Upon filing a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy petition with the U.S. Federal Court, your case will be assigned by the Court to a specific Trustee that will oversee, and administer your case. Once a Trustee is assigned to your case, a Creditor Meeting under Section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code will be scheduled by the clerk of the court. The clerk will then send a notice of the time and place of this meeting to you and all your creditors.
You must appear at this meeting and answer questions from the Trustee about your petition.
Your creditors do not usually attend this meeting. The Trustee will ask you a series of questions related to your bankruptcy petition, schedules and relate documents that were filed with the court. This meeting is fairly quick. Your attorney will attend this meeting with you but cannot respond to the questions for you. You will answer these questions under oath, so it is imperative that you are honest.
Once the 341 Meeting is underway, some of the questions asked may include the following:
- Did you read and sign all the documents related to your case?
- Is all the information in these documents true and correct?
- Are all your creditors listed, including friends or relatives to whom you owe money?
- What is your reason for filing for bankruptcy?
- Are all your assets listed on your petition, including any and all bank accounts of any kind, real property in any country, and any and all personal property (jewelry, art, collectibles, vehicles, etc.)?
- Do you have any mortgages or other real estate interests?
- Have you ever filed Bankruptcy before?
- What is your job?
- Are you paid hourly or are you salaried, and what is this amount?
b. How often are you paid? - Do you have any alimony or child support obligations?
- Are you paid hourly or are you salaried, and what is this amount?
- Do you own any businesses?
- Are you the beneficiary of or the trustee of any trust?
- Are you going to receive any inheritance upon someone’s death?
- Are you entitled to the life insurance proceeds of anyone?
- Do you have any ongoing lawsuits against someone else?
The specific questions will generally vary by jurisdiction. Your attorney will go over all of the specifics with you prior to your hearing. When scheduled a 341 meeting, it is best to have an experienced bankruptcy attorney walk you through the process and represent you on the day of your meeting. Call attorney Matthew Cherney to schedule a consultation today.