Perception versus reality

[littlemuffin]

After going through your initial filing, 341 and discharge was the process harder or easier than what you anticipated.

I am filing in early November and just wondered how everyone felt after it was over.

Thanks for the afternoon boredom buster.

LM

[kartoons19]

Well, I have filed and gone through the 341, but still awaiting discharge. For me the hardest part was prior to filing--dealing with the collectors and being in denial. Once I knew that filing was the only way to get out of this mess it got easier. Filing out the paperwork was a pain, but still it wasn't that bad. Once I've filed and got over the surreal feeling, it's been easy. The 341, while feeling nervous, was quick and painless. Waiting for discharge is a little challenging, but to be honest none of this compares with the struggles before filing. I'm sure I will feel a great relief when the discharge comes through. Hope this helps. Good luck to you.

[angles]

We were stressed up to the filing, and then slept really well for a couple of weeks afterwards. We did become a little restless the week before the 341, and a little afterwards. We have a few more weeks until the discharge and have not heard anything from the trustee, which is adding to our stress because we are an asset case and don’t know how he intends to proceed or how fast he will take care of business. So I expect after the discharge we will feel a little more relaxed, but still uncomfortable until the case closes, which could take a year from what I understand

[onwards]

Pre-filing was very stressful, but also focused - I had a lot to do and prepare and so on, so the stress wasn't very noticeable to me (it was to those around me though).

Post-filing, I had less to do, but was still stressed; it was probably the most difficult period, but I also got busy with work - I was truly lucky in terms of being able to recover quickly - I had a sales meeting (I'm a consultant) on the day my lawyer filed and completely unexpectedly, the contract got signed a couple days later rather than go through a long process. So that served to again mask some of my stress.

Post-341, I found myself obsessing over "the process"; I think PACER's big benefit is that it's THERE. Even without updates, I found it to be like a pacifier in terms of being able to log in and "see" that I am still in the system. The wait was excruciating though. I remember reading all those horror stories on various boards about people whose cases got rejected or screwed up last minute. In my case, because we ended up having to file extra stuff with the trustee and thus had a 341 extension, it was nerve-wracking. My lawyer at some point started emailing me every week or so to say "don't worry, it's fine, no need to call me, just wait" or something like that. Did I mention how much I appreciated my lawyer?

When the discharge notice came... oh god. Even though everyone around me knew it, I had not truly realized just how wound up I was. I ended up shaking all over and having fits of crying (from relief) for the next 48 hours as all that stored energy got released. That second night, which was after the official notice was received at my lawyer's office, I finally slept for a full night in 7 months or so. I then spent the next 48 hours in what felt like mostly sleeping. I was simply exhausted.

In retrospect, I wish I understood just how boring the process really is behind the scenes, and how no one cares about it in the vast majority of cases - ESPECIALLY lenders. For them a BK is simply a standard writeoff - the most obvious and clear in their internal processes, the easiest to handle. It moves your loan cleanly from one column to another in their accounting, saves them costs and hassle in trying to pursue it, and the last thing in the world they want to do is mess with it (unless you're an asset case, but very few people really are).

For example, I was totally stressed about my patent, which I was sure I was going to lose, no matter how many times my lawyer said "can YOU cash in on it right now? no? then believe me, no one else is going to try". He was right, of course. The trustee merely inquired as to whether it was anything but a filing, and when I said "no" he listed it as value $0 and moved on. Same with the real-estate trusts I had. They really do mean "liquidation" when they say it - if it can't EASILY be sold right NOW, they don't care, they just want you out of the system to go make money again so you can pay taxes, borrow new money at higher rates, and so on. You're just a number amongst many, many others. Especially now.

[momofthree]

pre-filing was very stressful.

After we filed, everything was smooth sailing. I have to say, bankruptcy is much easier and more painless than it's portrayed.

[brokejoker]

Pre-filing was a nightmare. Filing was a weekend of gathering paperwork, doing the pre-filing counseling, and two weeks of eating rice and beans to pay the attorney.

The most stressful thing about the 341 was that is was in a different town and we got a little turned around on the way there and we were almost late. I would say give yourself and extra hour to pad your travel time and finding the room time.

Now the waiting kind of sucks. We got our no asset/no distribution the day we went to the 341 so since then it's just been ticking off the days until the discharge.

So it's been stress (pre-filing), relief (filing date), calm (waiting for 341), stress (341 - which turned out to be a breeze), then anxious calm (waiting and checking PACER).