A 341 meeting, also known as a creditor’s meeting, is presided over by the United States Trustee, and allows creditors and the trustee an opportunity to question debtors about the schedules and statements filed in their bankruptcy case.  This meeting is required under 11 U.S.C. § 341 of the Bankruptcy Code, hence the name.  Creditors are not required to attend the meeting, and in most consumer cases they do not.  In Chapter 13 consumer bankruptcy cases, the only creditors that generally attend the 341 meeting are representatives of the Attorney General when the debtor pays child support and the Internal Revenue Service when the debtor owes taxes.

Trustees use this meeting to question the debtor regarding their assets and financial situation in order to determine whether or not to file an objection.  The 341 meeting also starts the clock on several deadlines.  In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, creditors have sixty days following the 341 meeting to object to discharge.  In a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case, secured and unsecured creditors have ninety days following the 341 meeting to file a claim in order to receive payments from the trustee.  The meetings generally last between five and fifteen minutes.  For most debtors the 341 meeting is the only hearing that they will have to attend while in bankruptcy.