341 meeting today!

[kwalla]

What is the name of your state? New York

Just wanted to let you know that my 341 meeting is scheduled for this afternoon. I wanted to thank everyone for sharing their knowledge and expertise with me.

Any tips I should know? My approach was just to answer honestly and succinctly.

If you want, I will post what questions were asked and general feedback of the meeting.

Thanks!

 

[Ladynred]

Your plan is spot-on - be honest and direct and don't hesitate on any answers. Just remember, you'll be sworn in - 'the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God' !! LOL

Please, post back when you're done. We'd all like a little insight as to what's asked and what the 'environment' is like these days.

 

[nervousnellie]

We had our 341 meeting, too. Here are some of the details for all of those inquiring minds out there:

The dockets posted were posted with each case and chapter listed. Chapter 13 dockets showed what payback percentage the debtor would be paying. I was suprised to see how many people were on a 100% payback plan.

Another thing I found surprising was how many elderly people were there. It was a sad thing to see.

There were six cases per thirty minutes scheduled. The trustee asked each debtor different questions based on their petition. I must admit I was impressed with how the trustee was able to focus so closely on every individual petition.

Each debtor was required to show two forms of ID. The trustee made a note if a debtor's current address was different than the one on their driver's license.

Some of the same questions were asked each time:
State your name and address.
Have you read the paper that tells about the consequences of filing bankruptcy? (I forget what that is called.)
Did you read and sign your petition?
Has anything changed since you filed your petition?
Have you transferred any property in the last 12 months?
When was the last time you used a credit card?
Have you paid any one creditor a thousand dollars or more in the last four months?

We own a home. The trustee asked us how we obtained the value of the house. I told her we initially used our county tax assessment. The trustee did not appear to care for this answer. She didn't say anything. It was more the look she gave me.

I explained that we had our home appraised after we filed. I gave her a copy of the appraisal. She said something like, "Well, I guess that takes care of that", and smiled.

We were asked about the amount we spend monthly on home maintenance. We explained that our house is old, with bad wiring and plumbing. Lucky for us, some of the major repairs the house needs are listed in the appraisal.

Advice I would give:
Make sure your petition is filled out accurately. Leave nothing off and nothing to chance.

Tell the truth.

Get your house appraised before you file, or before your 341 hearing. We weren't going to have the house appraised because our lawyer told us an appraisal wasn't necessary. It turned out to be money very well spent. The peace of mind we received was worth every penny.

 

[HomeGuru]

Don't worry, be happy.

 

[HISPRN]

341 MEETING

I went to my 341 meeting on Friday, August 1st and I was amazed of how easy it was the trustee asked only about 5-6 questions, I answered no to all of then and the meeting was over, It took about a whole 4minutes.

 

[kwalla]

Meeting completed yesterday afternoon.

Was called up within 5 minutes of entering the courtroom.

Asked to state name, confirm signature on petition, ownership of real estate, asked if I wanted to retain real estate, if I had a boat/jet-ski, if anyone had died leaving me an inheritance.

He reminded me that if anyone should die and I was entitled to an inheritance within 180 of this date, that I would need to notify him.

He wished me good luck and I was gone.

Environment was civil and the best possible experience for such a negative subject.

(He could tell I was nervous, when he asked me to raise my right hand, I left my hand up for the first few questions!) I just kept reminding myself to be honest and brief. I was so focused that I forgot to lower my hand after the oath!) He smiled and reminded me that my hand does not need to be held up during the entire interview..lol)

Entire event took less than 15 minutes. I would reccommend asking your lawyer to find out where your name is on the list, this helps so you don't have to sit in there any longer than you need to. In my case, I was the second to the last person listed on the first hour of court. So I was able to get there 1/2 hour into the proceedings.

 

[dave7250]

Were you able to hear any other cases?

 

[nervousnellie]

We had the opportunity to hear a few cases before it was our turn. Most of the questions asked by the trustee were the same from case to case. The trustee used the indivdual information in each filer's petition to customize a few extra questions based on the filer's situation.