Purpose of Bankruptcy 341 Hearings
All Debtors that file bankruptcy must attend a 341 hearing. The 341 hearing is also commonly referred to as Meeting of Creditors. The name can be deceiving because rarely do creditors show up for the meeting.
The Debtor must provide the Trustee with his Social Security card and a Driver’s License. If for some reason the Debtor doesn’t have a Drivers License, then he needs to provide some other government issues picture ID, such as a passport. The Debtor must also provide the Trustee with copies of his last two tax returns at least 7 days before the hearing. Usually the Debtor’s attorney will send them to the Trustee shortly after the case is filed, but in order for the attorney to provide them to the Trustee, the Debtor must provide them to the attorney.
At the hearing, the Trustee will swear the Debtor in. Debtors are all under oath and have sworn to tell the truth. If a Debtor lies at their 341 hearing, they are subject to the same criminal penalties as if they lied in a court of law. The main purpose of the 341 hearing is for the Trustee to make sure all the paperwork is correct and there have not been any major changes or omissions. If something has been accidentally left off, the attorney for the Debtor will need to amend the paperwork to make it accurate.
The 341 hearing is also important because it sets deadlines for the Creditors. In a Chapter 7, creditors have 60 days to object to the discharge of their debt. This would be done if the Debtor used the credit cards or accumulated the debt within the 6 months before filing bankruptcy. In a Chapter 13, it gives 90 days for creditors to file a proof of claim with the court.
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