Filing Bankruptcy in Kansas? You have three courts that handle bankruptcies: Topeka, Kansas City and Wichita. If you live west of Topeka and live north of I-70 highway, seeking a Topeka bankruptcy lawyer like Paul Post may be your best option. Few western Kansas attorneys offer bankruptcy counsel, because it requires them to drive to Topeka, Kansas City or Wichita’s bankruptcy courts.
After your bankruptcy petition is filed by you or your attorney, the bankruptcy court sends a notice to all the creditors listed on your list of creditors filed with the case. This notice is generally mailed out within five days after you file your bankruptcy petition. It advises creditors that you have filed bankruptcy, provides the case number, the location of the bankruptcy, and the name and address of the bankruptcy Trustee.
If you owe any secured creditors (that is, creditors with a lien on property such as a mortgage company, automobile finance company, furniture stores, etc) the bankruptcy does not wipe out the creditor’s lien. If you file a Chapter 13 repayment plan (sometimes called a “wage-earner plan”) your plan will make provisions for the debt to be paid so that you can keep the secured property. If you file a Chapter 7, you are required to notify secured creditors of your intentions concerning the secured property, that is, whether you want to keep the property or surrender it. This is done by filing Statement of Intent. You then have approximately 75 days to either return the secured property or agree to what is known as a “reaffirmation agreement” if you want to keep the property.
The bankruptcy courts will also mail you or your attorney, as well as all creditors a notice scheduling the so-called 341 Meeting of Creditors. This hearing is often referred to as the “Meeting of Creditors” or “341 Meeting.” At this meeting, the bankruptcy judge is never present. That is because the bankruptcy code prohibits it, as the 341 meeting is an administrative hearing presided over by the Trustee. The Trustee’s primary job is to make sure that you have complied with the disclosure requirements of the bankruptcy code, and also to generally look out for the interests ofyour creditors. The Trustee will review your bankruptcy petition and attached schedules, and ask you specific questions about these documents. Your attorney will already have provided the Trustee with tax returns and pay stubs. You may be asked to provide the Trustee with copies of bank statements, titles to motor vehicles, an appraisal of your home (if you own one) along with a recorded mortgage and deed, and perhaps other documents. Or the Trustee may be satisfied with information shown on the bankruptcy petition and schedules, and not request anything further. That decision is up to the particular Trustee assigned to your case, and depends in large mearsure on the accuracy and detail of your petition and schedules.
In most “no asset” cases, creditors rarely appear at these 341 Meeting; however, a representative from one of the companies you owe, or a person you owe, may show up at this meeting. They normally only make an appearance to ask where the secure item is located and if it is insured. Even though the 341 Meeting is known as the Meeting of Creditors, creditors do not have to attend, nor do creditors forfeit any rights that they may have in the case by not attending.
If your bankruptcy petition and schedules are sufficiently detailed and adequate to provides all the information the Trustee requires, the Meeting of Creditors will normally only last 5-10 minutes. You will ordinarily not be required to return for another meeting, although the Trustee may request that you provide additional documents or information after the meeting is concluded, which you have an obligation to do.
You can contact Paul at 785.273.1353 or use website contact form for a free consultation.