Bankruptcy Court - Meeting of Creditors

I spent a curious morning in Bankruptcy Court. Essentially this allows any creditors to come forth to voice any objection to your bankruptcy.

The proceedings clip along at a very fast pace. The Bankruptcy Trustee calls a name, the debtor and attorney sit at a table and answer any questions he has. Of course, each situation varies, so each set of questions varies.

First thing I noticed was that several attorneys were present, but their clients were not. Second I noticed that some debtors did not have an attorney.

A couple before me, with no attorney, had sold 160 acres for $500,000 to pay $175,000 to the IRS, and $300,000+ to the Farmer's Home Administration. They had no papers. And could not remember the exact figures. I think it might just be beneficial in such a case to hire an attorney.

Directly before me was a representative of a supermarket chain! There were two creditors present, and some confusion about who should have what information. The trustee re-scheduled the meeting for July.

As we were called and sat down, the trustee asked if there were any creditors present. And a man in the front row said yes. I had no idea who he was, or who he represented. Which made me feel a tad unnerved.

The first thing the trustee mentioned was that he was missing the bank statements for the last six months. The lawyer had called Monday, saying he had some, but not those for March - May. Which I dropped off at his office that morning. The lawyer indicated to the trustee they were in the mail.

Next, much to my surprise, the trustee asked about the comic book collection! This was the last thing I thought he would mention. Maybe, so many of the forms look alike that anything odd is a diversion. I said it was a collection that I'd started as a kid and kept for sentimental reasons.

(At the age of ten, I loaned my cousin issues #6 and #7 of "Uncle Scrooge." But then I decided I wanted them back. So I wrote my grandmother to see if she could get them. And within a couple of weeks they showed up in the mail. I don't remember exactly how she wrapped them. I just went back to glance at them, and she may have rolled then very tightly, then taped them and placed the address on one of the comics. I can just make out the faint remains of the address at the top of one of the pages.

Marketwise, one lacks a cover and the first few pages are crumbly. The other has a cover, but the condition is way to the left of well used.)

The next thing he asked, which was a standard query, was had I tranferred any property within the last year. Until that second, I'd not thought of it one way or the other. But, of course, I had. The transfer of property in Jackson to the manager/broker. And I thought I had the file on that, but in actuality, I had picked up the file for this house. So I could not remember the details. The lawyer indicated he would file an amendment.

(When I got home, I had to look at the files and try to figure out what happened. In effect in November, I agreed to turn over management and brokerage of the house to a third party. The loan was not re-financed, the broker stipulated they would make the monthly payments. They also were given the right to pay off the loan and re-sell the house as they saw fit.

What was fuzzier was the amount I received. When the broker checked on-line, he discovered that the payment for September or October was not listed. Since the mortgage company was in Florida, our theory was that it got lost in the confusion surrounding Katrina.

At first, he said, he would pay me $1,050 with the understanding I would pay the outstanding payment. But then we decided, it might more sense for him to make the payment, if there was another notice. Hence, I got $550. And indeed a couple of weeks later, the mortgage company called asking about the missing payment. They had the broker listed, but since the house was under my name in September, they called him.

I called the broker, and he must have made the payment, because I did not hear any more about it.

I'm glad I looked at this because about 30 minutes later the attorney called asking for details for the amendment.

It's certainly depressing to think that I literally gave the house away. But at the time, I was paying $500+ a month on an empty house, so I was happy to get anything.)

The trustee asked about tax returns which I indicated I'd received after filing. The lawyer warned me that depending on the amount, you may have to turn a similiar amount over to the court. I guess the amounts were too low because we glided onto something else.

The trustee then allowed the creditor to ask questions.

As you may remember when we filed, the list of creditors I had did not match the list of creditors available via the credit bureau. (I discovered a few days later that two or three of the credit card companies had been bought by someone else. Hence the name and address confusion.) Also the credit card statements listed the ID numbers one way; the credit bureau, another way. So the attorney listed any and all to make sure everone was covered. Which meant some creditors were listed two or three times. But the computer program used by the attorney added ALL the figures. So the total debt was greatly inflated.

I remember that this bothered me at the time, but I wanted to get the damn thing filed.

The creditor was from the Bankruptcy Court and wanted to know if the total debt was primarily household expenses. I quickly mentioned the inflation problem, which I don't think he understood.

My answer was affirmative that it did indeed for the most part represent household debt. I asked over what period. And he said the last three years. Well, I certain couldn't remember the status of every purchase over the last three years.

But he seemed satisfied. As my attorney, and I and the creditor walked out, he said they had to be on the look out for someone who would purchase thousands of dollars of equipment for re-sell, then send the money to a terrorist organization, then declare bankruptcy.

To be honest, I'd never thought of that.

(Sorta like I'd never thought of people buying an item using someone else's credit card, then return the item to another part of the store and demand cash. I actually has a little "friend" who did this. I really should have shot the little fucker. Of course, that went along with ripping out checks at random from my check book, then writting the checks to cash, forging my name, and trotting off to the bank. At this point, I kicked him out. Still should have shot the little darling.)

Anyway, all in all, it was not a bad experience. It certainly could have been worse. Remind me never to mention any collectibles I might have. Oh, I think I get to keep the tax refund checks.

I do notice that there is a 30-day deadline for filing an objection to any exemptions. I don't see a problem here, since everything is exempt.

I also notice another deadline: "Deadline to file a complaint objecting to discharge of the debtor or to determine dischargeability of certain debts: 8/7/06"

Looks like I may have to wait another two months before everything is finally settled.

Oh, what "lives of quiet desperation" we lead!

PAX!