Everyone who file bankruptcy is required to attend a 341 meeting (also called a meeting of creditors). Since this meeting is the only time you will typically see anyone from the court, it helps to be prepared.

Since everyone needs to attend the 341 meeting, there will be a bunch of people at the meeting locations besides you and an attorney from our office. There will be other debtors who filed around the same time as you and their attorneys. There may be creditors there, but they don’t come very often. You need to bring your picture ID and a original government document with your full SSN on it. Dress like you were going to a funeral; think of this as a funeral for your debts.

There will normally be at least 4 meetings set per half hour, so the trustee wants you to be prepared. Everything is being recorded, so make sure to speak loudly. The trustee will inspect your ID and will begin asking you a set of questions, most of them yes or no questions. Most of the questions are the same as everyone else, so you can go early and watch other debtor’s hearings. Our clients receive a list of typically asked questions before the hearing. We will also identify things that our experience tells us that the trustee may ask questions about.