However, very recently I have had a lot of clients come to me very concerned and worried about this meeting. They want to know what to expect. The best thing you can do to be prepared is to know what types of questions the Trustee might ask you.

Here are a few sample questions of what your Trustee might ask you and things you should keep in mind when under oath at your 341 Meeting in Jacksonville:

1. Once you have been placed under oath, your Trustee will have you state your full legal name and your current residence and/or mailing address?
2. Do you have a picture ID and social security card for me to review?

3. Did you sign and review the Bankruptcy Petition, including all of the statements, schedules, and other related documents, prepared by your attorney?

4. Do you personally know the information listed and written in the Bankruptcy Petition, including all of the statements, schedules, and other related documents, filed by your attorney? Is everything true and correct to the best of your knowledge and belief? Are there any mistakes or oversights you need to advise me of?

5. Did you list all of your assets in your Petition as well as all of your creditors?

6. Have you ever filed bankruptcy before?

7. Are you employed? What is the address of your employer?

8. Did you provide me with a true copy of your most recent tax return?

9. Are you obligated to pay any domestic support obligations such as child support or alimony?  If so, to whom?

10. Have you read the Bankruptcy Information Sheet fully prepared by the United States Trustee?

11. Do you own or have any interest in any real property such as a house or lot?

12. Does anyone currently hold any property that is owned by you? If so, who is holding the property and what is it?

13. Do you have any reason or right to file a court action against an individual or any business?

14. Are you part of any legal proceeding? If so, can you explain the status of each case and who you are represented by?

15. Have you transferred any property or given away any property within the last one year.

16. Do you own any vehicles? If so, state the year, make, model and value of each vehicle? Do you owe any money on it/them? Is it/are they insured?
17. Do you anticipate that you might get any property, cash or otherwise, as a result of a divorce or separation proceeding?
Again, the best way to calm yourself when getting ready for your 341 Meeting is to be prepared! While the questions above are a good starting point, they are just the most general questions. Based on your specific situation, the Trustee could ask you additional or a few different questions. As with any type of legal process, is it always best to seek the advice of an attorney. Contact the Law Office of David M. Goldman, PLLC today and speak with a Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney.

6 to 8 Years Before Filing a Jacksonville Chapter 7 Bankruptcy:

If you filed a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy before AND received a discharge of your debts, then you will not be eligible to file a new Chapter 7 Bankruptcy before eight years after you filed your previous Chapter 7 Bankruptcy.

If you filed a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy AND received a discharge, you might be able to file a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy after six years if you paid a minimum of 70% of your unsecured claims.

1 Year Before Filing:

Your Bankruptcy Trustee can look back as far as one year for debts paid back to relatives or close business partners. What this means is that a payment made to a relative or business partner could be construed as a preferential payment over your other creditors. If this should happen, the Court could take the payment back from them in order to distribute it evenly to all of your other creditors.

This same concept holds true if you have tried to hide your assets from your creditors by transferring, destroying or hiding any of your property within one year of filing Bankruptcy. In this situation, the Trustee might deny a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy discharge and/or recover the property.

However, your Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney may prefer that you wait two years to ensure there are no issues when you do file.

90 Days Before Filing:

You must have residence status in the state in which you intend to file your bankruptcy.

If you have not lived in your present state for a minimum of 90 days, then you must file your bankruptcy in the state you have lived or where your principal assets were located for the majority of the 180 days before filing your bankruptcy.

Also, do not pay back any of your creditors and do not incur new debts of $500.00 or more for unnecessary things such as luxury goods.

Once your Jacksonville Bankruptcy has been filed:

The Automatic Stay is immediately put into place. This means your creditors can no longer try to collect a debt from you or harass you with telephone calls.

The Court will then draft a Notice of Commencement, which it will mail to your creditors to give your creditors notice that you have filed bankruptcy.

The Notice of Commencement will also tell you when your Meeting of Creditors is scheduled, the deadline in which your creditor’s much file claims, and who your Trustee will be.

30 Days After Filing your Jacksonville Bankruptcy:

You must tell the Court what secured assets you intend to keep or reaffirm by filing a Statement of Intentions with the Court. The Statement of Intentions will also tell the Court which secured assets you wish to turn over to your Bankruptcy Estate.

Approximately 3 to 6 Weeks After Your Jacksonville Bankruptcy is Filed:

Your Meeting of Creditors is held. You must provide your Trustee all financial documentation requested at least seven days before your Meeting of Creditors is held.

30 Days After the Meeting of Creditors:

Your Jacksonville Bankruptcy Trustee and your creditors must file any objections they have within 30 days after your Meeting of Creditors has been held.

90 Days After the Meeting of Your Creditors is held:

Your creditors must file their Proof of Claim with the Court. The Proof of Claim tells the Court how much you owe them. A creditor will only receive payment from your Bankruptcy Estate if they have filed a Proof of Claim.

