Comments on: Section 341 Bankruptcy Meeting: Wow, That Was Awkward

By: K

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:16:58 +0000

Just finished my 341 meeting this morning with my lawyer in Santa Ana, CA.

Location & Parking:
Cross-street Main St. and 4th St.; There is a public parking across the Courthouse. .50 cents for the each 30 minutes for the first hour, and $1.00 thereafter for each hour. So bring CASH, as it is only a cash only public parking.

Courthouse Security Entry Checkpoint:
When you enter the Courthouse, be prepared to have your photo ID out and take all your belongings in the bin along with your shoes and pass through the security door (whatever you call that thing). FYI – I just brought my ID, SSN, documents that were asked to be brought in an envelope, and my car keys. I decided to leave my cell phone in the car in case they didn’t allow it (I didn’t see any sign that it was not allowed).

Courthouse Elevator and the Meeting Room:
Once you’re done with checkpoint, head straight and take the elevator to the 3rd floor. The BK 341 Meeting I had was located at 3110 which is next to the cafe (when you exit the elevator turn right, then turn left you’ll see the sign “CAFE”, it’s the door on the left side prior to entering the cafe).

Briefing with my Lawyer:
So, I got to the courthouse at 8:10 as timestamped on my parking stub, I arrived on the 3rd floor roughly 8:20. I met with my lawyer at the cafe and went over my file and briefed me on what I should expect and what questions they may ask and how to answer them. He also asked me to read a green paper, which talks about BK and it was something that was required to do so. Short and sweet no extra toppings. If you are asked a Yes or No, answer with a yes or no, don’t elaborate. So, we sat and relaxed. I think it was a great idea to do. I was very relaxed as coming in early and my lawyer was happy to see me early as he noted most are late and there is no time for briefing. So early is stress free for both parties and you get quality time to talk to your lawyer.

9:00 341 Meeting:
So, I entered the meeting room with my lawyer, we sat on the side in the front. We started about 9:05 and the BK Trustee made his introduction and asked that you have your photo ID and your SSN ready when you are called. The first two where called, and there were no shows yet, then it was ME at 9:10 a.m. By the way, the room is filled with people who are also filing BK. Some had lawyers or advisors, others were on their own.

9:10 The BK Trustee, My lawyer and ME:
So, we came up, I gave him my ID and SSN, my lawyer introduced himself and I was sworn. Then asked to state my address, if I have read the green paper (the one the lawyer asked me to read in the cafe), asked if everything was true and correct, if there were any corrections on the file, if I will be receiving tax refund for 2009, and if all assets were listed. So, I got the Y and N questions. After that, I was done. Make sure you get your photo ID and SSN back, they hang on to it while they interview you.

9:13 Exiting the Meeting room:
My lawyer talked to me about what’s next. Final papers will be about 2-3 months. Also, he mentioned that I got pretty lucky with the BK Trustee. He said that if anything arises, he’ll give me a call, but his office manager will call me to follow-up as well (what a good customer service).

9:15 Public Parking:
I paid $2.00 – it was one hour and 6 minutes. So, .50 cents for each 1/2 hour on the first hour and $1.00 thereafter. So, bring $5.00 just in case.

Other comments and tips:
Definitely be there EARLY, to stay relaxed. Take time to ask your lawyer questions prior to the meeting. Nothing wrong with over preparing for questions you think they may ask. Don’t bring your purse, just bring the need, photo ID, $5.00 cash, SSN, whatever your lawyer request you to bring, and a debit card. I wore jeans, boots, a nice blouse and a sweater, and wore make up.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, what a relief! I’m so glad all went well. My horoscope this morning said: “Well, who’s having a really good day, anyway? It looks like it’s you. So enjoy it!”

I am enjoying it. I hope this helps!

By: Curious

Curious — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:00:02 +0000

Do Ch 7 Trustees do routine DMV record searchs as part of their investigation? If so, I need to clean up some inaccurate DMV records. anyone with experience as to the their normal investigation can help with an answer.

By: Sparkey

Sparkey — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 02:18:47 +0000

I could not believe that I needed to file for bancputcy. I fell sick back in Feb. and was not able to go back to work til almost April , I was really hurting. I only work about 25 hours a week and my usband works 1 full time job and 1 part time job. I have been so upset that I needed to do this. I would say this would never happen to be, but it did. I am so scared. I just want to put all behind me. I finally decided to go to my employer and tell them I need more hours. I just hop that I can make it thew all this. I am also hoping that this will be a better year for my famly.

By: jeanie

jeanie — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:43:24 +0000

I too was overly optimistic and thought if I just worked hard enough, I’d be ok. Unfortunately, that’s not always true. Sometimes things are beyond your control. For example, my ex-husband of 13 years became addicted to coke – he took the bills out of the mail before I got home from work, was careful to make dinner and serve potent martinis and when I went to bed, he went out looking for crack … My first clue was when I saw that there were 2 BP gas station charges on my card on the same day. He actually had the gall to take my credit cards at night and gas up his tank so he could drive to NYC and score. Imagine: a tall surfer-lookin’ dude playing country music in his pick-up truck at midnight while driving to Harlem 2 hours downstate.

Anyway, I thought I could change him – I thought I was duty-bound by vows to do so. So, I found another job in another state, the company paid for our relocation, I forgave hubby his weaknesses, etc., and then – horribly – found him doing the exact same thing. Stupid. $30K in debt, thank you very much.

