A hearing before a judge in bankruptcy court is rarely required. This only happens if there is a problem in your case. For example, if one of the creditors claims that you incurred a debt fraudulently then we might have to go to court. But this is certainly the exception to the rule.
Usually, I file your bankruptcy petition and at the same time I send all the supporting documentation (paycheck stubs, documentation of valuation of your property, etc.) to the trustee.
As soon as I file the petition for bankruptcy I am notified who the trustee is and the date and time of the 341(a) hearing (also known as the Meeting of Creditors.) Of course, I let you know immediately.
The San Diego hearings are all conducted in the same place: The Emerald Plaza Building at 402 W. Broadway suite 630 in Downtown San Diego.
Before the hearing I will talk to you about what questions I expect the trustee to ask you. Also, I have been finding recently that, even though I have sent all the supporting documentation to the trustee well before the hearing, the trustee still asks for documents at the hearing. I arrive with the documents well organized so that we can present the trustee with the documents he requests. We avoid paper shuffling at all costs!
On occasion, the trustee will ask for additional documentation. Sometimes he will ask me to make a change in your bankruptcy petition or schedules and return for a second meeting in 3 or 4 weeks.
Once in a while a creditor will show up. If the creditor is a non institutional creditor, for example, a tradesman that has a claim, he might try to ask inappropriate questions or even attempt to harass you at the hearing. I will be there to protect your interests.
Once the 341(a) meeting is concluded that’s usually our only involvement except you must complete a post petition financial management course. After the 341(a) meeting and completion of the post petition financial management course we receive a notice from the court that your discharge has been ordered. This occurs a little over 2 months from the original date of the 341(a) hearing.