If you are thinking about filing a Jacksonville Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, you most likely still have many more questions about the Jacksonville Bankruptcy Process. Contact the Law Office of David M. Goldman, PLLC at (904) 685-1200 today for a free initial consultation. The experienced attorneys at the Law Office of David M. Goldman, PLLC can help you feel your best about the difficult decision of filing for a bankruptcy.

What is the purpose of the 341 meeting?

The original purpose behind the 341 meeting was to give your creditors the opportunity to scrutinize your affairs. In other words, it is your creditors opportunity to try to find any assets you have that can be sold by your Trustee and then the proceeds dispersed amongst your creditors. However, in reality, creditors rarely attend these 341 meetings. Instead, it is another opportunity for the Trustee to ask you questions about your petition and the financial documents you previously provided to your Trustee. The Trustee is in essence searching for any asset you may have omitted accidentally or on purpose that can be sold to pay your creditors. Again, if you prepared your petition truthfully, then the meeting should not last very long.

Questions the Trustee may ask you at the 341 meeting.

It is always much less stressful going into an unknown situation if you can prepare yourself for it. Therefore, below is a list of questions the Trustee may or may not ask you at your 341 meeting.

State your name and current address for the record.

1. State your name and current address for the record.
2. Please provide your picture ID and social security number card for review.

a. If the documents are in agreement with the § 341(a) meeting notice, a suggested statement for the record is:

“I have viewed the original state of ________ drivers license (or other type of original photo ID) and original social security card (or other original document used for proof) and they match the name and social security number on the § 341 (a) meeting notice.”

If the documents are not in agreement with the 341(a) meeting notice, a suggested statement for the record is:

“I have viewed the original social security card (or other original document used for proof) and the number does not match the number on the § 341(a) meeting notice. I have instructed the debtor (or debtor’s counsel) to submit to the court an amended verified statement by [date], with notice of the correct number to all creditors, the United States Trustee, and the Trustee, and to file with the court a redacted copy of the notice, showing only the last four digits of the social security number, and a certificate of service.”

When the documents do not match the petition, the Trustee shall attempt to ascertain why, and shall report the matter to the United States Trustee.

If the debtor did not bring proof of identity and social security number, the Trustee shall determine why.

3. Did you sign the petition, schedules, statements and related documents, and is the signature your own? Did you read the petition, schedules, statements and related documents before you signed them?

4. Are you personally familiar with the information contained in the petition, schedules, statements and related documents? To the best of your knowledge, is the information contained in the petition, schedules, statements and related documents true and correct? Are there any errors or omissions to bring to my attention at this time?

5. Are all of your assets identified on the schedules? Have you listed all of your creditors on the schedules?

6. Have you previously filed bankruptcy? (If so, the trustee must obtain the case number and the discharge information to determine the debtor(s) discharge eligibility.)

7. What is the address of your current employer?

8. Is the copy of the tax return you provided a true copy of the most recent tax return you filed?

9. Do you have a domestic support obligation? If so, to whom? Please provide to me the claimant’s address and telephone number, but do not state it on the record.

10. Have you read the Bankruptcy Information Sheet provided by the United States Trustee?

11. Do you own or have any interest whatsoever in any real estate?

If owned: When did you purchase the property? How much did the property cost? What are the mortgages encumbering it? What do you estimate the present value of the property to be? Is that the whole value or your share? How did you arrive at that value?

If renting: Have you ever owned the property in which you live and/or is its owner in any way related to you?

12. Have you made any transfers of any property or given any property away within the last one year period (or such longer period as applicable under state law)?

If yes: What did you transfer? To whom was it transferred? What did you receive in exchange? What did you do with the funds?

13. Does anyone hold property belonging to you?

If yes: Who holds the property and what is it? What is its value?

14. Do you have a claim against anyone or any business?

If there are large medical debts, are the medical bills from injury? Are you the Plaintiff in any lawsuit? What is the status of each case and who is representing you?

15. Are you entitled to life insurance proceeds or an inheritance as a result of someone’s death?

If yes: Please explain the details.

If you become a beneficiary of anyone’s estate within six months of the date your bankruptcy petition was filed, the Trustee must be advised within ten days through your counsel of the nature and extent of the property you will receive. FRBP 1007(h)

16. Does anyone owe you money?

If yes: Is the money collectible? Why haven’t you collected it? Who owes the money and where are they?

17. Have you made any large payments, over $600, to anyone in the past year?

18. Were federal income tax returns filed on a timely basis? When was the last return filed? Do you have copies of the federal income tax returns? At the time of the filing of your petition, were you entitled to a tax refund from the federal or state government?

If yes: Inquire as to amounts.

19. Do you have a bank account, either checking or savings?

If yes: In what banks and what were the balances as of the date you filed your petition?

