Help! I just got a summons in the mail

[confusedinVA]

Ok, I made a huge mistake. I left a creditor off of my mailing matrix and schedules. To give you some background, my husband and I filed Pro se on August 2, 2006 and our 341 is set for 9/11/06.

I got a summons in the mail from an attorney representing the newspaper. What do I do? We have a no asset case. I am not sure if this will be automatically discharged or if I have to add it to the schedules and mailing matrix. How do I go about doing this?

Thanks in advance.

I wanted to add that this summons is to appear in court on 10/5/06, not sure if that is important or not.

[pink_amulet]

Ok, I made a huge mistake. I left a creditor off of my mailing matrix and schedules. To give you some background, my husband and I filed Pro se on August 2, 2006 and our 341 is set for 9/11/06.

I got a summons in the mail from an attorney representing the newspaper. What do I do? We have a no asset case. I am not sure if this will be automatically discharged or if I have to add it to the schedules and mailing matrix. How do I go about doing this?

Thanks in advance.

I wanted to add that this summons is to appear in court on 10/5/06, not sure if that is important or not.

From MY understanding you can add a creditor, but I think there is a fee involved. Check it out, and I would think you will have a much easier time doing NOW before your 341. Ths fact that your 341 is before the court date for the summons, you may just have to show and up and tell the judge you filed.
I know we had a judgement on us. The same week we filed, they tried to garnish my hubbys wages. We called the creditor and they said to bad they didn't get the info yet. SO we faxed (with case number) his payroll dept and told them we filed, and they stopped it in it's tracks... right then and there. The creditor was NOT happy!!.....OH well...LOLOLOLOLOL

[confusedinVA]

They are suing for a debt of $43

The original debt was for $43. They are suing for a total of $134.00?! Are they kidding me with this?

I know this is wrong but just for the sake of argument, since I received it in the mail, could I just pretend that I never received it and then when I get discharged send them a copy of the bk saying that everything was discharged? I would just pay the 43 now to save on going to court and save on the amendment fee and paperwork but I realize the trustee may view this as preferential payment (43?)

What do you guys think?

Or could I just not even mention this and pay it after the 341 or after the bk is closed?

[JeepMom]

You can add a creditor prior to your 341 Our attorney charged $150 for adding another creditor. It may be cheaper to just pay it.

[SinkingFast]

Just for reference purposes, I researched how to amend a Creditor Matrix.

Read Page 14 and 15 here:

http://www.nynb.uscourts.gov/usbc/lb...20matrix%22%22

From the Indiana BK Court website:

1. Notice of Amendment Required
All amendments to the voluntary petition, lists, schedules or statements must
comply with Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 1009. A separate notice of
amendment must accompany each amendment.

If you want to amend your Creditor Matrix,.......... You'll have to file an Amended Schedule D, E, or F. Whichever you used. How many copies you'll need will depend on your local Court. There's a $26 fee.

The Amended Copy will have to be duly noted and the added Creditor might have to be highlighted. Some Courts want the whole list over again. Some Courts want just the Creditors that were omitted in the original filing.

Some Courts Require a Cover Sheet, some don't. Different Courts have different rules about how to handle the Amending of a Schedule.

I also read at one website, which I did not bookmark,........... If you file an Amended Creditor Matrix within 10 days of the 341 Meeting, the Creditor will have the same number of days to consider and object to your filing as all the other Creditors have had.

Which means, the Newspaper may object to your filing AFTER the 341 if you decide to amend your Schedule and include them.

Personally, for all the BS Factor involved,............ I think I'd call them and notify them of the BK. That you're under protection of the Automatic Stay. Deal with them after your BK is discharged. They might even write you off as IIB!!

If something else comes up, and you need to amend your petition, you can always do this and add them then.

[lrprn]

The original debt was for $43. They are suing for a total of $134.00?! Are they kidding me with this?

I know this is wrong but just for the sake of argument, since I received it in the mail, could I just pretend that I never received it and then when I get discharged send them a copy of the bk saying that everything was discharged? I would just pay the 43 now to save on going to court and save on the amendment fee and paperwork but I realize the trustee may view this as preferential payment (43?)

What do you guys think?

Or could I just not even mention this and pay it after the 341 or after the bk is closed?

The reason the debt increased so much is that your creditor has tacked on late fees and penalties - it's perfectly legal for them to do that. What you've received in the mail sounds like a court summons. If you decide to try to let this creditor ride until after discharge, please be sure to go to court that day. Don't be a no-show!

