Chapter 7
Meeting of Creditors
Generally, between 20 to 40 days after your Chapter 7 case is filed, you will have to attend a meeting that is mandatory and is known as the “Meeting of Creditors.” Any creditor who wishes to ask you questions about your financial situation, may show up at the meeting and ask you questions. In the vast majority of cases, no creditors attend the meeting. As a general rule, the only creditors who appear are either creditors who are unfamiliar with the bankruptcy process and think they must appear or creditors which have a lien on major appliances or furniture which you might have purchased. For example, if you have purchased a washing machine from Sears, the Sears representative may attend the meeting. Creditors’ representatives are NOT there to argue, confront, or embarrass you, and will not engage in such conduct.
Both the bankruptcy court and our firm will inform you in writing of the exact date and time of the meeting of creditors. Our notice will also include a map to the building.
The meeting of creditors is held at the Fritz G. Lanham Federal Building in a meeting room, not a courtroom. Only in very rare instances will a Chapter 7 client have to actually go to a hearing in the courtroom.
The Federal Building is located at 819 Taylor Street, Fort Worth in Room 7A24 (seventh floor) Fort Worth, Texas 76102 - Corner of 10th and Taylor Streets. Click here for map
Several meetings are scheduled at, or about, the same time, so there will be other clients present during the meeting. If possible, you may want to show up early to see how the meetings are conducted and to assure yourself that there is very little with which to be concerned. If you are filing the case as a joint case with a spouse, both of you MUST attend the meeting.
The meeting will be conducted by a trustee whose primary job, (aside from conducting the meeting) is to collect any non-exempt assets that you may own. Since almost all cases do not have such assets, the meeting is rather short. It lasts about fifteen minutes.
When it is time for your meeting, the trustee will call your name and you along with an attoreny from our law firm will sit at the table in front of the trustee. The trustee will swear you in. The firm’s attorney will then ask you whether the information contained in your bankruptcy documents are true and accurate to the best of your knowledge and if there are any changes that need to be made. If there are any changes to the documents that need to be made, we will simply tell the trustee. For example, you may have had a change of employment or address.
The trustee often asks you to explain the circumstances that prompted you to file your case. The trustee and attending creditors, if any, may ask you questions about information in your bankruptcy paperwork. Usually, the inquiries are kept brief due to the volume of cases scheduled. In some cases, the trustee or a creditor may ask you to provide additional information, or may want to depose you at length; however, these circumstances are very rare. If they occur in your case, we will consult with you at length about your situation. After you answer the trustee’s questions, the meeting will adjourn and you will be free to leave.