You filed for bankruptcy and went to court with your attorney to make payment arrangements. This is a difficult time for you, but knowing the end is getting near, you are feeling much better about your monetary situation.
During the bankruptcy process, your attorney may have spoken with you about the payment procedures, which entails who will be handling the liquidation and talking with the creditors. All your property and assets go into one legal entity known as a bankruptcy estate. A bankruptcy trustee will then begin work on your case.
Bankruptcy trustee
Chapter 7 bankruptcy is for those with limited incomes who are not able to pay back all their debts. You will have a bankruptcy trustee who focuses specifically on this type of bankruptcy. The court appoints an impartial trustee to liquidate the assets to pay the creditors.
The job of the trustee:
Some primary duties of the trustee include:
- Rounding up the debtor’s property
- Selling the bankruptcy estate’s property
- Questioning the creditors’ claims
- Paying the creditors
- Objecting to bankruptcy discharges if necessary
The questions
Between 21 and 40 days after the filing of the petition, the trustee will hold a meeting of debtor and creditors called a 341 Meeting. As the debtor, under oath, you must answer questions from the trustee and the creditors. They may ask you some of the following questions:
- Did you read and sign the petition, schedules and statements?
- Are you familiar with all the information contained in the petition, schedules and statements?
- Is all the information in the documents true and correct?
- Are there any errors and omissions you are aware of?
- Have you filed for bankruptcy before?
There are several more questions you may have to answer to satisfy the trustee and creditors.
After the meeting, the trustee will begin looking at all your assets – exempt and nonexempt. Some exemptions may include your car and house. The trustee may sell any nonexempt property to pay your creditors.
