The Chapter 13 "341(a) Meeting of Creditors":
What should I expect?



341 Meeting of Creditors Locations:

Akron 341(a) Meeting Room Location:
First Energy Building
76 South Main Street
Room 120, Plaza/Atrium Level
Akron, OH 44308

Cleveland 341(a) Meeting Room Location:
Howard M. Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse
201 Superior Avenue East
6th Floor
Cleveland, OH 44114


Chapter 13 Meeting of Creditors, the 341(a) meeting:

A 341 meeting of creditors is a mandatory meeting that take place at least 21 days after your Chapter 13 bankruptcy has been filed but no later than 40 days after your file date. The Chapter 13 341 meeting of creditors is, in many ways, similar to the Chapter 7 meeting of creditors, or 341 meeting. The process is similar, so you won’t meet in a court room nor will a judge be present. The meeting of creditors for both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 are held in a small office-like room with just you, your bankruptcy attorney, and the Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 bankruptcy Trustees. The Trustee conducts the meeting and sees several bankruptcy filers each and every day. The meeting will last 5 to 15 minutes and is one of the last steps in the bankruptcy process.

The main difference between a Chapter 7 meeting of creditors and a Chapter 13 meeting of creditors is what the Trustee focuses on in the meeting and the questions they might ask.

The Trustees ask different questions in each type of case because their goals for each type of bankruptcy are different. Their goal in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy meeting of creditors is to maximize the amount of money they can collect from you or property they can sell through Chapter 7 to pay back creditors (it’s usually absolutely nothing and why creditors do not show up to 341(a) meetings).

The goal of a Chapter 13 Trustee is to make sure your repayment plan is the best you can do, meaning all of your disposable income (after allowable expenses) is being used for your repayment plan. Your repayment plan is developed by you and our bankruptcy attorney and submitted to the bankruptcy court upon filing Chapter 13.


The Chapter 7 Trustee focuses on property and assets while a Chapter 13 bankruptcy Trustee will evaluate your income, expenses, and disposable income.

If you have nonexempt assets that you’d like to keep, Chapter 13 is a good option for you because it allows you to keep those nonexempt assets while paying into a monthly payment plan, which is adjusted according to income and expenses. Your monthly payment plan will include a payment to pay a small fraction of your debts. The Chapter 13 bankruptcy Trustee will verify the income, assets, property, and disposable income presented in your file, they will be straight forward and easy to answer. Just be open and honest and the whole meeting of creditors should wrap up in less than 15 minutes.

Filing Chapter 7?

Read about Chapter 7 meeting of creditors.


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