Tag: §341 Meeting of Creditors

What is the §341 Meeting of Creditors?

Posted on by Sean Wood in 341 Meeting of Creditors, Bankruptcy, Chapter 11, Chapter 13, Chapter 7

Most people only have to attend one meeting when they file a bankruptcy which is called the Meeting of Creditors. This meeting is outlined in 11 U.S.C. §341 so bankruptcy attorneys often call it the “341 meeting” or simply a “341”. Normal non-attorney folks just call it the “Meeting of Creditors”.

22 Meeting

When does the Meeting of Creditors take place?
This meeting will be set by the Court and it usually occurs between 4 to 6 weeks after the date of filing. The Court will mail you a notice with the date, time, and place but your attorney will probably tell you as well.

Where does the Meeting of Creditors take place?
There are four locations in Utah where these meetings take place. Usually your meeting will be assigned to the location nearest the home address you listed on your bankruptcy petition. The addresses to all four locations are listed below.

Federal Building
324 25th St.
Room 6026
Ogden, UT 84401

Ken Garff Building
405 S. Main Street
Suite 250A or 250B
Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Provo City Library at Academy Square
550 N University Ave
Room 308
Provo, UT 84601

Washington County Boulevard Office Building
87 N. 200 E.
3rd Floor
St. George, UT 84770

What do I need to bring to the Meeting of Creditors?
I covered this in another post but there are four things you need to bring:

1. Driver’s License
2. Social Security Card (or other proof in the form of a document not prepared by you with your full social security number listed on the document, like a W-2)
3. Most recent pay stub (the last pay stub you received before the Meeting of Creditors)
4. Bank statements covering the month of your filing date

What happens at the Meeting of Creditors?
You should arrive at least 15 minutes before your scheduled time so that your attorney can meet you there and discuss your case if he needs to. You will then go into the room with your attorney where the meeting will be conducted. Although your case will be assigned to be heard during a 1-hour block with a number of other people, usually your case will last only 10 minutes.

The trustee will go through his list and call the names of the cases for that time. When your name is called your attorney will go with you and will sit right next you in the seats upfront. The trustee will then ask you questions about your case and the petition we filed. Answer the questions truthfully and accurately. If you don’t know the answer then you can defer to your attorney. Below is a list of some of the more common questions the trustees ask:

· whether you have read through, understand, and signed your petition
· whether the information listed on your petition is true, complete, and accurate to the best of your knowledge
· whether you read the bankruptcy information sheet
· whether you have listed all your property in your schedules and whether you have listed accurate values
· whether you have transferred any property in the last two years
· whether you have repaid any of your creditors within the three months prior to your bankruptcy
· whether you have repaid any relatives or close friends in the last year
· whether you have sold or given away any property or transferred any money in the past several years
· how you determined the value of your property listed in your paperwork
· whether your income is accurate in your schedules and on your “Means Test”

After the trustee asks you questions about your petition, he will then ask “are there any creditors with questions?”. At this point any of your creditors may come forward to ask you questions. Most of the time there are no creditors with questions. If you owe the State of Utah money then the Utah State Tax Commission will be sure to show up. If you have purchased something from RC Willey you can bet that they will be there. But for most creditors it’s not worth paying someone to appear at the meeting because they are not likely to recover anything.

Once the trustee and the creditors have finished asking questions then you are free to go. Sometimes the trustee will ask for some additional documentation and if he does then get that to your attorney ASAP so he can get it to the trustee.

Should I be a nervous Nellie about the Meeting of Creditors?
No, you should not be a nervous Nellie about the Meeting of Creditors. There is no reason to be nervous. The Meeting of Creditors is not held in a Court nor is it before a judge. You will be placed under oath and are required to answer truthfully. The reality is this—if you have been honest with your bankruptcy attorney and all your financial information is provided in your petition then you really have nothing to hide.

