Court Hearing – 341 first meeting of creditors

Usually, within a few weeks of filing your bankruptcy petition, you have your first hearing in the bankruptcy court. No judge will be present during this first hearing. A bankruptcy trustee appointed by the local bankruptcy court, who will ask you a set of standard questions as well as specific questions pertaining to the paperwork you’ve filed, will conduct it.

Then there will be opportunity for any creditors to ask question, even though most creditors understand that they will not get much useful information from you during this meeting and won’t show up.

Many people are scared and nervous before their 341 meeting, but it usually is a short meeting that lasts only 10-15 minutes, assuming that all your paperwork was prepared correctly.

Budgeting Class

After the 341 meeting you will have to attend a budgeting class, in which you learn how to manage your finances better. You have 45 days to complete the class and submit the certification to the court.

Notice of discharge

When you’ve gone through all the above-mentioned steps, you will get a notice of discharge by mail. This document proves that all you unsecured debt has been discharged. For secured debt, you have to decide if you are going to give it back and walk away from the debt, or if you want to keep the collateral, keep the debt and continue making the payments.

Probably the most important point when filing for chapter 7 bankruptcy is to get your paperwork right. This is where I strongly recommend for you to get the help of an experienced bankruptcy attorney. It is also a good idea to have an attorney represent you at the bankruptcy hearing, to make sure everything goes smoothly and to avoid any unnecessary complication.

Please contact our Sacramento office at 916-313-9069 or via email at info@california-bankruptcyattorney.com for a free consultation.