How Much Time Do I Spend In Court In Bankruptcy?

A big anxiety that my clients face before and during their cases with my office is their actual day in court. Reality television and serialized court drama series have painted a picture where if you find yourself stepping foot into a courtroom for any reason, you should be prepared to be there often and for a long time. Luckily, this is not the case in bankruptcy.

When you file for bankruptcy, your court date, also known as the “Meeting of Creditors” is assigned usually within the next six weeks after filing. Your attendance is required for this meeting and is necessary in completing a successful bankruptcy. Now, what happens when you get there? A trustee, assigned by the court, whose role is to ensure that your creditors receive fair compensation through your bankruptcy filing, as well as to ensure your bankruptcy was filed in good faith, will ask you questions about your case and the contents of the paperwork that were filed with the court.

Who will be at the Meeting of Creditors?

You and your attorney will be present at the court date and will be alongside other attorneys and their clients who will be called up by the trustee one at a time to discuss their respective cases.

As the name suggests, your creditors are invited to your meeting of creditors so that they may send a representative to assert their rights and state any arguments in opposition to your discharge, but it is very rare for any creditors to show up in the first place, especially in Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings. Although the meeting is named for them, ironically, they are rarely present.

What is Discussed at the Meeting of Creditors?

Typical questions you may be asked by the trustee will include, but may not be limited to:
1. 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?
2. 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?
3. Are all of your assets identified on the schedules? Have you listed all of your creditors on the schedules?
4. Have you previously filed bankruptcy?
5. Is the copy of the tax return you provided a true copy of the most recent tax return you filed?
6. Do you have a domestic support obligation? To whom?
7. Have you filed all required tax returns for the past four years?
8. Do you own or have any interest whatsoever in any real estate?
9. Does anyone hold property belonging to you?
10. Do you have a claim against anyone or any business?
11. Are you the plaintiff in any lawsuit?
12. Are you entitled to life insurance proceeds or an inheritance as a result of someone’s death?
13. Does anyone owe you money?
14. Have you made any large payments, over $600, to anyone in the past year?
15. Do you anticipate that you might receive any property, as the result of someone’s death?
16. Have you been engaged in any business during the last six years?

Once the trustee has interviewed you, if they are satisfied with everything they have heard and require no further time in court, they will conclude the meeting. If there are outstanding questions or additional document disclosures required, then they will continue the meeting to a later date. The good news is that most issues raised that require a continuance can be resolved outside of a courtroom and many of our clients do not end up attending that second court date so long as they provide what the court has requested during their first meeting of creditors well in advance of the second court date.

In total, our clients typically spend about 60 to 90 minutes in court. The reason why the court date is so short as opposed to other legal proceedings is that if your bankruptcy case has been prepared well and the supporting documents have been provided well in advance of the court date, the bulk of the review and verification of your case will have already been completed before you step foot in the courtroom.

Special Circumstances (COVID19)

As of the date of this article’s publication, the bankruptcy court in our jurisdiction has been conducting court dates telephonically or via the Zoom app. This may not be the case when you try to file at a later date, but in extraordinary circumstances the courts have made arrangements to conduct all meetings of creditors via remote methods. This adjustment can be reverted at any time, so it is important to know exactly how you’re appearing for court when your meeting date has been assigned when your case has been filed.

If you have questions about the bankruptcy process reach out to your Stockton bankruptcy attorney at (209) 952-0355.