FANNING & HUGHES: New York Bankruptcy Law Firm
If you are suffering under the burden of debt, an experienced New York bankruptcy lawyer from Fanning and Hughes can give you a fresh financial start. The New York bankruptcy lawyers at Fanning and Hughes can help you file for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.

The “First Meeting of Creditors” or the “341 Meeting”

A week or two after the case is filed, you and the creditors listed in your bankruptcy petition will receive a notice by mail from the Court scheduling the “First Meeting of Creditors”. Despite its title, creditors rarely attend this meeting. Since section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code requires the meeting, it is sometimes called “the 341 meeting”.

The trustee will ask you questions under oath regarding the content of your bankruptcy papers, your assets, debts and other matters. Your attorney will be with you at the meeting. If a creditor does appear, they may also question you under oath about the debt you owe them, including information you gave them to obtain the loan.

The meeting rarely lasts more than 10 minutes. In the vast majority of Chapter 7 bankruptcies, this is your only visit to the courthouse. However, if a creditor or the trustee files a motion or an adversary proceeding (an action challenging the discharge), you may have to appear in court again.

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Questions asked at every 341 meeting:

State your name and current address for the record.
Have you read the Bankruptcy Information Sheet provided by the United States Trustee?
Did you sign the petition, schedules, statements, and related documents you filed with the court? Did you read the petition, schedules, statements, and related documents before you signed them and is the signature your own?
Please provide your picture ID and social security number card for review.
Are you personally familiar with the information contained in the petition, schedules, statements and related documents?
To the best of your knowledge, is the information contained in the petition, schedules, statements, and related documents true and correct?
Are there any errors or omissions to bring to my, or the court’s, attention at this time?
Are all of your assets identified on the schedules?
Have you listed all of your creditors on the schedules?
Have you filed previously filed bankruptcy? (If so, the trustee must obtain the case number and the discharge information to determine the debtor(s) discharge eligibility.)

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Questions that may be asked at your 341 meeting:

Do you own or have any interest whatsoever in any real estate? If owned: When did you purchase the property? How much did the property cost? What are the mortgages encumbering it? What do you estimate the present value of the property to be? Is that the whole value or your share? How did you arrive at that value? If renting: Have you ever owned the property in which you live and/or is its owner in any way related to you?
Have you made any transfers of any property or given any property away within the last six years? If yes: What did you transfer? To who was it transferred? What did you receive in exchange? What did you do with the funds?
Does anyone hold property belonging to you?
Do you have a claim against anyone or any business? If there are large medical debts, are the medical bills from injury? Are you the plaintiff in any lawsuit?
Are you entitled to life insurance proceeds or an inheritance as a result of someone’s death?
Does anyone owe you money?
Have you made any large payments, over $600, to anyone in the past year?
Were federal income tax returns filed on a timely basis? When was the last return filed? Do you have copies of the federal income tax returns? At the time of the filing of your petition, were you entitled to a tax refund from the federal or state government ?
Do you have a bank account, either checking or savings? If yes: In what banks and what were the balances as of the date you filed your petition?
When you filed your petition, did you have:
A. any cash on hand?
B. any U.S. Savings Bonds?
C. any other stocks or bonds?
D. any Certificates of Deposit?
E. a safe deposit box in your name or in anyone else’s name?
Do you own an automobile? If yes: What are the year, make, and value? Do you owe any money on it? Is it insured?
Are you the owner of any cash value life insurance policies? If yes: State the name of the company, face amount of the policy, cash surrender value, if any, and the beneficiaries.
Do you have any winning lottery tickets?
Do you anticipate that you might realize any property, cash or otherwise, as a result of a divorce or separation proceeding?
Regarding any consumer debts secured by your property, have you filed the required Statement of Intention with respect to the exemption, retention, or surrender of that secured property? Please provide a copy of the statement to the trustee. Have you performed that intention?
Have you been engaged in any business during the last six years? If yes: Where and when? What happened to the assets of the business?

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We are a federally designated debt relief agency helping people for relief under the bankruptcy code.

FANNING & HUGHES, PLLC
108-18 Queens Blvd -
4th Floor
Forest Hills, NY 11375
718.261.3290 p
718.228.2422 f
contact@FHLawOffice.com