Well, the worse part is over! We went to the 341 meeting of creditors today. It pretty much was just like everyone described it would be. We waited and waited for the day to come and it was over in minutes.
My husband asked me yesterday if I was nervous and I said no. I really wasn’t but I was so anxious for today to come already. I wore myself out yesterday thinking about all of this on top of having a rough day at work-I fell asleep right when I got home. That was a first for me. I woke up today even more anxious and could not calm down. I know it is natural to be nervous about this kind of stuff but there really was no reason to be. I actually had to change my clothes before we left to court because I was just sweating so much!
So we get to the courthouse and go up to our court room. I am thinking it is going to be some stuffy court room with people in suits and uncomfortable. Not at all. We went to go inside the room and seen our attorney at the door. He said they were running behind so we could hang out outside and enjoy the fresh air or come in and sit. I looked in and the room was packed with rows of chairs lined up and a big long table with the trustee sitting at the end with her laptop. We sat outside for a while until the room cleared a little. I thought to myself-oh gosh everyone can hear each others business! That sucks! But then my husband and I looked at each other and said-we are all here for the same reason anyway. Screw it.
So we sat outside and our attorney came out and went over our file really quickly with us. Then we went inside with him. He had at least 5 other cases going on today along with ours. I am glad we chose his office though. After listening in to many of these cases today-we seen exactly what could go wrong if things aren’t done correctly and if your attorney is not on top of things. There were a few cases that were rescheduled because of such stupid minor things. Luckily, ours was not one of them. I really want to do a post on a few of the cases I listened in to-that will be tomorrow. Maybe someone will learn from a few of these peoples mistakes. My gosh!
For the most part though, I heard many stories and the majority of the people filing were losing their homes or lost their jobs. Some for medical reasons. There were young people there, middle aged people there-there was even an elderly couple there. They were doing it to try and keep their house. It was sad. People from all walks of life were there. There were also a few people in there trying to screw the system too. The trustee could tell, everyone in the room could tell. We all heard it. Those people needless to say, wont be getting their BK discharge paper anytime soon.
When it was our turn, we were not even nervous after hearing other peoples stories. The trustee sat at one side of the table reading our info on her laptop, the court reporter next to her, our attorney next to her and then my husband and I on the opposite end. No biggie. I think it took maybe 3 minutes-if that. We were asked to state our full names and asked basic questions like:
Do we still live at the same address that we lived at the date we filed?
Do we own any property?
Have we bought or sold any property in the last 5 years?
Are we waiting on any money from a lawsuit?
Did we receive our income tax return?
Do we still have a credit card we can use?
Are the payments current and do we have insurance on the car we are reaffirming?
She then asked if there were any creditors present. No creditors showed up for our case or for anyone else that was there while we were in the room.
We spoke briefly and then all we heard was-”I have no further questions-good luck to you guys”. Our attorney shook our hands and said that was it. He then walked us out. We should get our paperwork to sign to keep the car and the discharge paper by May. Yup, that’s it.
I have so much more to write but honestly, I am so drained right now. I am just so happy this is all done and over with. Debt is no longer a black cloud hanging over our heads. Technically, we are not done but the worst is over and now we wait for our discharge. That will make it official. In the meantime, I am now off to take a nice long bath and relax the rest of the night. I just had to post how the day went for anyone who may be wondering how it all goes down. It was not bad-not bad at all.
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Tags: 341 meeting of creditors, Bankruptcy, bankruptcy lawyer, Credit card, Income tax
Wow I had no clue what went on at those meetings. Thanks for posting this! I am sure that it was very stressful for you especially after waiting this long. Very interesting actually to know what goes on there. And sad -yes very sad – but……. the old story is “we have to do what we have to do to survive”.
I am so glad it is finally over for you -now look to a new future without debt!!
Thank you! If you read about how BK works and the 341 meeting-everyone says the same thing-you are in and out in minutes. It is very true. I would also say it was kind of informal. I was so worried about under-dressing/over-dressing and people were there in jeans and T-shirts. It was not your typical “court room setting”-that’s for sure.
