You've received an official envelope from a Bankruptcy Court. When you open it you find a form that may look something like this: Notice of Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Case.

What does it mean? What should you do?

First of all, it means that you (or the entity to whom the envelope was addressed) has been listed as someone with an interest in a bankruptcy case. You might be a creditor or you might be someone who's name shows up in a company's files.


You might know the name of the debtor (the entity that filed bankruptcy) or you might not. See our article Finding Information About Debtors in Bankruptcy to learn more about how you can get additional information about how you were listed, what your relationship is to the debtor or how to follow the progress of the case. 

The form you received is called the Notice of Commencement of Case. It is also called the 341 Notice, so-called because it provides information about the first creditor's meeting scheduled in the case as required under Section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code, the federal law that governs our bankruptcy system.

The form is divided into sections, and there's a handy guide on the reverse that tries to explain what a lot of the terms and sections mean. Bankruptcy is a technical area of the law and it is likely that a lot of what you will read there will be difficult to interpret unless you have a business or legal background. 

There are three main categories of information you need to understand from this form: identifying the major players, understanding deadlines and meetings, and the automatic stay.

Identifying the Major Players:

The first section identifies the debtor, the debtor's attorney, the trustee assigned to the case (if it's a Chapter 7 or a Chapter 13 case). It also tells you at the top where the case was filed, for instance, the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas, Division, and lists the case number. The first two digits are for the year. If there are initials at the end, those are the initials of the judge to whom the case was assigned. The middle digits are assigned as cases are filed. If the middle digits are 01465, that case was the 1,465th case filed that year.

Deadlines and Meetings:

Deadlines and dates in bankruptcy cases are very important. The first date you'll see on the notice will likely be the date for the Meeting of Creditors. The Meeting of Creditors is the first opportunity that a creditor usually has to question the debtor about the bankruptcy case. Back in the day, creditor meetings were a lot more important than they are today. Creditors do not often attend the meetings today, but trustees use the meeting to elicit testimony from the debtors about their finances and to clarify any questions that arise from the information the debtor provides in his bankruptcy schedules.

As a creditor, you have a right to attend the meeting and question the debtor regarding the debt, the debtor's intentions with regard to the debt, the trustee's plans for liquidating any non-exempt assets, or any other relevant inquiry. You do not need to take a lawyer with you, but you could hire a lawyer to attend with you or to attend in your place.

For here for more information about what to expect at a meeting of creditors. 

You should also be aware of other deadlines on the form. For instance, there may be a deadline for when you have to file a claim form, called a Proof of Claim, for your debt. That is usually 60 days after the date set for the meeting of creditors. In some cases, the date may be set later.

Other important dates are the deadlines for filing objections to exemptions or objections to the discharge. Read more about these issues by clicking on the blue links. 

The Automatic Stay

The third, and perhaps the most important thing you need to understand about the Notice is that you are prohibited from taking certain actions to collect your debt without permission of the bankruptcy court. The Automatic Stay is an injunction, or a court order, that prohibits action, in this case action to collect debts. Here are some of the actions that you must cease until you have been told by a court or by a lawyer that you can continue. This is not an exhaustive list. 

• Filing or continuing a lawsuit involving the debt
• Telephone calls and text messages
• Letters and notices
• Emails
• Repossession and foreclosure actions
• Setoff of accounts
• Garnishing wages

Learn more about the automatic stay and actions that a creditor cannot take to collect a debt after bankruptcy is filed at Are You A Creditor? Don't Do This is a Bankruptcy Case.

Please consult a qualified bankruptcy attorney before you take any further action on your debt. If you take action that is in violation of the automatic stay, you could be held in contempt of court and ordered to pay fines and damages to the debtor.