The 341 meeting of creditors is held for the purpose of allowing the Chapter 13 Trustee (the person who administers your case for the bankruptcy court) an opportunity to review your petition and to make sure that the money for your repayment plan is being paid to the court. This meeting will last no more than five to ten minutes.


The following is an outline of what will happen during your 341 meeting:

1. At the top of the hour, the trustee will read out the names of all Chapter 13 cases that will be heard that same hour. When the Trustee calls your name your attorney will announce that your case is ready.
   

2. When it is time for your case to be heard you will go to the front of the room and take a seat next to your attorney.
   

3. The Trustee will have you recite an oath and ask you to state your full name and address for the record. You will notice microphones in front of you. These microphones are attached to a tape recorder. Remember to speak up as these microphones do not amplify. If both you and your spouse are attending the meeting in a joint case, you each need to state your name and address separately.
   

4. The Trustee will then ask you most if not all of the following questions:
   

   • Do you have any credit cards? (be prepared to hand them over to the Trustee)

   • Do you belong to a credit union?

   • If Yes. Do you owe them any money? Are they deducting anything out of your paycheck?

   • Have you ever filed bankruptcy before? 

   • If Yes. When? Explain. What happened to cause your previous case to be dismissed?

   • Are you still employed with ?

   • How many payments have you made to the Trustee?

   • Are the trustee payments coming out of your check?

   • Are you buying any real estate? (This means "Do you have a mortgage?")

   • If Yes. Are you behind in your payments?

   • Have you filed your most recent tax returns?
     

5. Please note that you may be asked to state a value for items such as a house, car or furniture. We recommend that you base your valuation on what those items would bring at a garage sale or quick sale - i.e. the lowest reasonable valuation. You should also review your petition, as the values of these items are stated therein.
   

6. The Trustee will ask the creditors who are present to announce their claims. Otherwise, your attorney will announce estimated claims.
   

7. Your creditors may then ask you a few questions. Examples:
   

   • If you have a car in your Chapter 13 plan the representative for the car finance company may ask you some of the following questions:

   • Do you have full coverage insurance on your car?

   • Is the car in good condition?

   • Where is the car being kept?

   • Do you have any objection to the car company inspecting it?

   • Other questions you may face are as follows:

   • What caused you to file bankruptcy?

   • Explain why a particular budget item is high/low. Note that you should thoroughly review the budget pages of your petition prior to your hearing.
     

8. After the meeting is over, your attorney will review what happened with you at the meeting and explain the confirmation process.
   

OBJECTIONS TO CONFIRMATION

1. If there are any objections announced at the 341 meeting your attorney may ask you to provide him with additional information or make additional payments to the trustee. You will also receive a written copy of these objections in the mail within five days of the 341 hearing.
   

2. You should call our office before the confirmation date (listed on hearing notice from Court) to make certain that there are no problems with your case that would prevent the judge from confirming your case. Please remember unless all objections are resolved prior to confirmation your case will not be approved and it will be dismissed. You should plan on attending your confirmation hearing, although in most cases this will not be necessary.
   

3. If you have any debts or bills to add to your Chapter 13 which are not already listed in your case, please give the name and address of the creditor and the $26.00 filing fee to the attorney or make arrangements to come into our office to pay the filing fee.
   

4. If you have any concerns or questions which were not resolved during your 341 meeting, you can call our office at 770- 399-2790 and speak with David Galler or my paralegal.