If you can pay the $134 now, notify your trustee and explain what happened. He/she may be able to help you get the creditor added before the 341. The $134 isn't much of a prefential payment - you may be allowed to pay it. Remember that you do need to tell your trustee about any payments like this - the trustee is in complete charge of your finances until your case is discharged.

You don't want to try to pretend that this creditor was included if they really were not. Like JeepMom says, it's worth the peace of mind to add them now before your 341. If you filed pro se, I believe you only have to pay the filing fee - in our district that's $26.

Go find out what you can do - don't put your head in the sand. Your financial future is at stake here! Keep us posted about what you decide to do, ok? Hang in there - this can be a relatively easy problem to fix.

[confusedinVA]

Thank you guys so much.

I am a little confused, would it be better to let them know that I have filed bk, pay them, or amend my schedules? I read in the Nolo book that if a creditor is left off and it is a no asset case then that debt would be wiped out anyway. Is this true? I would really like to just call them on Monday and see if I could make arrangments to pay it off, then I wouldnt have to worry about it anymore and I wouldnt have to go through the hassle of amending paperwork or go to court.

Would my best bet be to call the trustee's office and see how they would prefer I handle this?

Thanks again for the help.

[Minnymouth]

Since you filed pro se, and your questions are still not answered to your satisfaction....... contact your Trustee and see what his input is to the problem.....

Personally $143.00 is not much to really worry about, but it could add up and become a judgement if you do nothing.....

Let us know what you do.....

[alh]

The easiest (and best solution) is to add them to your matrix. Protects you both now and in the future. It's 26 bucks. Adding a couple to mine was 76 with an attorney. If you let it go and they get a judgement, it won't be valid, but it will be on your credit report most likely. Also by adding them, you protect yourself from any FUTURE claims they might make they you do not know about.

[confusedinVA]

I apologize to all of you. I didnt mean to seem like I didnt appreciate your advice and didnt get my question answered. I guess I am just being lazy and wanted some miracle easy way out. I think my best option would be to add them to my mailing matrix. I didnt really want to do this because in the Nolo book it says to do this you have to have someone over 18 mail first class the papers to the trustee and creditor. I really didnt want to have to tell anyone what was going on. Now it looks like I will have to. I would so much rather though just pay this after the 341 meeting or after the case is closed. lol, I am still doing it arent I? Hoping someone gets on here and says, your right, you should wait and then just pay them. (that way I dont have to get embarrassed and tell someone that I am filing bk)

[Minnymouth]

If the problem is you being "embarrassed"...... you need to get over this!!!!
Filing bankruptcy is public knowledge and is often in the paper...... it's not like its going to be a big secret you have..... others will know and find out. It is going to follow you for years on your credit report....

So best, put the "embarrassment" behind you (like the rest of us have), do what you have to do to solve the problem - list it or pay it!!!

Its only debts treat it like a business option............. its not going to kill you off, or take the food out of your mouth.... and it doesn't last forever.....

[no_it_all]

Wow, I find this <almost> unbelievable !!! 43 bucks???? A summons for what? $134.00 (!!!). My guess is there is NO docket number on your summons, which means that the <attorney> didn't file jack at the court house. Most likely they are hoping you do not answer the summons and they get a default judgment. At which point they will go to the court and pay the filing fee for a summons. I would suggest you answer the summons and in your answer explain you are filing a no-asset Chapter 7. That should stop this nonsense...good luck BTW you could just pay the forty-three bucks but you might find the whole civil law process interesting...especially as a pro se defendant

[no_it_all]

Ok, I made a huge mistake.

A huge mistake?? 134 bucks??

[confusedinVA]

rofl, your right no it all it is not a huge mistake. more like a small mound or something.

And you are exactly right, I dont see a docket number or case number on here. Where that spot is, it is stamped COPY. Where would the docket number be? I was wondering why it came in the mail instead of having a sheriff serve it on me.

So its best to add this creditor to my schedules and creditor matrix, go to court on 10/5/06 and let them know that I have filed bk and that my 341 was on 9/11/06, right? Or I could just pay it and be done.

[no_it_all]

Yeah, I would just add the creditor to the matrix and call it a day. I would probably send the attorney a note with your BK case number and explain that the debt is included in the no-asset Chapter 7 BK....good luck