Sometimes you just have to give up and say, “I made a mistake” and “can I start over?!”

I was so humiliated and ashamed about (1) being an idiot for standing by him and (2) filing for bankruptcy. I put it off as long as I could – I went through all of my savings when I got laid off – I tried suicide (overdose) thinking my new hubby didn’t deserve all this baggage.

I learned something from that last experience – life IS precious. Get over the shame and the guilt and get a good lawyer – and just keep thinking – “these are all just pieces of paper”.

For some reason, when 9/11 happened I remember seeing all those pieces of paper lying about the streets and falling in shredded pieces from the sky. This process is just filing pieces of paper. Put your ego on hold and do it. YOU are worth more than just that confetti.

Oops, heading downtown for my 341. Thanks for the blog. It helps. J

By: Pete

Pete — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:01:34 +0000

You don’t have an attorney to answer these simple questions? Lordy, aint you in a world of hurt.

By: lynn

lynn — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 03:53:48 +0000

am getting ready to go to the chapter 7- 341 trustee meeting in 10 days. I received a letter from the trustees office that i have a scheduled phone conversation with the trustee on a set date, before the meeting. I am scared to death that i may say something wrong, what is this all about.
Also i have since my petition was filed rcvd a check from where i retired from in january for leave hours never used. Is this something i need to address with the trustee? Also my husband has 3 cashiers checks for another apt where he is at for health purposes to move me up where he is working after our 341 meeting. Does the trustee need to know about this also?
I heard somewhere if you do no disclose any monies you may have that you may be arrested on the spot for fraud.
Like i said, if there is anyone with some answers for me please help. And can someone tell me why im having a phone conversation 1 week before our 341 meeting?
Thanks.

By: Missouri

Missouri — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 23:59:20 +0000

Hi – I really appreciated reading everyone’s comments above. My husband and I are in the process of Ch 7 filing, and our hearing is scheduled for July 31. Bankruptcy is somewhere I had hoped never to be – I, too, thought that with my work ethic I could get where we needed to go. My husband has the same work ethic and drive, but a job is the key factor here – he is continuing to search for consistent full-time employment for going on 7 months now.
Although probably an odd question, is there any such things as “bankruptcy support groups”? I ask because I am having a very hard time coming to terms with the fact that this is the step we had to take and how to get past this. I figure that hanging on to the guilt and shame will only hold me back from getting to the right place going forward, so it would be nice to be able to talk through this with others who are like-minded and ready for the right future. We are following Dave Ramsey’s process – we are “snowballing” our student debt and car payments, create a budget every month to “tell our money where to go”, and are living as frugally as possible. (It is kind of fun to try to see how far you can get $50 on groceries – lots of creative meals!)
Anyway, thanks for reading, and I appreciate any suggestions or recommendations.

By: seattle

seattle — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:56:44 +0000

What if your husband filed bankruptcy before you were married back in 1990 – you didn’t tell your attorney he had filed before, becuase you thought you didn’t have to disclose that since it was so many years ago. Now, at our 341 meeting, and we are asked if you’ve ever filed before???? WHAT DO WE SAY?

By: chicago

chicago — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:26:32 +0000

I am in the middle of taking up my free evaluations with different lawyers and trying to get more info on the whole process. I may not need to go through with it but there is a chance that I wil be laidoff in 3 weeks. If that happens, there is no way I will be able to keep up with and payoff what i owe, unfortunately. I already know I will lose my home, I am in the middle of preparing for that as best as anyone can, basically packing things away and getting things in order as best i can. throwing away what’s not needed, etc… I figure, if it does turn out that i will not have to go through with this, atleast the house will be cleaner and the papers I have better organized.

Anyway, I wish everyone luck and enjoy reading up on how everyone is doing. it really does help.

I will keep you all posted.

By: ann

ann — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 05:18:17 +0000

I just had my creditor meeting today. I was terrified! I’ll get to the specifics in a minute. However, the thing that helped me most was: I THOUGHT the trustee was going to basicly decide then and there if your bankruptcy would be approved or not. That is NOT the case. My attorney told me that is a common mis-conception and NOT the case. The trustee is just looking for money or other “hidden” assets. If you don’t have any, you’re fine. Now for the PROBLEM. Actually, it was o.k. But, what happened was: The trustee was 2 hours behind and my attorney had to leave! He left me with another attornye – absolutely ZILCH help! Didn’t even say one word. Anyway, when I got up there, the trustee did not have most of the docs he needed! I don’t know what happened because I sent them to my attorney. BUT, LUCKILY I brought everything with me and had hard copies. I offered them up to him and allowed him to keep them. I believe that “saved” me. Because, at first I was going to have to come back for a 2nd hearing. However, he decided I did not have to do that because “it wasn’t really my fault or something I needed to take care of…” Whew! However, something I learned….I signed docs at the end of hte day before I got my direct deposti. I believe it was actually “filed” the next day. So, when he looked at my bank statment, there was a $2000 discrepency! Thus, he said I did not have to come back but this WAS an asset case for the $2000. YUCK! My attorney thinks it is a paperwork issue and will be fine. He had me sign somehting this evening and is faxing it to the trustee. I just hope it is all done! VERY emotional and stressful! But, all in all…o.k. A note or two…make SURE you bring ALL paperwork JUST IN CASE and make sure you do not file ANY time near your payday! I “hope” mine is all done now….I still don’t really understand what happens next. Keep me posted if this kind of thing happened to anyone else!