20. When you filed your petition, did you have:

any cash on hand?
b. any U.S. Savings Bonds?
c. any other stocks or bonds?
d. any Certificates of Deposit?
e. a safe deposit box in your name or in anyone else’s name?

21. Do you own an automobile?

If yes: What is the year, make and value? Do you owe any money on it? Is it insured?

22. Are you the owner of any cash value life insurance policies?

If yes: State the name of the company, face amount of the policy, cash surrender value, if any, and the beneficiaries.

23. Do you have any winning lottery tickets?

24. Do you anticipate that you might realize any property, cash or otherwise, as a result of a divorce or separation proceeding?

25. Regarding any consumer debts secured by your property, have you filed the required Statement of Intention with respect to the exemption, retention or surrender of that secured property? Please provide a copy of the statement to the Trustee. Have you performed that intention?

26. Have you been engaged in any business during the last six years?

If yes: Where and when? What happened to the assets of the business?

If you are considering filing bankruptcy or have already filed without an attorney, but now wish to hire an attorney to help you complete your bankruptcy, contact the Law Office of David M. Goldman, PLLC today at (904) 685-1200. The initial consultation is free and we strive to help the difficult process of filing bankruptcy as easy and stress free as possible.

You are a Florida resident and have decided to file for Bankruptcy. You seek the guidance and advice of a local Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney. During your meetings you disclose your personal property but leave out some valuables because you don’t want to run the risk of loosing them to the Court. Next, you attend the required 341 hearing and swear under oath all your personal property is listed. The Bankruptcy continues, however, one day you return to your home to find it completely empty. The bank has come and cleaned out the house, in violation of the law. You go to your attorney who advises you to create a list of all the items missing. Upon inspection, your attorney discovers you have not listed all your personal property in the voluntary petition. He questions you. What happens now?

The answer is not as straightforward as one would hope. The client believes they will just file suit for the missing items and move on. However, several issues arise. First, you lied to your attorney and used their services to perpetrate fraud on the Court. They may choose to end representation because of your actions. Next, you lied to the Court, therefore, you committed perjury and your Bankruptcy may be thrown out. So, you could be left in a worse position then you would have been in the first place. Also, the property you didn’t list could be exempt for one reason or another, so your actions were for nothing!

People who will get notice of a case filing are those to whom the debtor owes money, those with whom the debtor owes money, the debtor’s lawyer and the trustee appointed by the court.

Everyone who files for bankruptcy is required by 11 USC §341 to attend a hearing called a “341 Hearing”, it’s easy to see where it gets it’s name. This hearing is public, but is generally attended by only lawyers and other people filing for bankruptcy. There is a chance that a debtor could run into someone they know at a 341 hearing, but unless that person was a lawyer, they’re almost definitely declaring bankruptcy as well.

A reaffirmation agreement is a proposal to re-enter into a contract once a bankruptcy has ended, often with the same terms as the original agreement. Most often it functions to allow people to keep a financed car through a bankruptcy.

When people file for bankruptcy and have an attorney, their attorney appraises them of their rights and obligations when it comes to a reaffirmation. However, there are rare occasions when people attempt to file bankruptcy on their own or with a petition preparer (a non-lawyer who helps fill out forms but cannot give advice). When this happens, the Court has now ruled in In re Pitts, that an official hearing must occur at which time the Court will inform the debtor of their rights and obligations under the reaffirmed agreement. If this hearing does not occur, then the reaffirmation agreement will be deemed unenforceable.

1. Are you personally familiar with the information contained in the petition, schedules, statements and related documents? To the best of your knowledge, is the information contained in the petition, schedules, statements, and related documents true and correct?

2. Are all of your assets identified on the schedules?

The only time the debtor may have to appear in court is if a creditor or the bankruptcy Trustee files a motion or an adversary action, or if the debtor’s Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer chooses to dispute a debt.

Normally these hearings are not included in a standard bankruptcy fee and you should discuss the costs with your Jacksonville Bankruptcy Lawyer.

Some sample questions include:

Does anyone owe you money?

This is an important part of all Jacksonville Bankruptcy proceedings and it is very important that you attend this meeting. At the 341 meeting, you’ll answer several questions. The questions may differ slightly, but generally the court will ask you to explain how your debt situation evolved, what actions you’ve taken with your property, and the status of other financial information. You must answer these questions truthfully if you want your bankruptcy petition to be successful.

With a Bankruptcy in Jacksonville, The 341 meeting takes place at the federal courthouse and can be intimidating if you do not know what to expect. You may want to get to the courthouse early in order to watch some other 341 hearings before yours; this will let you become comfortable with the environment and the questions that you might be asked. Not all 341 proceedings are the same (each debtor has different creditors who may or may not attend); however, if you feel uncomfortable, you have the right to a Bankruptcy Lawyer at your 341 hearing.