The 341 Hearing

The 341 Hearing, also known as the “341 Meeting of Creditors” is the only court appearance you are typically required to make during the course of your bankruptcy case. Formally, it is the opportunity for your creditors to appear and ask basic questions about the debts that you listed in your petition. Despite this being the official purpose of the hearing, it is usually not at all what happens. Most creditors will never show up to a 341 Hearing because it really just wastes their time as they usually have little to no say in the amount they are being paid through the bankruptcy and must accept whatever they are legally being given by the court.

Because creditors typically do not appear at the hearing, it usually becomes a sort of interview between yourself and the Trustee assigned to your case. The Trustee will typically prepare any questions they have for you about the bankruptcy petition you submitted to the court ahead of time and ask those questions during this hearing after placing you under oath. The Trustee will also typically run through a set of default questions which are meant to determine whether you can claim the exemptions you have claimed in your petition and to ensure there is no additional property you may have failed to disclose.

Important Tips for Your 341 Hearing

1. Complete Your Trustee Questionnaire Ahead of Time

The most important thing you can do to prepare for your 341 Hearing is ensuring that you complete your Trustee’s intake paperwork that is mailed to you within a week or two of filing your case. If this paperwork is not completed and resubmitted to your Trustee roughly a week before your assigned hearing date, the Trustee can continue your hearing (meaning you have to come back another date) on the basis that they did not have enough time to review your paperwork. Getting this paperwork turned in promptly and completed properly will start your relationship with your Trustee off on the right foot.

2. Bring Required ID’s and Show Up Early

It might sound obvious, but the day of your 341 Hearing, make sure you leave yourself adequate time to park and walk into the courthouse. Parking is often very scarce outside of the courts so ensure you leave enough time to walk from a parking garage or auxiliary lot if necessary. Arriving late to your 341 Hearing cannot only cause your case to be dismissed but it gives the Trustee a bad impression of you. If you leave yourself a few extra minutes the day of your hearing, you wont have to stress about being late and can focus on making sure you bring all the necessary documentation with you.

In addition to showing up on time, the day of your 341 Hearing you will need to bring two forms of identification with you so that your Trustee can verify your identity. You will need one form of government issued photo ID as well as proof of your social security number. If you fail to bring both of these forms of ID with you, your Trustee can continue your hearing to another date. The following forms of identification are accepted by the courts and all Arizona Trustees:

Photo ID

• Driver’s License
• Government Issued Photo ID
• Passport

Proof of Social Security

• Social Security Card
• W-2 Form
• IRS 1099
• Medical Insurance Card with Full SSN
• Military ID
  
  

3. Stay Calm

A lot of bankruptcy filers worry about their 341 Hearing thinking that it can make or break their case. The truth is, your case is really made or broken when your petition is drafted. If your case starts with a weak petition, it is only going to set you up for headaches down the road, including at your 341 Hearing where your Trustee will be sure to bring any issues with your petition to your attention before letting you know that if they are not fixed you will not receive a discharge for your case. This is why it is critical to meet with an experienced bankruptcy attorney before filing so that you can ensure things are done right from the start. Regardless of whether you are representing yourself or have an attorney, it is still important to remember to stay calm because the 341 Hearing is really just a small step in the bankruptcy process. Like we discussed earlier, the 341 Hearing is essentially a legal formality that creditors don’t take advantage of. All you will have to do, if you followed our previous advice, is go into your hearing ready to answer some basic questions. If you can do that, you can make it through your 341 Hearing just fine. However, if you are feeling nervous, you can always give us a call to discuss having an attorney attend the hearing with you.

If you would like to discuss representation at a 341 Hearing or bankruptcy representation in general, give our office a call at (602)-900-3000 or email us at legal@lifelinelegalpllc.com to see how we can help simplify the whole bankruptcy process and take the stress out of filing.