So, just tell the truth and you will be fine. Trust me, I’ve been to a gazillion of these and it’s really not as bad as most people picture it in their minds.

How should I dress for the Meeting of Creditors?
It actually surprises me how few people ask me the question. However, it doesn’t really matter how you dress in my opinion and I don’t think the trustees care either. I’ve seen a variety of attires ranging from the dingiest jeans to expensive and fancy suits. Again, I honestly don’t think it matters how you dress.

What happens if I don’t attend my Meeting of Creditors?
If you don’t attend your Meeting of Creditors then you have made a huge mistake. If you don’t go to your 341 Meeting your case will be dismissed. You will not receive a discharge of your debts and the automatic stay will no longer be in effect. If your case is dismissed you can still file again but you will have to pay the filing fee again and the automatic stay is limited for repeat filings. The point is this: DO NOT MISS YOUR MEETING OF CREDITORS! If for some reason you have a scheduling conflict that you cannot resolve, contact your attorney as soon as possible so that he can try to reschedule the date.

If you have more questions about the Meeting of Creditor be sure to ask your attorney. Bankruptcy attorneys sometimes gloss over the details of the Meeting of Creditors simply because there are so many things they could tell you but they don’t have the time and you don’t really need to know everything they could tell you. But if you have more questions, ask your attorney and he should be able to give you an answer.

Can I keep the items I bought from RC Willey when I file for bankruptcy?

Posted on by Sean Wood in Bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Attorney, Chapter 13, Chapter 7, Creditors' Rights, Reaffirmation Agreements

Can I keep the items I bought from RC Willey when I file for bankruptcy?

Short answer: yes, if you want keep the item but you have the option to surrender the item.

18 RC Willey

About 4 to 6 weeks after you file any chapter of bankruptcy, you are required to attend what is called the “Meeting of Creditors”. At the Meeting of Creditors, the trustee will ask you questions about your bankruptcy petition. The bankruptcy trustee is an attorney appointed to represent the creditors in your case.

After the trustee has asked you some questions about your petition, he will ask “are there creditors with questions?” at which point any creditor can ask you questions. I would say a good three-quarters of my cases have no creditors that appear. When a creditor does show up it is generally the IRS, the Utah State Tax Commission, or RC Willey.

“Why does RC Willey show up to the Meeting of Creditors when no other creditors show up?” RC Willey tends to be a little more aggressive, for better or for worse, than other creditors. When you purchased a piece of furniture or any item from RC Willey on credit, RC Willey will retain a secured interest in that item, similar to the secured interest a lender has in your car or your house.

If for some reason you default on your loan, RC Willey has a right to take back the item that was sold to you, and they like to enforce this right. The reality is, however, they don’t want to take the item back from you. They want you to pay for the item. It is unlikely that RC Willey will recover more from acquiring the item and selling it at a discount than they will if you keep the item and pay them.

So what options do you have when you have purchased something from RC Willey? There are usually three options.

Option 1: Surrender the item

If you don’t care to pay for the item or it is a crappy item, you can tell RC Willey that you would like to “surrender” the item. Surrendering the item means you let RC Willey come take the item from you and whatever deficiency is left will be discharged in the bankruptcy.

Option 2: Reaffirm the debt for the full amount you owe

This is RC Willey’s preferred option. I always tell my clients, creditors care about one thing––collecting money. You do have the option to reaffirm the debt. When you file a bankruptcy, your contract with RC Willey is terminated. Reaffirming the debt means that you will voluntarily take on that debt again. If you reaffirm for the full amount, RC Willey will lend you credit in the future.

Option 3: Reaffirm the debt for fair market value

This option is usually the option I recommend to my clients. People generally like the items they purchased from RC Willey and would like to keep them. You do have the option of reaffirming the debt for the market value of the item. This amount is generally about half the amount you owe on the item, although it varies depending on the item.

The downside of reaffirming for fair market value is that RC Willey will NOT lend you credit in the future. For most people, this is not the end of the world. While I personally like RC Willey and I have purchased from them multiple times in the past, there are plenty of other furniture stores that WILL lend you credit.

