There would be a trustee present, and he would call the case and set for a certain hour. About 8 cases would be set for the same hour for chapter 7 cases, whereas about 5 cases would be set for the same hour for a chapter 13. They would call them in whatever order they were listed.
The chapter 7, 341 meeting with the trustee would last about 5 minutes whereas a chapter 13 trustee’s meeting would last a little over double that time. Basically, the trustee would swear the person in and they would just want to make sure everything the person was going to say was true and correct. They would look at the person’s photo ID to make sure that individual was the one who signed the paperwork. They would ask the person if all the paperwork was true and correct, and they would make sure all tax returns that were provided were the true and correct copy of what the person filed with the IRS. They would ask if the person who filed wanted to make changes within the paperwork. Basically, they would just want to make sure everything was true and correct so they would go over their list of questions.
What Are Some Questions They Might Ask In The 341 Meeting?
In a chapter 7, they would basically ask the person whether they read all the paperwork before signing, whether that was the person’s signature on the paperwork their attorney filed with the court and then they would ask if the tax returns provided were true and correct. They would ask if the person had ever sold any real estate in the past 5 years, if the person had repaid anybody like a family member within the past year. They would ask if the person had repaid any sort of creditor like a credit card within the past 90 days, and then they would ask if they had any reason to sue anybody, like if there had been a car accident claim or something like that. They would ask the person whether they were entitled to an inheritance, which would all basically be in the context of a chapter 7.
There would be a lot of the same things in the chapter 13, but the questions would be a bit more detailed. The person would be sworn in, and the trustee would look at the photo ID and look at their signature and ask the person whether or not it was in fact their signature, and whether everything was true and correct. They would then ask some more detailed questions about things that had been listed in their case. They would ask whether any one single household item was over $575 in value. Some people would bring up something like their TV, and then it would need to be clarified that the trustee wanted to know what that item was worth today, not what the person had initially paid for it. It is not that the person would ever lose their possession, it would just effect the valuation in the case and the trustee would want to use that information as some way to increase the amount of the monthly payment. It would never be a way to see if they could grab the person’s processions. It would just be a way to see if they could increase the payment to the trustee so they could pay more to the unsecured creditors.
They would also ask if the person owned any stocks, bonds or IRAs and they would ask if they had any collections or collectible items like a stamp collection that may be worth a large amount of money. They would ask if the person has any life insurance with cash value and whether they have a 401(k) or retirement or loan against the retirement. Again, it would not be like the person would lose those things; they would just be asking so they could make sure that everything is true and correct. From there on, they would ask if the person had signed over any property or any real estate in the last year, and they would ask if the person had owned any property in the last 5 years. They will ask if the person had borrowed money from family member or friends within the last two years and whether they had given any money to family or friends within the last two years. They would ask if the person owed anyone money, or whether anybody owed them money. They would ask if there was any reason to sue someone, whether the person was entitled to an inheritance, whether they had paid any unsecured creditor like a credit card more than $600 within 90 days of the filing of the case, whether the person had transferred any property in the last 5 years, whether they had any domestic or child support obligations, whether they had listed all their assets, whether they listed all their creditors, whether they had filed all their tax returns, whether the copy in front of the trustee was the true and correct copy, whether the person had lived outside the state of Texas in the last 5 years and then they would ask if the address of the person’s employer is correct. They would also ask the person their primary reason for filing bankruptcy.
It would be a little bit more detailed in a chapter 13, although the general idea would still be that they would just need to identify the person to make sure they were the one who signed the paperwork and that the paperwork was true and correct and then they would just ask some clarification questions.
Would They Ask Anything To Which The Person Would Not Know The Answer?
We have already discussed what would need to be done in the context of preparing for the case and preparing for the filing of the case because we would need to identify what all of the person’s household items are and we would need to see if they had anything that had any extraordinary value like any collections or collectibles. We would have already gone over all of these areas when preparing to file. I would put the information that the client provided us into the form that the court required. The client would have to come in and read all their information in this form and then they would sign it and we would file it. By the time we get to meet with the trustee, the person would have already gone over it a couple of times, so it would be nothing new and it would just be all of their information in a certain format and the meeting would just be to make sure it was all true and correct.
Can People Get A Copy Of The Recording Of The Meeting?
This would just be an audio recording and it would be part of the public record but the person would have to pay to get it, although there is no reason anyone would ever need to get that.
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