The Bankruptcy Court Date Per Chicago Bankruptcy Attorney David Sieg...

Whether you are filing a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case in Chicago, you will have to go to at least one court date known as a 341 Meeting of Creditors.  The 341 Meeting of Creditors is a meeting where the trustee will swear you when, examine your photo ID and your Social Security card and ask you a series of yes/no questions under oath.  The entire meeting should take anywhere from 5 to 10 min. and you should not be thrown by any of the types of questions that are being asked of you.  The trustee is going to basically verify the information contained in your petition which you have already signed and have already provided such information to your attorney.  Provided you gave accurate information to your attorney in the first instance, you will not have a problem answering the trustee’s questions at the Meeting of Creditors.

Your attorney will also be with you at that meeting so if you have any questions or if you don’t understand something that the trustee is asking you, then you should turn to your attorney for clarification.  The role of the attorney at the meeting is relatively simple.  The attorney is going to basically guide you through the process, assist you in answering questions if you have any questions; but basically the trustee is doing the examination of you, the debtor.  The trustee is going to ask if you have signed the documents under oath.  The trustee is going to ask if you listed all your assets, all of your liabilities and if you honestly answered the statement of financial affairs.  The trustee might ask you about your house.  The trustee might ask you about your car.

The trustee will definitely scrutinize your budget and make sure that you don’t have available funds to pay for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case.  If you are showing a negative amount per month or a break even amount per month, then the trustee will be satisfied that you belong in a Chapter 7.  In 99% of Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases, the trustee makes a finding of no assets.  A finding of no assets means that there is no nonexempt property that can be taken and sold to pay your creditors a pro rata care.  Basically Chapter 7 is for people who do not have significant assets or if they do have assets, those assets fall within the state exemption or federal exemption that allows you to keep property while getting your fresh start.  At the end of the 341 Meeting of Creditors, you will wait an additional two months to receive your discharge.

The Meeting of Creditors is basically what people refer to as the court date even though it doesn’t appear in court in front of a judge.  In the state of Illinois, the 341 meetings are heard basically in a conference room with a trustee, a tape recorder, the debtor and the debtor’s attorney.  Creditors do have an opportunity to appear but in most cases, creditors do not bother.  Creditors will rely on the Chapter 7 trustee to make a determination as to whether or not there are any assets to be administered.  In most Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases, creditors do not appear.  They simply rely upon the Chapter 7 trustee to do his or her job.