The meeting of creditors is also known as the section 341
meeting (section 341 refers to a particular section in the bankruptcy
code). The meeting of creditors gives
the trustee and the debtor's creditors an opportunity to interview the debtor
and examine the debtor's petition, statements and schedules initially filed
with the court. Although, this meeting
is called "the meeting of creditors," creditors very rarely show up
at these meetings. The trustee does not
have the power to resolve disputes between creditors and debtors, this
authority is left up to the bankruptcy judges.
If a creditor does show up, it is typically to aid in the process of
discovery. The bankruptcy judge is not
allowed to attend the meeting of creditors, so that he or she is not biased by
any information presented at this meeting.
Typically
your meeting of creditors will consist of you, your attorney and your trustee. Although there will be other debtors on the
docket, you will meet with your trustee individually. At the beginning of the meeting the trustee
will inform all of the debtors about the consequences of receiving a discharge
under Chapter 7. This will be done
either verbally or in writing. There are
a few things you will need to provide the trustee before the meeting of
creditors. These documents include: 60
days worth of pay stubs, your most recently filed tax returns, copies of bank
statements reflecting the amount in your account on the date that the petition
was filed, or an affidavit stating that said documents do not exist. On the day of the meeting of creditors, you
will have to provide the trustee with proof of your social security number and
a government issued picture id. It is
preferable that you bring your social security card and your driver's license.
Some
common questions trustees will ask include:
-Did you sign the petition, schedules, statements and
related documents and is the signature your own?
-Did you read the petition, schedules, statements and
related documents before signing them?
-Are all of your assets identified on the schedules?
-Have you listed all of you creditors on the schedules?
-Have you ever filed bankruptcy before?
-What is the address of your current employer?
-Do you have a domestic support obligation?
The
actual meeting with the trustee does not take very long at all, and as long as
you are honest with your attorney and your trustee you have nothing to worry about!
I think that's around the part my bankruptcy attorney long island really got into those nitty gritty debates. There were so many loopholes and clauses that I lost track of the discussion.
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ReplyDelete