First and foremost, if you do not appear for the 341 meeting, your case will be dismissed. No ands, iffs or buts. A power of attorney will not be accepted, as the attorney can not state under oath using his or her personal knowledge.
You're required to be in court, a wedding, a funeral, work training or something else that can't be moved Keep in mind, though, that rescheduling your 341 meeting will necessarily cause your case to take longer than if it's not rescheduled. So, if at all …
Dec 21, 2009 · With the snow that fell this weekend I cannot help but think now may be a good time to mention what happens if a debtor cannot make their assigned time and date for their §341 meeting. The §341 meeting is often the only meeting a debtor has to attend; they are not a formal Court process and are not held before a judge or even at the Court House. The §341 …
This means that you will have to refile your bankruptcy if you want to eliminate your debts. Notify the Trustee If You Can't Make Your 341 Hearing. Your meeting of creditors will usually take place 20 to 40 days after you file your bankruptcy. This should give you plenty of time to make arrangements to attend the 341 hearing.
May 23, 2020 · Most of the time, you’ll know when you file that attendance at the meeting is impossible and your attorney will help you make arrangements. Just be clear with your bankruptcy attorney about your situation and know that it could make filing for bankruptcy more complicated. Making Sure Your 341 Meeting of Creditors Doesn’t Result in a Dismissal of Your …
Your Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee will likely check your bank accounts at least once during the process of overseeing your filing. They have a right to perform a full audit of your accounts or check them any time it is necessary.
It is also referred to as a 341 meeting because it is mandated by Section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code. Creditors are not required to attend these meetings, and do not waive any rights if they do not attend.
If your income is over the median income for your state, you can still overcome a presumption of abuse by completing the second part of the means test on Form 122A-2, Chapter 7 Means Test Calculation. The means test calculation calculates your disposable income over a five year period.Aug 11, 2020
341 Meeting Questions the Bankruptcy Trustee Might AskDo you own or have any interest whatsoever in any real estate?Have you made any transfers of any property or given any property away within the last one-year period (or such longer period as applicable under state law)?Does anyone hold property belonging to you?More items...
Getting a discharge means that your personal liability on qualifying debt is wiped out and the creditor can no longer do anything to collect the debt from you. Creditors aren't allowed to call you, sue you, garnish your wages, or continue any other collection efforts on the discharged debt.
Judging by the questions people ask about 341 meetings, people seem to think they're going to be very scary and intimidating. As long as you're going in with a trusted bankruptcy lawyer on your side, there is no reason to be nervous.Jul 8, 2019
Anyone who files for Chapter 7 after failing the means test is doing so under the “presumption of abuse.” This means the court presumes you are able to pay a portion of your unsecured debt but you are choosing not to do so.
A finding of "presumption of abuse" alerts the bankruptcy court to the fact that a debtor filing a Chapter 7 case has sufficient income to pay into a Chapter 13 repayment plan. (By definition, a Chapter 7 debtor's income is too low to repay creditors.)
Filing for bankruptcy is a scary experience, but within the entire process from start to finish, the 341 Meeting of Creditors is perhaps the most daunting. The idea of coming face to face with people who are trying to collect on a debt is understandably intimidating.
Rule 2004 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure allows any "interested person" to require someone else to testify and produce documents on matters related to your bankruptcy. The 2004 Exam can cover a broad range of issues, including: your actions, conduct or property.
Questions a Creditor Might Ask You at the MeetingAre you currently working, and, if so, who employs you?How much were you making when you applied for credit?Did you provide accurate information when you applied for credit?Did your income change after you received credit?More items...•Nov 30, 2018
The meeting of creditors is a required hearing in bankruptcy. When you file your case, the court will send you a notice to inform you of the date, time, and location of your 341 hearing. Unless you qualify for a rare exception, you must attend your scheduled meeting of creditors. In general, if you don't go to your 341 hearing, ...
Notify the Trustee If You Can't Make Your 341 Hearing. Your meeting of creditors will usually take place 20 to 40 days after you file your bankruptcy. This should give you plenty of time to make arrangements to attend the 341 hearing. But if you know that you won't be able to make it to your hearing, notify your bankruptcy trustee right away.
The trustee may allow you to attend the meeting of creditors by telephone or video teleconference if you can't appear in person because: 1 you have an incapacitating medical condition 2 you are deployed to active military duty, or 3 you are currently incarcerated.
If any of your creditors are present, they will typically be allowed to inquire about the nature and location of your property. (Learn about whether your creditors will show up to the 341 hearing .)
In most cases, if you don't show up to your meeting of creditors, your bankruptcy will be dismissed. But there are a few circumstances that may justify rescheduling your hearing.
The meeting of creditors allows the bankruptcy trustee and any creditors who wish to attend the opportunity to question you under oath about the information in your bankruptcy papers and your financial affairs. (Learn about what to expect at the meeting of creditors .) In general, the trustee will use the time to verify ...
Most bankruptcy trustees have very busy calendars. In many cases, they may be unwilling to reschedule your hearing unless you have a valid reason (discussed below). But depending on who your individual trustee is, he or she may be willing to continue your meeting of creditors to another day if you give plenty of notice that you won't be able ...
There are several requirements you must meet when you file for bankruptcy. One of the requirements that causes the most stress for filers is the 341 Meeting of Creditors. If there is one thing that people filing for bankruptcy dread, it’s this meeting.
The 341 Meeting of Creditors occurs about 20 to 40 days after you file. You meet face-to-face with creditors and the court-appointed trustee to discuss the discharge of your debts. If a creditor believes its debt should not be discharged in your case, the meeting is an opportunity to explain why.
The worst thing you can do is ignore your obligation to attend the meeting. Even with a good excuse, dismissal is possible. Intentionally missing it or forgetting about it guarantees you’ll miss out on debt discharge. You must take the meeting seriously and do everything you can to attend.
