The meeting of the creditors is where the bankruptcy trustee and any interested creditors can ask you questions about your bankruptcy papers and financial affairs while you are under oath. It is the job of the trustee to make sure that you are not abusing the bankruptcy system or not telling the truth about your petition for bankruptcy.
In many cases, the meeting of the creditors will only take a few minutes. You will be asked a few questions by the trustee to make sure everything in your bankruptcy paperwork is accurate and complete. However, if your petition for bankruptcy does not match the supporting documentation, such as tax returns and paycheck stubs, the trustee will question you extensively on all of the discrepancies. You should review all of your paperwork before your hearing.
Make Sure You Can Attend Your Meeting of Creditors
Unless you have a valid reason to reschedule your meeting of creditors, you are required to attend your hearing at the scheduled time. If you aren’t in attendance, the bankruptcy trustee will dismiss your case. If your case is dismissed, you will have to pay the court filing fees and file again.
Make Sure the Bankruptcy Trustee Has All Required Documents
Before your hearing, you must send the trustee certain documents supporting your case so that they can compare them to the information in your bankruptcy papers. The amount of documentation you need to send will depend on whether you are filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.
Review Your Bankruptcy Papers for Accuracy
You will be asked about the information contained in your bankruptcy papers. Before the hearing, go over your bankruptcy petition and make sure there are no errors and that nothing has been omitted. Doing this also helps refresh your memory and makes answering the trustee’s questions a little easier.
Bring All Necessary Paperwork to Your Meeting of Creditors
Make copies of everything and bring them to the meeting. If you have all of the paperwork with you, you can use them as a reference when answering questions.
What Will the Trustee Ask About?
Along with verifying the information in your bankruptcy petition, the trustee will be looking for any other information that can add to the recovery for your unsecured creditors. The trustee is allowed to ask you about anything that can affect your bankruptcy. The questions will mostly be about your debts, assets, income, and expenses.
Common Questions the Bankruptcy Trustee May Ask
Different trustees have their own way of doing things. The kinds of questions you get asked will depend upon the trustee assigned to your case and the individual facts of your case. The following are some common trustee questions:
- Is all of the information in your bankruptcy papers correct and true to the best of your knowledge?
- Have all of your assets been disclosed?
- Are all of your creditors listed?
- Do you have any previous bankruptcy filings?
- Have you filed tax returns on time?
- Have you transferred any property in the last 2 years?
- How did you calculate the value of your assets?
- Do you own an interest in a business?