what is actually public record?

[flaguy]

I know it is, but I did a quick Google search for my county just to see what is shown out of curiosity and didn't find anything quickly...........also what exactly is sent to the creditors? a copy of the full filing or just a notice or something in between? Thanks for humoring my never ending questions

[LadyInTheRed]

Everything filed in the bankruptcy court (with your SSN redacted) is public record (unless it is sealed for some reason which would require a good reason and a petition to the court). That doesn't mean you can find it with a Google search. It is not a county court record, it is a Federal court record. If somebody wants to know about your case, they have to either view it on Pacer or at the court. Some newspapers publish lists of new bankruptcy filings. You can find out if your local papers do that by looking in the papers. Nobody is going to stumble on your bankruptcy doing a Google search unless it is published in your local paper who also publishes on the internet.

Your creditors receive a notice of your bankruptcy filing that includes the date of your 341. You will get a copy of the same notice. They do not get a copy of your entire petition, but can view it on PACER if they want. If you file a Chap 13, I think the creditors get a copy of your proposed plan. If a Chap 7 is declared an asset case, creditors will receive a notice informing them of the deadline to file proofs of claim. There are other notices they could receive depending on the details of your case. For example, if you file a motion to value a lien, the interested creditor will get notice of the hearing and probably a copy of the motion. Creditors can also file a request to receive copies of everything that gets filed in your case. None of my creditors have. There may be other notices that go to creditors that I don't know about. This is just a list off the top of my head based on what I've read here and what I have seen in my own case.

[flaguy]

thanks that makes sense and explain why I couldn't find anything..........also how do they divide the money from an asset case? is it on a pro rata portion to the debt? I am just wondering how the 5-15K the trustee will get from selling some vacant land I own will be distributed to the 12-13 banks that have judgments against me..........LOL I almost would bet a couple of the banks don't even want the money as they received FDIC loss share money when they couldn't recover anything from me, so now they will have to return .85 cents on the dollar that they get from the trustee and I bet they will spend more in employee time and legal and accounting reviews than the amount they will actually keep

[LadyInTheRed]

Debts get paid in the order provided in 11 U.S. Code § 507 - Priorities

You just explained one reason why not all creditors file claims.