What is the Meeting of Creditors?

The meeting of creditors, also called a 341 meeting, because it is held pursuant to section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code, is often the only appearance that a debtor makes in his bankruptcy. The meeting is conducted by the bankruptcy trustee appointed to the case, not the bankruptcy judge. The purpose of the meeting is for the trustee to question the debtor under oath about the debtor's schedules and statement of affairs, and to allow creditors to question the debtor. In most cases, creditors don't appear at the meeting. This is because their appearance is useless in most cases, especially where the debt is unsecured. Occasionally a secured creditor will appear and ask about insurance, condition of the collateral or what the debtor intends to do (surrender, redeem or reaffirm the debt). In Utah, trustees hold meetings every hour with 10-12 debtors appearing each hour. This means the trustees allocate 5-6 minutes per case.