What happens in the Meeting of Creditors? What should I expect?

Within 2 weeks of your filing Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 bankruptcy you will receive a notice in the mail scheduling your “Meeting of Creditors.” You are required to attend. At the meeting you will be sworn under oath and examined by your case Trustee. Your attorney will be sitting next to you and your creditors have the right to ask you questions, however, in the vast majority of cases the creditors do not show up.

The agenda of the Meeting of Creditors includes the following:

You must identify yourself by presenting a picture ID and Social Security card. Tip: As you approach the Trustee place you ID and SS card on the desk when you sit down.

After you are sworn in:

You must affirm that you read your bankruptcy petition, signed it and that the information it contains is true and correct.

You must affirm that you listed all of your assets and your debts.

You must affirm that you read the “Bankruptcy Information Sheet.” This is part of your Bankruptcy Petition that informs you of the various chapters you can file under, the effect and consequences of receiving a bankruptcy discharge and warns you about bankruptcy fraud. Your Attorney will have given you a copy.

At this point the Trustee may ask additional questions to find out if there are non-exempt assets of sufficient value to justify his administering them for the benefit of your unsecured creditors.

Your attorney will have provided the Trustee with a copy of your latest Income Tax Return and Bank Statements covering the date you filed bankruptcy. The Trustee may have questions about them or may have questions about inheritance property, the value of your automobiles or your home.

The Trustee will then call out to see if there are any of your Creditors in the room who wish to question you. Usually, there are none.

Then the Trustee will “announce his intentions,” that is whether he or she will disclaim, provisionally disclaim, or administer any interest in your property.

With that the Trustee concludes the meeting. If the Trustee asks for more documents he or she will give you 10 days to provide them. Afterwards, your attorney will be available to answer any questions you may have about the meeting.

Your examination by the Trustee usually takes no longer than 5 minutes and if the Trustee is not running late you should be free to go within a half hour of the scheduled time of your meeting.