Your 341 Meeting of Creditors: What to Expect
About 30 days after I file your bankruptcy petition, you’ll attend your 341 Meeting of Creditors. The “341” refers to the section of the Bankruptcy Code that requires it. In the Eastern District of Missouri, these meetings are held by Zoom. The trustee will put you under oath and ask you a series of questions, and your creditors are invited to question you too, though they rarely show up at all. If a husband and wife filed a joint petition, both of you must attend.
These questions aren’t designed to fool or trick you, and they aren’t adversarial. Most of them were already answered in your petition. They simply confirm your assets, debts, and income, and make sure everything in your petition is correct. In most cases the questioning lasts only a few minutes. And you won’t be alone: I attend the 341 meeting with you. (Wondering whether you’ll see a judge? Usually not. See Do I Have to Go Before a Judge If I File Bankruptcy?)
Before the Meeting: Documents the Trustee Needs
Before your 341 meeting, we’ll need to get these to the trustee. They’re often called “4002 documents,” after the bankruptcy rule that requires them, and they need to be in my office well ahead of the meeting:
- Proof of income for the 60 days before filing
- Your most recently filed tax return
- Your most recent paystub after filing, including income from all sources such as pensions, Social Security, and unemployment (see Providing Your Most Recent Paystubs to the Trustee)
- Statements for all of your bank, investment, mutual fund, and brokerage accounts showing the balance on the date of filing (see Bank Statements for Your Chapter 7 Trustee if you bank online or through an app)
It’s important to cooperate with the trustee and provide any financial records or documents the trustee asks for. Slow paperwork is one of the most common reasons a case gets held up.
Review Your Petition
The trustee may ask you questions about anything in your petition. That’s why you’ll want to review it thoroughly before you sign it, and again before the 341 meeting to refresh your memory. If you notice anything that needs to be corrected, let me know as soon as possible.
What to Have Ready on Camera
First, the trustee will verify your identity. You’ll show an original photo ID and proof of your full Social Security number on camera, usually your driver’s license and Social Security card. If you don’t have these, talk to me well before the meeting. You’ll also be asked whether you’ve read the Bankruptcy Information Sheet from the U.S. Trustee, a one-page document you should review ahead of time. The Bankruptcy Code requires the trustee to make sure you understand the potential consequences of a discharge, such as the effect on your credit, your ability to file under a different chapter, and the effect of reaffirming a debt.
What the Trustee Will Ask
While it’s impossible to predict every question, many are asked so often that if you sat through a morning of meetings, you’d get sick of hearing them. Review these before your meeting. If you can’t answer one, you have a bit of work to do, so call me.
General questions
- Is the address on your ID still current?
- Have you ever filed for bankruptcy before?
- Did you read your petition and review it with your attorney before you signed it?
- Is this your signature?
- Were all of your questions answered before you signed?
- Did you list all of your assets?
- Did you list all of your debts and all of your creditors?
- Are there any errors or omissions you want to bring to my attention?
- Is the tax return you provided a true copy of the most recent return you filed?
- Is the income on your means test form accurate?
- Did you tell your attorney about all of your income for the six months before you filed?
- Do you have any claims for personal injury, workers’ compensation, or any other lawsuit?
- Are you holding any property for anyone else?
- In the last two years, have you sold or transferred anything of value?
- In the last year, have you repaid any friends or relatives money you owed them? (See Should I Pay Back Family Before Filing?)
- Are you subject to a domestic support obligation, such as child support or alimony?
- Have your wages been garnished?
- In the 90 days before you filed, did you pay more than $600 to any single creditor?
Real estate and vehicle questions
- Did you list a fair and reasonable value for your property?
- How did you arrive at that value? Is that what you could sell it for today?
- What did you originally pay for it, and when did you buy it?
- How much do you still owe on it?
- Have you made significant improvements?
If the trustee has more specific questions about your debts or property, he or she will follow up on those. This list covers the most common questions, but it’s by no means exhaustive.
After the Meeting
Within 10 days after the meeting, the U.S. Trustee reports to the court whether your case should be presumed to be an abuse under the means test. For most of my clients, that’s a non-event. From there, your case moves toward discharge. See The Bankruptcy Process, Step by Step for what comes next.
Be Prepared, Be Honest
The most important part of the 341 meeting is complete honesty. You’re answering under oath, under penalty of perjury. Prepare with your attorney, answer honestly, and you’ll have nothing to worry about.
For more on the meeting itself, see the Bankruptcy Court’s website.
Markwell Law, LLC
1600 Heritage Landing, Ste. 202B
St. Peters, MO 63303
Phone: 636-486-1093
Fax: 636-634-3462
We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code. The choice of a lawyer should not be based on advertising alone. Use of this website does not create an attorney-client relationship.
By: Guss Markwell