Filing Bankruptcy can be scary. I filed in the Western bankruptcy District of Michigan. Meeting of the Creditors or attending your scheduled 341 meeting can be nerve racking to an already stressful sitiuation. However, arriving at the decision to file for bankruptcy is a much more difficult decision and action than worrying about the meeting of the creditors or worrying about your 341 meeting.
The meeting of the creditors is typically attended by the local trustee, you and your attorney. However, if you are filing “pro se’ ( filing by yourself) you would be the person responsible for attending the meeting and answering the questions rather than the attorney or lawyer.
What happens at the 341 meeting? This is the meeting where the people you owe money to can show up and argue their case on why you should still pay. Scary? You bet. However, rarely do the creditors show up at the meeting. If creditors show up they have usually sent an attorney. why wouldn’t the creditors show up at the meeting of the creditors?
In order for them to show up they have to bring all their paperwork, they have to pay an attorney to show up. Think about your department store credit card. You may owe 3-5K on the card. The store most likely will not want to lose anymore money on a case that could be considered ‘ cloudy or Ify”. They don’t want to chance attorney fees ,travel fees, hotel fee’s if they have to pay an attorney. However, Lets say you furnished your home 4 months prior to filing and you lost your job. You now have electronic or furniture that was purchased only a little while before you filed for bankruptcy. The creditor may have a good case against you filing for discharge of their debt in bankruptcy. This is like buying a T.V. from Best Buy or Buying a Washer and Dryer from Lowes and then filing Bankruptcy. If you purchased these items right before filing bankruptcy they could argue fraud.
The 341 or meeting of the creditors should not be scary if you have told the truth and did not try defraud the court. Several 341 only take about 5-10 minutes and your out the door. One of the things to be prepared for when attending your meeting is the the (KISS) method. keep it simple stupid. If the Trustee asks you a “Yes” or “No” question, you answer it appropriatly and don’t expand on your answer. If the trustee wants more information he/she will ask you to elaborate on your answer. What could be worse than to turn into a chatter box and then have the trustee ask you questions that you or your attorney were not prepared to answer.
In the end if your filing for Bankruptcy in the Western District of Michigan don’t be too nervouse about the meeting. If your from Grand Rapids, Traverse City, Lansing, or even Detroit and your filing bankruptcy, meeting of the creditors in only yet another process to end years of debt. With unemployement being one of the highest in Michigan your not alone when comes to filing for bankruptcy in Michigan.
