The First Meeting of Creditors
Any cursory internet inquiry into a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy will yield that going to a certain hearing is mandatory. This required hearing is governed by the law within 11 USC § 341(a) and it is called the “first meeting of creditors.” Having attended many, I thought a San Diego-specific discussion over the next few days might prove a worthwhile topic.
To begin with, the “first meeting of creditors” is generally also the last meeting of creditors; and, furthermore, the meeting of creditors generally has no creditors. Don’t get me wrong, the 341(a) is a per se invitation to your creditors to come and question you, usually for the purpose of attempting to discovery assets that might be hidden (so they can be sold by the trustee and a portion thereof given to the trustee), but what happens in most cases is that the creditors realize it would be too expensive to send someone to attend a hearing only to discover that no assets truly exist which could be marshaled for sale. Indeed, most San Diego Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases are called “no-asset cases.” That is, the debtors have no assets that the trustee can take and sell. In other words, you get to keep everything you own. Additionally, even if a creditor were to show up, the trustee’s calendar is so busy that only a minute or two of questioning is really permitted. The trustee will simply ask the creditor to file paperwork with the court to set up a question and answer session with the debtor. The trustees have lots of debtors to question at the 341(a) hearings. As a result, there isn’t much time granted to a questioning creditor.
I will discuss other aspects of attending a 341(a) hearing here in San Diego in coming blogs.
If you have questions regarding Bankruptcy in San Diego, Carlsbad, and the surrounding areas of San Diego County please contact us at (619) 209-6046 in San Diego, or (760) 579-7322 in Carlsbad for a free consultation or visit www.bkanswers.com and we can connect you with one of our experienced San Diego Bankruptcy Attorneys. After you have spoken with one of our San Diego bankruptcy attorneys, we can schedule you for a free face to face appointment in an office location nearest you. Our team of Bankruptcy Lawyers, Bankruptcy Customer Care Specialists and Bankuptcy staff supporting San Deigo consumers in debt can assist you with all aspects of your bankruptcy or bankruptcy litigation case. If you have questions about filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, or would like to learn more about bankruptcy litigation, legal debt settlement, mortgage modification, lien stripping, cram down, stopping a foreclosure, wage garnishment, asset protection, discharging a debt, etc. we can help! We have bankruptcy attorneys located throughout California and Oregon who can assist you with all of your debt resolution questions. Please feel free to complete our free online bankruptcy evaluation and we can quickly determine if you are a qualified candidate for bankruptcy. We look forward to hearing from you, Southern California!