At the Tampa Bay law firm, the Law Offices of Robert M. Geller, P.A., we help people with consumer bankruptcy matters in the Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg, Florida communities such as Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Thonotosassa, Riverview, Lutz, Plant City, Brandon, Carrollwood, Wesley Chapel, St.
The 341 meeting is the only time the trustee and creditors can ask you questions while you are under oath and on the record.
Many debtors are nervous before the 341 meeting, but it typically lasts only a minute or two. Often, very few (or no) creditors show up, and the meeting ends after the trustee asks a handful of routine questions.
Handle any reaffirmed debts. If your bankruptcy plan included reaffirmation (agreeing to new terms on a debt, which will survive your bankruptcy filing), you will need to begin making payments after your 341 meeting.
You are not out of the woods yet. After the 341 meeting, you will need to stay on track and satisfy the bankruptcy court's requirements. If you complete all of the requirements, your case will be closed in a matter of months. Here are the things you may still need to do:
Although the creditors' meeting is the only court appearance a debtor has to make in most bankruptcy cases, there are still a few things you need to do before you can get your discharge. Learn more about the 341 Bankruptcy Hearing.
Once you receive your discharge, your case is considered closed. Every case is different. If you receive any discharge challenges, you may also need to attend additional meetings or hearings to provide your response to each challenge. After Bankruptcy: How to get credit cards and mortgages. How to repair your credit.
This meeting is called the "341 meeting," based on the section of the bankruptcy code where it is discussed. It's sometimes also referred to as the meeting of creditors or the creditors' meeting.
If you file a bankruptcy petition, you will normally be required to attend one court meeting, called 341 Meeting of Creditors.
However, as simple as this meeting is, it is possible to screw it up or to make it more difficult than it has to be, which may hinder discharge of your debts and may result in having to attend other court meetings, or pay extra legal fees. Here is what you should NOT do at the 341 Meeting of Creditors:
The 341 Meeting in Pennsylvania and nationwide is an important step in the bankruptcy process. It is a meeting that is Federally mandated by the U.S. Bankruptcy Rules and It is also one of the most misunderstood.
After the Trustee has concluded the 341 Meeting of Creditors, he or she will typically file a report that you have no non-exempt assets and then recommends that the Bankruptcy Court enters an Order which will discharge your debt automatically.
The meeting is a formality to get your bankruptcy case moving along, and the only questions asked will be about your financial assets, to determine if everything has been prepared properly and to make sure that all of your assets have been properly disclosed and listed in your bankruptcy.
How to Dress for the Meeting of Creditors. When attending the 341 Meeting of Creditors, you should dress neatly, with the clothing that you have available to wear. That means you should wear clothing that you own. It does not need to be a suit as many individuals don’t have the money for the same.
You have to attend a meeting of creditors to move your bankruptcy forward. This meeting is mandatory. If you miss it, even if you have everything else in order, there is a very good chance your trustee will move to dismiss your bankruptcy case.
Typically, a person that files for bankruptcy will not have to face a court or judge. The only face-to-face interaction will be with the Trustee during this Meeting. Most of these 341 Meetings go smoothly if you have given your lawyer all of the information he or she has asked you for. 11.
The bankruptcy judge isn’t even allowed to be at your meeting. The 341 Meeting is just a formal meeting. It is not a courtroom, and you are not being interrogated or challenged. So you just need to go to your 341 Meeting, answer the questions asked, and get on with your bankruptcy. 6.
I agree that you should wait to file for bankruptcy until you return to the United States. In my district of Western New York the US Trustee will automatically make a motion to dismiss if you fail to appear at the first 341 meeting.
You can avoid attending the 341 hearing if abroad, however it would have to be for a very good cause. The US Trustee position in New York is that the onus is on you to have everything set up and aligned so that you may do it remotely via a US embassy. This could prove very tricky, although certainly possible.
You can request to be examined by either phone or interrogatory, but as the other posts stated, there would have to be extraordinary circumstances (like a documented medical reason, military service, etc.).
You should attebnd the meeting. You would need some extraordinary cicumstances to refain from attending.
First and foremost, if you do not appear for the 341 meeting, your case will be dismissed. No ands, iffs or buts. A power of attorney will not be accepted, as the attorney can not state under oath using his or her personal knowledge.
If neither you nor your attorney show, the consequences to you could be arrest (in a criminal case) or dismissal of your case if you are suing someone in civil court, or loss of the case if you are a defendant in a civil case.
If the court didn’t know there was supposed to be a lawyer there, it may have issued a bench warrant, because no appearance at all was made. You need to get the lawyer to fix this, which he probably can do by fessing up to the mistake and filing a motion to vacate the warrant.
If you are out on bail and fail to appear in court, the failure to appear cancels your bail and a warrant for your arrest will issue. If you appear in court and the attorney fails to appear, you should ask for a continuance based on absence of counsel. This will almost always be granted.
If there is no excuse, or it’s a calendaring error on the lawyer’s side, the judge can reset the hearing (usually with an admonishment to the lawyer, and/or fine) or, default the case. The latter is rare in criminal cases, but may be more common in civil cases.
It happens. Courts get double booked, hearing times change, lawyers/prosecutors/judges get sick/stuck in traffic or the most common, get stuck in another court.
That matter is going to be delayed and the lawyer will get a phone call from the judge or the judge’s secretary. The judge isn’t going to be happy, but they will. Continue Reading.
Lawyers are human, and they oversleep/get stuck in traffic like everyone else, but if you are running late for a hearing, the procedure is to call the judge's chambers and let someone know why you're late or cannot appear, not to leave the client to fend for him/herself. Promoted by Ramsey Solutions.