341 Meeting

The first meeting of creditors is also referred to as the 341 meeting because section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code is the statute which refers to this meeting held by the trustee.  The trustee is not a judge, but rather a trustee appointed by the Bankruptcy Court to search for problems that the debtor might have with their case.

First, the trustee is looking to see if there are any non-exempt assets that can be liquidated.  Typically, there are not.  The trustee is also looking to see if there are any preferences or fraudulent transfers.  There is a trustee appointed for all Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases.

Typically, the meeting is very short.  In a Chapter 7 case the debtor almost always receives their discharge from their unsecured debt, including credit card debt 60 days after the meeting.