One of the most common questions that is asked by bankruptcy clients is “will I have to go to court?”.  Typically, the answer to this question is “no”; however, you will have to go to a “meeting of creditors” or a “341 Meeting” after your bankruptcy petition is filed. The meeting of creditors is a meeting conducted by the bankruptcy trustee, and is held in the court; which court you go to will depend on where you live.  The primary purpose of this meeting is to give the bankruptcy trustee the chance to ask you questions about your petition and have you swear, under oath, that all of the information you provided in your petition is complete and true.  Generally, the only people at this meeting will be you, your attorney, and the trustee.  While it is true that your creditors are able to come to this meeting to ask you questions, it is extremely rare that any show up. Many creditors find that coming to the meeting will be a waste of their time, especially the larger creditors like credit card companies. On the rare occasion that one of your creditors does show up, your attorney will ensure that they do not do or ask anything inappropriate.  This meeting is not a time for your creditors to grill you with questions.

When preparing for your meeting of creditors, there are certain things you should make sure to do. One of them is to make sure you are on time to your meeting. Many times, especially in larger areas, it may be hard to find parking near the court house. You will want to give yourself enough time to make it to your meeting accounting for how long it could take you to find a place to park. Additionally, if you have never been to the courthouse you need to be at before, you may want to account for how long it may take you to find where you need to go.  If you are late to your meeting of creditors, it is very likely that your meeting will be continued, or rescheduled.  If you are unable to come to your next meeting, or arrive late again, it is possible your case will be dismissed. In addition to arriving on time, you also want to make sure that you bring your social security card and picture i.d. with you, since you will need it for the meeting.

The setting of the meeting is in the court room with you and your attorney sitting across a table from the trustee.  The meeting is much less formal than a typical hearing, so you should dress neatly, but you can wear regular street clothing; suits and ties are not necessary.  Most of the time, the meetings take about ten minutes; however, you may have to wait for some time at the court house for your case to be called.

Once your case is called and the meeting begins, the trustee will ask you certain questions regarding the information you listed in your bankruptcy petition.  These questions can vary depending on your particular situation. A list of typically asked questions is listed below:

1. State your name & current address for the record

2. Please provide your picture ID and Social Security Card for review

3. Did you sign the petition, schedules, statements and related documents before you signed them?

4. Are you personally familiar with the information contained in the petition, schedules, statements and related documents? To the best of your knowledge, is the information contained in the petition, schedules, statements and related documents true and correct?

5. Are all of your assets identified on the schedules? Have you listed all of your creditors on the schedules?

6. Have you ever filed bankruptcy before?

7. What is the address of your current employer?

8. Is the copy of the tax return you provided a true copy of the most recent tax return you filed?

9. Do you have a domestic support obligation? To whom? Please provide the claimant’s address and telephone number, but do not state it on the record.

10. Have you read the bankruptcy information sheet provided by US Bankruptcy Trustee?

The trustee may ask you additional questions that are not listed above, but this will only be if he or she needs the additional information.  As an example, if you own a business, the trustee will likely ask you questions regarding the business, such as what types of assets it had and what your income was. Another example of this would be if you filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy; the trustee may ask you about a specific proposal you listed in your chapter 13 plan.  While it may feel like the trustee is asking you a lot of questions, he or she will only ask you questions that are applicable to your case.  Additionally, he or she most likely will not ask you any questions that you would not be able to answer. The trustee is not “out to get you”; he or she just wants to make sure that your bankruptcy petition was filled out accurately, and that you do not have any unlisted assets that could be sold off to help pay some of your creditors.  Something to keep in mind is that if the trustee asks you a question, try not to stress out about how to answer it; just answer the questions as accurately as possible, and you will have nothing to worry about.

While it can be very stressful to hear about having to appear for a meeting of creditors, it is truly nothing to worry about.  Many clients leave court surprised at how quick and easy the meeting was.