The phrase “Meeting of Creditors” strikes fear into most of my clients’ hearts. They hear these words and get a mental image of sitting in a large, darkened room with a spotlight in their face and their creditors in hooded robes surrounding them.
The reality? In virtually all cases, there’s nothing to worry about. In fact, except in a few types of cases, it is overwhelmingly likely that no creditors will show up. That’s right, In most cases not a single creditor attends the Meeting of Creditors. What are the exceptions?
Firdt of all, you lied on your petition or schedules, gave false or incomplete information, or made other false statements. The Chapter 7 Trustee and U.S. Trustee see thousands of bankruptcy cases each year. Cases that don’t fit together properly stand out like a sore thumb, and it’s likely that you will be questioned closely about your statements. Next, Where you run your own business. In these cases, debt often is higher, and your creditors may be more comfortable in dealing with the bankruptcy system. Even here, however, the primary emphasis is the correctness and completeness of the schedules. And lastly, Where you are involved in a divorce. Here, your soon-to-be-ex-spouse may want to point out errors in your schedules or simply try to embarrass you. ven if a creditor shows up, it’s unlikely that they will ask hard questions. “Why haven’t you paid?” or “When will you pay?”
So what does happen? The Bankruptcy trustee swears you in, verifies your driver’s license and social security card, and then typically confirms, under oath, that all of the information in the schedules is true and correct, that you listed all of your assets and all of your debts. You may be asked why you filed the case, with the answer being just a few general words: job loss, illness, divorce. Depending on the details of your case, you may be asked additional questions about real property, a business, your job, etc.
Some Meetings of Creditors last for only 30 seconds. Others can run longer. The typical meeting is about 3-5 minutes in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
