Section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code requires Chapter 7 trustees to conduct and for Chapter 7 debtors to attend a meeting of creditors. The code requires that a meeting of creditors must be conducted within a reasonable time from filing the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. The purpose of the meeting of creditors is two-fold. First, it is to give the Chapter 7 trustee a chance to verify that the information contained in debtor’s schedules is true, correct, and complete. Second, the purpose of the meeting is to give creditors a chance to appear and ask debtors questions about debtor’s assets and debts and financial circumstances.
In the vast majority of cases, no creditors appear at the 341 meeting. The meetings take place with debtor, debtor’s counsel, and the trustee- with no one else present. Debtor’s attendance is required by Section 341 and Section 521 of the Bankruptcy Code. Failure to attend the 341 meeting would be grounds to have your Chapter 7 Bankruptcy case dismissed without the benefit of a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy discharge.
The meetings usually are scheduled so that there are 3-5 cases each half hour and each case may take between 5-10 minutes. On rare occasions, with debtor’s whose financial circumstances are more complicated, the meeting can last an hour or longer. In other rare occasions, trustee might request a follow up 341 meeting be held if not all the questions have yet been asked and answered by trustee and debtor. Occasionally, trustees will leave a 341 meeting open and not conclude the meeting because they are waiting on a document to come in before concluding the meeting.
CONCLUSION
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