Personal Bankruptcy in the Southern District of Texas is an important procedure. In order to obtain the discharge that is one of the most important goals of going through bankruptcy in Houston, Conroe, or anywhere in the Southern District you must fulfill your obligations to the Bankruptcy Court. If you do not fulfill your obligations to the Court, your case may be dismissed or some of your debts may not be discharged.

This is Part 6 of my series reviewing your obligations as a bankruptcy filer in Harris County or Montgomery County and the Southern District of Texas. In addition to the obligations we previously discussed, your obligations include:

1. You are required to appear and attend a Meeting of Creditors. The clerk of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court provides notice of this meeting. If you have not received notice of your meeting within 20 days after your case is filed, contact your attorney. The meeting can only be rescheduled as a result of an emergency or an unavoidable or unforeseen conflict. Work related conflicts must be resolved by you. Travel and/or vacations plans are not grounds for rescheduling. If you are not represented by counsel, requests for a new date and time must be in writing and received more than 15 fifteen days prior to your scheduled meeting and you must provide a statement as to the nature of the emergency or conflict. It is the Trustee’s discretion as to whether a reset date and time will be given. You or your attorney will be responsible for re-noticing all creditors of the date and time of the reset. Do not call the Clerk’s office and ask for a reset.
2. You must bring picture identification issued by a governmental authority to your Meeting of Creditors, such as a driver’s license, and your social security card. If you do not have a social security card, you must bring a pay stub, W-2, 1099 or other documents not created by you with the complete number. Your tax return is not sufficient. Failure to bring proper identification or proof of social security will cause your meeting to be reset.
3. If your meeting is reset, you and your attorney must sign and file with the Court a written statement that the reset date is the new date for the First Meeting of Creditors, and that you agree and acknowledge that all deadlines associated with the date set for the First Meeting of Creditors run from the new date.

Your Houston Bankruptcy Attorney can represent you through the process and make sure you fulfill your legal obligations in order to get the discharge you are entitled to. We will continue our review of your obligations to the Bankruptcy Court in your Chapter 7 case in our next article.

Related posts:

1. Your Duties in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy – Part 5
2. Your Duties in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy – Part 1
3. Your Duties in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy – Part 3