It was really not a big deal at all for the people that truly need to file and were not trying to hide anything. For the ones that were trying to scam (hiding assets, giving false #’s)-they were called out right away. Not only did they look ridiculous, so did a few of their attorneys. Some of the stuff I heard in there-WOW. Our cases are cake compared to the majority. Even mine at what-over $154k!
Wow – well I have to admit I did hear it was a few minutes and it was over. But I guess I am a bit nervous about it – who wouldn’t be? I had no idea there was a court reporter there – lol -oh well, my daughter has promised to go with me and she knows a lot of judges. That should put me more at ease. I am a bit concerned about the trustee. Having read that they try and recoup $ for the creditors, I guess that is there job and how they get paid aside from a set fee. But if you knew my story I really do not have much. I moved in with my daughter last year because I could not afford my place anymore (more to it but that is about the gist of it). I had signed with a realtor to rent it out and within two weeks time I could not breathe. Literally was gasping for breath. After talking to a few friends I realized I was deathly “allergic” to her cats. Yes she has always had cats (not my favorite animal) but now had ragdolls – and trust me, it was awful. So the long and short of it is that I moved back (thank God my realtor understood) and had NOTHING! Not a fork, not a cup, NOTHING! So in two weeks time, I love EVERYTHING! I bought an aerobed and slept on that for 6 months and slowly began getting my life back in order. Needless to say it was a NIGHTMARE. I still do not have a lot of furniture – whatever I do have was given to me or I brought back from my daughter’s house and had to had it cleaned etc. I really hate even talking about it now.
Things were very strained between my daughter and myself for a very long time but thankfully they are better now. And also my ex is now living with her – another long sad story!
So hopefully things will get better for me also – and I sure have loved being able to read your blog and I have gained a lot of insight and strength from it! Now let’s both have a GREAT DAY!!
Lois,
Don’t worry. Believe me when I tell you-we have plenty of “long sad stories”. If I wrote about even half of why we got into the debt mess we did-people would either question our sanity or think they are reading a script from a really bad reality show!lol No kidding-but we made it through and it made us a heck of a lot stronger!
All that matters is you got out of it and it has made you stronger. You definitely have your head on your shoulders and I wish you only the best.
Yes, it is only natural to be nervous about court. You know I was. It was over in minutes. I read the same thing about the trustees trying to recoup $$$ which made me even more nervous. I can tell you that what I saw sitting in that room was definitely not a trustee doing that. Everyone that walked up except for the “scammers” were in and out with very basic and simple questions and will be getting their discharge paper.
They know who is just out to screw the system-if you are not then you have nothing to worry about.And I know you are not. Honestly, I was rather shocked at how smoothly everything was going there. You will be fine and it will be nice to have your daughter there for support.
One last thing-I should have said the court reporter was more of like-an assistant. She is there with a tape recorder (yes it is recorded), and takes a look at your drivers license and social security card. She also is there to assist the trustee and take any notes-NO BIGGIE AT ALL!
It is definitely not a court room feeling-that’s for sure.
Thanks for more explanations – it really does help me and I am sure others who read this.
I know we all have stories and sad ones and we are not alone. But I guess at times we feel alone – guess that is normal too.
It is good to hear what the meeting is like – at least we have some clue before we get there.
Glad to hear that it really is a simple process (after all the struggling). Sometimes I can’t even believe my life has come to this but then again it has I have to accept it. It is better than struggling every day and getting nowhere.
Thanks again – really enjoy hearing your journey!!
Oh yes, I could not agree with you more. It helps to talk to other people in your situation. Sometimes people that haven’t gone through this-just don’t understand. I find this blog to be my outlet and talking about all this stuff really got me through it all.
If you ever need to ask me anything or just want to let it all out-please leave me a comment here or email me anytime at girlndebt (at) yahoo.com (Sorry-have to write it out like that or else I get LOADS of DEBT SPAM).
You will always have someone to talk to about this stuff!
Again thanks so much – I cannot tell you how much you and this blog have helped me. Truly a blessing at a time like this!!! Not a problem about the address. Trust me understand!!!
Well it’s Friday – yea!!!