{"id":93,"date":"2010-12-29T06:22:07","date_gmt":"2010-12-29T06:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/?p=93"},"modified":"2013-11-01T22:01:20","modified_gmt":"2013-11-01T22:01:20","slug":"what-is-the-meeting-of-creditors-when-filing-for-bankruptcy-protection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/2010\/12\/what-is-the-meeting-of-creditors-when-filing-for-bankruptcy-protection\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the Meeting of Creditors When Filing for Bankruptcy Protection?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kitty J. Lin, Attorney at Law<\/p>\n

One of the most frequently asked questions from our clients deal with the \u201cmeeting of creditors.\u201d\u00a0 Most clients want to know what it is and what to expect from this meeting.\u00a0 Every person or business that files for bankruptcy relief is required to attend a meeting of creditors.\u00a0 The meeting of creditors is sometimes called the \u201c341\u201d meeting because it is required under Section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code.\u00a0 This meeting is presided over by the bankruptcy trustee assigned to administer the bankruptcy estate.\u00a0 In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case in the Bay Area the meeting of the creditors will usually be scheduled 30-45 days after the petition for bankruptcy protection is filed by your bankruptcy lawyer<\/a> with the Court.\u00a0 In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy it depends upon which jurisdiction the case is filed in, but the meeting of creditors is usually scheduled around 45-60 days after the case is filed.<\/p>\n

The meeting of the creditors is the first opportunity for a creditor and the trustee to ask questions of the bankruptcy filer under oath and penalty of perjury.\u00a0 Contrary to its name, creditors rarely attend the meeting of the creditors to ask questions.\u00a0 In most bankruptcy cases there are no issues for creditors to investigate, so why take the time and expense to pay a bankruptcy lawyer<\/a> to ask questions?\u00a0 Creditors or their attorneys usually only show up at the meeting of creditors if they believe there are grounds to object to the discharge of the money they are owed.\u00a0 There are various grounds under which a creditor can object to the discharge of their debt, but most involve some sort of fraud or improper conduct by the bankruptcy filer prior to filing their petition for bankruptcy protection.\u00a0 A creditor is limited in the time they have to ask questions.\u00a0 The trustee will usually give a creditor around ten minutes to ask questions.<\/p>\n

The meeting of the creditors is not held in a courtroom or before the Bankruptcy Judge assigned to the case.\u00a0 The meeting of creditors is administered by the trustee assigned to the case.\u00a0 In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case there is a Bankruptcy Information Sheet that each bankruptcy filer must read and understand prior to the meeting.\u00a0 It is recommended that you arrive early so that your attorney can discuss your case with you and basically touch on many of the items discussed in this article.<\/p>\n

The trustee will call out the case number and the name of the bankruptcy filer.\u00a0 It is now time to step forward and complete the meeting of the creditors.\u00a0 The trustee will ask for your valid identification and proof of your social security number.\u00a0 If you do not have your social security card, a W-2 or 1099 will be acceptable.\u00a0 If you do not have these two things with you, the trustee will continue your meeting to another date until and give you another chance to have both forms of identification.<\/p>\n

Most people are nervous prior to the meeting of creditors, but there usually is no need to be.\u00a0 YOU ALREADY KNOW ALL OF THE ANSWERS.\u00a0 Just tell the truth.\u00a0 Also, the only people in the room are other bankruptcy filers and their attorneys doing exactly the same thing you are doing.\u00a0 After you show your identification to the trustee, the trustee will then ask you 2 to 5 minutes worth of \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d questions with some specific questions about your case.\u00a0 Some of the more general questions they ask are, \u201cDid you review the petition before signing it? Did you personally sign the petition?\u00a0 Is everything true and correct? Did you list all of your assets and all of your debts? Are there any errors or omissions on the petition?\u00a0 Are you aware that if you receive an inheritance within 180 days of filing your bankruptcy petition, you are obligated to tell your attorney? Have you ever filed bankruptcy before?\u201d After the trustee finishes asking questions, the trustee will then ask if there are any creditors present, if not, the meeting is concluded and you are done.\u00a0 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The meeting of creditors give creditors the opportunity to ask questions of the bankruptcy filer under penalty perjury about their financial condition or ability to pay their debts. The meeting of the creditors is required by section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code. Most meeting of the creditors are not attended by any creditors though. Few personal bankruptcy cases under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 have issues that are worth exploring by a creditor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101,"href":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93\/revisions\/101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westcoastbk.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}