As we thought about filing for bankruptcy, our hope has been that our lender will see that we are filing and they're going to lose money on us, and offer us a settlement instead. We filed 4.5 weeks ago at this point, and still haven't heard anything. Our hearing is on Monday, so only two business days left. I'm not entirely sure if we can withdraw our bankruptcy petition after our hearing. While I'm perfectly willing to file bankruptcy to get us out of this mess, I'd rather not if we don't have to. We'll see.
So the hearing on Monday is referred to as a 341 hearing, which, in Virginia, takes place 30-45 days after you file for bankruptcy. (Throughout this blog, I will refer to my experiences in VA; I'm not sure how much of what I experience is consistent throughout the country.) These hearings are scheduled in hour time blocks, with multiple people assigned to each block. You get about five minutes with the judge, during which time he/she asks you questions regarding your filing. Such as, Did you tell the truth? Do you have any changes to your filing? Do you understand the consequences of filing?, etc. Nothing too hard, according to our lawyer, but I'm still kind of nervous about it. We followed the laws, but I'm still afraid I'm going to say the wrong thing. And this is the other weird thing - you're not supposed to dress up. You're supposed to go looking neat and clean, but very simple clothes. You don't wan to project yourself as someone with money, because that's not exactly the image of a bankrupt person, now is it? This won't be hard for me - I don't typically dress very fancy anyway - but it's going to be weird going to a formal appointment and not dressing up.
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You can file bankruptcy if you think that it is your last resort to rebuild your finance. I'm sure nobody is comfortable doing it due to its negative connotation. But it's really not that bad, you don't have to feel guilty about it as it is an element of our legal system created to protect honest consumers like you. It’s been years since you posted this, I hope that you are doing much better now. :)
ReplyDeleteJaden Allred