Do I have to be at my 341?

[wipetheslate]

I have been planning on filing chapter 7 in March. Was thrown a huge curveball last week as I found out I have a tumor, likely either pre-cancerous or cancerous.

I live in Hawaii, but I am going to go to the mainland for treatment. I'll be gone 6-8 weeks. Do I have to be at the 341 meeting or can my lawyer proceed? Or can I go ahead and file and have my lawyer ask for a delay of the 341?

Or do I just wait? I have health insurance and my out of pocket limit is an amount I can handle assuming my current debts were wiped out in bk.

[BobMango]

There are provisions for holding the 341 via telephone. Basically you need to coordinate with the trustee and typically you would go to a local court where an official will check your id and do the swearing in. It's fairly rare but can be done. I'd have your attorney check with the trustee to see about setting this up.

[BKDefender]

wipetheslate
I just went through the process to have my client's appear telephonically for their 341 meeting - it's a pain but it does work. Your attorney needs to contact the actual U.S. Trustee's office (not your assigned case trustee, he can't do this). Ask the person what the process is to get approval for a telephonic 341 hearing. Tell them exactly what you said here about you going for medical treatment. They'll usually make your attorney request the hearing in writing (in Nevada we can do it via email). This is how it works in Nevada. If the UST's office approves it, your attorney needs to contact the closest U.S. Trustee's office to where you will be staying on the mainland to find out if they are available at the time your 341 is scheduled. If they are, then you call your local UST again and have them coordinate with the mainland UST office near your location and with your case trustee for the phone call.
You'll go to the UST office near where you're being treated, with photo ID and social security card, go into a room with a paralegal or staff member there, they'll sit with you to place the call, and be there with you the whole time. Your case trustee will actually swear you in and the local UST staff member will verify you're following your case trustee's directions.

OR - in your case it'll probably be easier to just tell your case trustee that you're having medical treatment done, provide him proof, and ask for a one month extension of your 341 meeting.

It's just such a PAIN to get a telephonic appearance approved that I've only done it when the client moves out of state. I have one on Wednesday this week telephonically.

--William