What will the trustee ask at your 341 meeting if you have no lawyer?

What is the 341 meeting?

It is the meeting where the trustee and others present question the debtor under oath about their finances. It is not a court hearing, and the law says the court may not preside at or attend it. Creditors may join and ask questions too.6 7 2 3 4

In Chapter 7 it is held between 21 and 40 days after the petition is filed. In Chapter 13 it is held between 21 and 50 days after filing. Almost all 341 meetings are now held by Zoom.4 8 7

What questions must the trustee ask?

The U.S. Trustee Program gives trustees a list of required questions. The wording can vary, but the trustee must get an answer to the substance of each one on the record.1

1. Your name, and whether the address on your petition is still your current address. If you have moved, say so.1
2. Your picture ID and proof of your Social Security number, which the trustee reviews against the meeting notice.1 7
3. Whether you signed the petition, schedules and statements yourself, and whether you read them before signing.1
4. Whether you know what is in those papers, whether it is true and correct, and whether there are errors or omissions to point out now. If you have found a mistake, this is the moment to mention it.1
5. Whether all of your assets and all of your creditors are listed.1
6. Whether you have filed bankruptcy before.1
7. The address of your current employer.1
8. Whether the tax return you gave the trustee is a true copy of the most recent return you filed.1
9. Whether you owe a domestic support obligation, such as child support or alimony, and to whom. The other person's address and phone number go to the trustee but are not stated on the record.1
10. Whether you have read the Bankruptcy Information Sheet from the U.S. Trustee Program. Read it before the meeting.1

What else might the trustee ask?

The same official document lists sample follow-up questions that a trustee may ask when they seem relevant. Your schedules should already answer most of them, so reread those pages with these topics in mind.1

• Property: real estate you own and how you arrived at its value, any car with its value and insurance, and bank balances on the date you filed.1
• Cash, savings bonds, stocks or bonds, certificates of deposit and any safe deposit box.1
• Property you transferred or gave away within the last year, or longer under state law, and any payments over $600 to anyone in the past year.1
• Money that may come to you: debts owed to you, a claim or lawsuit, a tax refund, life insurance, an inheritance, property from a divorce or separation, or a winning lottery ticket.1
• Whether you filed and carried out your statement of intention for secured debts, and any business you ran in the last six years.1

If you become a beneficiary of anyone's estate within six months of filing, the trustee must be told within ten days. In a Chapter 7 case, the trustee must also make sure you understand the effect of a discharge on your credit history, your ability to file under a different chapter, and the effect of reaffirming a debt.1 2 4

What changes when you attend without a lawyer?

The meeting itself is the same. The law says the debtor shall appear and submit to examination under oath, whether or not a lawyer is involved.2 3 4

What changes is who does the groundwork. The U.S. Trustee Program asks that documents be sent to the trustee by the debtor or the debtor's attorney, if represented, so a person filing alone sends them personally.9 7

Be clear about the trustee's role. A Chapter 7 trustee's duties include investigating the debtor's financial affairs, and the trustee is not responsible for giving you legal advice.10 11 4 5

To rehearse, the U.S. Trustee Program's 341 meeting page has videos on common questions and simulated Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 meetings, plus instructions for joining by Zoom.7

What do the official sources say to send and bring?

The U.S. Trustee Program asks that the items below be sent to the trustee at least 14 days before the meeting, or within another timeframe the trustee requests. The tax return has its own deadline in the law.9 7

How should you answer when you are under oath?

The examination is recorded, and your answers sit alongside forms you signed under penalty of perjury. Answer the question asked, briefly. If you do not know or do not remember, say so instead of guessing.12 13

The consequences of a false answer are set out in the law. The court may deny a Chapter 7 discharge for reasons that include knowingly and fraudulently making a false oath or account in the case.14 15

If something on the forms is wrong, the rules allow a correction: a debtor may amend a petition, list, schedule or statement at any time before the case is closed.16

What can happen after the meeting?

The person presiding may adjourn the meeting to a later date and time by announcing it at the meeting. Several clocks also run from the meeting.12

A trustee or creditor may generally object to a claimed exemption within 30 days after the meeting concludes. In Chapter 7, a complaint objecting to the discharge must be filed within 60 days after the first date set for the meeting, and the financial management course certificate is due in the same 60 days unless the provider has already notified the court.6 17 18 19 15 20 21

If the trustee raises a concern about property, a transfer or a valuation, the federal courts strongly recommend advice from a qualified attorney.22