Okay, so they had a set of general questions that they asked everybody. Have you filed for bankruptcy within the past 'x' amount of years? Do you own any collectibles or firearms? Have you made any transfers to family/friends within the past months/year? That kind of thing. And then (I presume by the information the trustee learns about your situation by looking at statements, filing info provided by you on the paperwork) they ask you a few specific questions about your case. For me, I had to file as a 2 person household (I live with my girlfriend) but I was the only one filing bankruptcy. She has her own loans, obligations, etc that I'm not involved with. However, she gives me about $1,000 month for her share of the household expenses (rent, utilities, food, etc). That's cash that hits my account every month and then leaves shortly thereafter because it just goes towards the household bills. I still had to declare it on my bankruptcy paperwork though. I was very transparent about the situation and my attorney filed things perfectly on that matter so that it was never an issue for the trustee.
Somebody else on the line got grilled about their case as to why $3,500 went missing from their account just before they filed. It was their tax refund. They gave all the money to their (adult) kids I guess. The trustee asked them why they answered 'no' when he asked the general question he asked everybody previously - did you make any transfers to family/friends? Then the person admitted they've sent thousands of dollars to their kids over the past several months/years. Yikes. Would not have wanted to be in that situation. Anyway, that questioning was separate to their case.... after the general questions for them, the trustee went after them for those discrepancies with their case.
I wouldn't stress too much about this. As mentioned above, 99.9% of the time it goes very smoothly! If you're truly honest about your situation and you haven't committed bankruptcy fraud - and you have a competent and organized attorney that gets your filed paperwork perfect (as any good attorney will) - you'll be just fine. I have a feeling that the party I just mentioned above didn't have an attorney.....
EDIT - The trustee is very professional. They don't get up there and say hey why did you have $1,000 on your Kohl's card. Why didn't you manage your finances better. Even creditors that may show up (and they likely won't) can't sit there and humiliate you. The one creditor that showed up for one case on the line mainly wanted to know if the debtor was working, etc.
Bring on the DC!!!!!!!!!!
