Many people filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Chicago
are told that they will not have to go to court. This is true but they will
have to go to a short formal meeting called-“meeting of creditors”. It is also
referred to as-“341 hearing”. The attorneys at the law offices of Chang and
Carlin, LLP can explain what the meeting is all about and what should be done
in such meetings.
To a layman the term-“Meeting of
Creditors”, may sound like a meeting where you would be facing the creditors.
But, the term actually is a misnomer. It is not a
gathering of you and your creditors during which they complain to you about
filing bankruptcy, in fact, most of the time they don’t even go. The ones which
tend to be there are those which have collateral—such as your vehicle or
furniture creditors—and then it’s often convenient to everybody that they are
there, to make appropriate arrangements with the collateral.
According to the experienced Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy lawyer Chicago at the
law offices of Chang and Carlin, most of the creditor meetings have no
creditors attending and those creditors who do
actually attend are completely unaware of the format and do not ask the sort of
questions they should be asking in order to safeguard their interests. Many
creditors’ meetings occur without any of the creditors saying a word.
Getting
prepared for the meeting
1.
Upon receipt of the
“notice of creditors’ meeting” it is important to ensure that the notice is in
fact a valid notice in compliance with the Companies Acts. In particular, a
valid notice must be sent to creditors at least 10 days prior to the date of
the meeting.
2.
Prior to the Meeting of
Creditors you should meet with your attorney to discuss your bankruptcy
petition and documents.
3.
If you do not have an
attorney, you should be prepared to be probed about your financial
circumstances and your bankruptcy petition.
4.
Make sure to bring a
government-issued picture identification card and your Social Security Card to
the Meeting of Creditors.
Since it is difficult to predict what
you will be asked at the meeting of creditors, it’s always good to be
thoroughly prepared and seek the assistance of experienced Chicago
Bankruptcy lawyers like lawyers at the
law offices of Chang and Carlin. The bankruptcy attorneys at Chang and Carlin,
LLP will help you overcome all the difficulties and make the bankruptcy filing
process easy for you.
Free
No Obligation Bankruptcy Consultation
Our experienced bankruptcy lawyers in
Chicago can help you determine if bankruptcy is the right option for you, and
will work with you to get your finances under control. For more information on
Bankruptcy law or to schedule a FREE initial bankruptcy
consultation,
contact Chang and Carlin, LLP today!
