yr. Our 341 was on Halloween, if that wasn't bad luck, but it wall went great. The trustee told my 5yrs make sure mom and dad take you out trick or treating..LOL it was a nice icebreaker...LOL

My only advice is make sure you have ALL your id's and SS cards, otherwise you can run into major issues, and they trustee can push you back. Do not let yourself get worked up, and don't bother with ANY creditors while you are waiting, that's what your lawyer is for. We went with a firm, Legal Helpers, and when ever a creditor would call, I told them to talk to my lawyer, not me.

Good luck and again....don't sweat it!!

pink

[StaciMM]

In debt, we had:

About $5,000 in credit cards (original limits $2200 over 3 cards, plus interest, fees, etc.)
About $22,000 in old vehicle loans (One my Dh bought w/ someone before I knew him; when they split, she kept the car. Somtime later she stopped paying. One was a lemon bought in '98, became a judgement in '00 for $3200, and grew to $9200 or so by '05 and started garnishing.)
$6000 or so Misc. other debts, including medical, an old apartment of Dh (again, before I knew him-this was no longer on his credit but they had gotten a judgement so we figured it best to include), misc. collections such as for an old cell phone.
$37,000 in 2 vehicles that we surrendered, total combined worth ~$16,000.

We had no issues. At our 341, we were the 5th or 6th to go. The trustee mainly questioned those who owned houses (regarding equity, how they came to that figure) and those who were married but filing single. No creditors showed, for anyone.

My advice is to research every step of the way.

[annikasaunt]

What kind of questions do they ask you at this 341 thing? I have an appt with my atty this week to ask all my questions...but alot of you folks have been through this personally and the information is very helpful! I will be bringing him all my paperwork and my "final" payment to get this entire process started. I get scared when I read about some things that could happen, like your possessions getting taken away, etc....I know it will be a relief when this is all over with for sure!

[keepmine]

I filed on $69K worth of cc's.
The 341 ws over in under 5 minutes. The trustee awore eceryone in at once. I'd guess probably75 or so in the room for the 10:00 session. He then announced that time would mean nothing that the district was swamped with filings and all he could promise is we'd fimish the session at some point. We finally got started at 10:40-the 9:00 session ran late.
I was about the 15th or so called and I was asked if:
I'd ever filed bk before
Did I receive an inheirtance since filing
Could I sue anybody
Did anyone owe me money
Did I still reside at the address on my petition
Had I used credit cards or borowed money from any source within 60 days of filing

That was it. The only creditor who appeared was a representative from a local CU and he was trying to get either a reafirmation aggrement signed on auto loans or, asking people when they would surrender the cars. Our didtict does not allow ride-throughs.

Only 2 people got other questions. One lady {and her lawyer} informed the trustee that she had filed a claim against the city for injuries related to some constructionproject. In our state, prior to suing a city, you have to file a claim and they have 30 days to make a decision. The trustee told the lawyer to keep him informed of any settlement.
Another couple had inherited a house in Fl. that was split with 3 other siblings.Problem is, it had suffered damage in one of the hurricanes and the insurance company was dragging there feet on paying a claim. They'd attached pictures of the home and a copy of the will to the bk petition. The trustee said the situation looked pretty rough and to inform him about any sale or, an estimate of the value once repaired. The lawyer said that if the insurance company refused to pay the property would be abandoned and the city condemn it. The trustee said he understood and to keep him informed.
Really pretty painless.

[JeepMom]

Make sure if you are filing jointly your SO knows what the heck is going on.

We reaffirmed my van. The trustee was a bit of a sexist and ASSUMED my dh knew all the answers when relaly it was me.

The trustee asks dh "what are you going to do about the van" and dh starts in with "well sir, my wife needs it, it's our family vehicle" dh is thinking he's going to ask for it. I looked at the trustee and I said 'we're reaffirming it'. Trustee looks at me and says "thank-you".

[Pinktiger]

I was discharged 2/16/06. Filed 8/12/05, and 341 on 10/12/05.
The trustee extended the deadline twice, and finally closed. Today, 3/7/06, it was finally abandoned, with a report of no distribution.

I filed alone; my husband did not file. This is important, because in our state of Missouri, that means that joint property was not affected. The credit card debt was mine, all mine. It was incurred when I paid off medical bills with credit cards and then lived on credit cards during a period of under and unemployment. Also poor planning on my part and a bit of a gambling problem that is now in check.

Total debt: $69,000 discharged, all of it unsecured, credit card and consumer loans.
I kept my car, which is jointly owned and free and clear of debt (a 2001 Honda Accord) and I reaffirmed my mortgage, which is current.

Do I feel better? You betcha. It was wonderful to have this lifeline to grab when my world went all to heck. Good people do have things happen. It is a fact.

My future plans are to be much better. I am not going to worry about amassing credit and building a score too much. I'm working on a cash basis and building up a reserve so next time things go "poof!" I won't be in a pickle.
I have a savings account now that I started on the day I was discharged. I have it through Emmigrant Bank, online. It gets me 4.25 percent interest. It has $150 in it, and I'm amazed at the way it makes me feel to know that it is there.
Also, I'm going to start a savings account with my bank next pay day, and save toward a cushion account as an overdraft protection. I think a year from now I'll be in high cotton. I'll still be driving an older car, but I will survive.

[StaciMM]

Most of the 341 questions were fairly standard... Is the info in your petition accurate? Did you review the information before signing? Have you owned/sold property within the last X years? Have you transferred assets/property to family recently? (If you own property) how did you arrive at the value that you listed? How long have you owned it/what was it worth when you purchased it? (Those last 2 were asked to people in my hearing.)

Its fairly basic, straight forward. If your petition is accurate, the 341 should go smoothly. Keep in mind that it is called a 'creditors meeting' but creditors rarely show up, and have 60 days more to file an objection if you had questionable charges.

[edwards2]

We had $80K in medical bills, $30K in credit card debt - used mostly to pay even more medical bills with those and about $20k in personal loans. We also had 2 car notes - now only one but we reaffirmed both of them and our house. Our 341 was uneventful too; the trustee was very nice; asked the basic questions and that was that. We were about the 10th one called and they were on time. Our problems came post-341. We had an expense controversy so the trustee asked for and received additional time to request more documentation from us. This was followed by a meeting in her office with our attorney and a makeshift court recorder. The meeting went better than expected; we were embarrassed and brutally frank and she ended the meeting with we had been through enough and good luck to us. Our case was discharged in August 2005. Our 341 was in March. Our case was definitely NOT the norm.