What if I want to keep some of the items I purchased from RC Willey but not all of the items?

You can pick and choose which items you would like to reaffirm. Let’s say you really like a dining room table you purchased from RC Willey but you don’t like the sofa you purchased. You can reaffirm and keep the dining room table and surrender the couch.

What if I do not have the item?

Occasionally I will have a client tell me that they no longer have the item they purchased from RC Willey. I have heard all kinds of stories of what happened to items purchased from RC Willey from family members taking the items to foreign countries to ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends who have disappeared with the items. What happens then?

RC Willey has two choices––give up or file a suit for fraud against you. I say they have two choices but in every case I have dealt with RC Willey they just give up. Suits for fraud are rarely filed and usually involve tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. Any claim RC Willey files against you is not a secured claim but rather an unsecured claim. After all, they cannot expect you to surrender an item you do not have.

What do I need to bring to the §341 Meeting of Creditors?

Posted on by Sean Wood in Bankruptcy

Short answer: four things

1. Driver’s LicenseSocial-Security-Card
2. Social Security Card
3. Bank statement covering the date of filing
4. Last pay stub you received

Driver’s License and Social Security Card

While it is important to bring all of these to documents to the Meeting of Creditors, it is more important to bring your Driver’s License and Social Security Card than it is to bring your bank statement or your pay stub. The reason is this: the trustee must be able to confirm your identity to make sure that you are who you say you are.

People usually bring their Driver’s License because they keep it in their wallet but there are a fair amount of people who forget to bring their Social Security Card with them. I’ve seen the trustees handle this in different ways. Some trustees refuse to hold the Meeting and file a Motion to Dismiss the case for failure to comply with the bankruptcy code.

Some trustees ask how far away you live and if it’s less than an hour away the trustee may require you to go home to get your Social Security Card and bring it back to him that very same day. Generally when the trustees require this they will go ahead and hold the meeting anyway.

I have in some cases been able to send in a W-2 (which has your Social Security Number on it) to the trustee through email a few days later and that has satisfied them but I wouldn’t count on it. If you cannot produce your Social Security Card the same day as your Meeting of Creditors I would expect to see a Motion to Dismiss your case filed by the trustee.

Bank Statement Covering the Date of Filing

When you file a bankruptcy the idea is that you are actually bankrupt so any money left in your bank account on the date of filing is not exempt and is property of the bankruptcy estate. If the amount is $100 or less the trustee will not do anything.

At the Meeting of Creditors, the trustee will look at the balance of your bank account at the end of day of the day that you filed for bankruptcy. Some trustees will actually have you circle this balance on your statement so it makes it easier for the trustee to see the amount.

So which statement do you need to bring? Let’s use an example. Let’s say you filed for bankruptcy on September 20 and your Meeting of Creditors takes place on October 20. You will need to bring a statement that shows the balance at the end of the day for September 20. Typically banks have monthly statements so you would need to bring your September statement.

Last Pay Stub You Received

There are two sections of the bankruptcy petition that require you to state your income–Schedule I and Form 22. The bankruptcy trustee must verify that your income, as stated on the bankruptcy petition, is consistent to what you are being paid.

“But I already gave my attorney my pay stubs!” you might say. You do have to give your attorney your pay stubs for a couple of months prior to the date of filing and he will send those onto the trustee. The trustee will also require that you bring the last pay stub you received before the 341 Meeting of Creditors.

So which pay stub do I need to bring? Again, let’s use an example. Let’s say you get paid on the 1st of every month and on the 15th of every month. And let’s also say that you filed your bankruptcy on September 20 and your Meeting of Creditors takes place on October 20. You would need to bring just one pay stub, the pay stub you received on October 15.

Make your life, and your attorney’s life, easier and come prepared with these documents to your §341 Meeting of Creditors.