341 Notice and Deadlines

When a petition is filed, the national Bankruptcy Noticing Center sends a "Notice of Commencement of Case" to every creditor and other person or entity listed on the debtor's mailing list. This notice states that the debtor has filed a petition, names the trustee (in Chapters 7, 12, and 13), states whether the case is "asset" or "no asset", and fixes various deadlines. See Bankruptcy Rule 2002(f).

The notice also gives a date and time for the first meeting of creditors under section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code. Creditors need not attend this meeting; a creditor does not lose its claim for failure to attend. In all chapters except chapter 11 the 341 meetings are held on trailing dockets; that is, several cases are set to be heard at the same time. The purpose of the 341 meeting is to enable the trustee to examine the debtors under oath regarding the information that has been filed with the Court. Creditors are also given an opportunity to ask questions. Since time is limited, however, the creditor's questions should only relate to general matters regarding the debtor's schedules. If the creditor wishes to do an in depth examination, it should request a Rule 2004 examination from the Court.

In chapter 7 cases, the notice sets forth the deadline for filing objections to the debtor's discharge and for filing objections to dischargeability of a particular debt. THESE DEADLINES ARE STRICTLY ENFORCED.

If the case is an asset case, the notice also sets the deadline for filing proofs of claim. THIS DEADLINE IS STRICTLY ENFORCED.