Chapter 7 threatened dismissal for missed deadline

[jstmd13]

Can any one tell me what the notices mean that threaten dismissal of the case if you don't comply with this or that fee, information requests, or appearances? Does the court dismiss that case as the notices claim, or are there other actions the court can take that are detrimental such as seizure of assets without the requisite actions being met- non payment of fee for an example. If dismissed are you barred from refiling again?

[LadyInTheRed]

Welcome to bkforum!

We will be better able to help you if you tell us exactly what is going on. Have you filed bk? Did you file pro se or do you have an attorney? Have you actually received a notice or some other document? If so, exactly what did you receive and what does it say? If there is a motion to dismiss, is it because you didn't pay your filing fee or something else?

If a case is dismissed, you can file again, but there are consequences. Whether or not a dismissal of your case is all that will happen depends on why it is being dismissed.

[justbroke]

It reads as though this is the standard 11 USC 521 Duties of the Debtor notice that is sent with the commencement of the case. As LadyInTheRed wrote, we don't know specifically what you are asking without more details.

[jstmd13]

I filed for Chapter 11 due to million dollar legal fees generated in a business lawsuit against an embezzling partner. This Chapter 11 was converted to a 7 when the lawyer I owed money to rejected my plan. Now a trustee is assigned to Chapter 7 and is requesting a meeting before creditors and payment of fees, both of which I will not pay/perform. Notices for the above threaten dismissal if I do not comply. My question is, will the dismissal happen automatically or can the Chapter 7 continue without my payment or endorsement?

[justbroke]

Did you personally file Chapter 11 or was the Chapter 11 a.) a business filing, and/or b.) an involuntary filing. If you "personally" file for Chapter 11 and it was converted to a Chapter 7, for various reasons, then why would you not comply and receive a discharge of your personal responsibility for ALL DEBTS that arose before the commencement of the Chapter 11 case (with certain non-dischargeable items)?

A Chapter 7 Trustee can take an involuntary Chapter 7 all the way to its conclusion without your participation. However, you risk that all prior debt may be forever non-dischargeable (a dismissal with prejudice). That could be after the Chapter 7 Trustee liquidates the estate and you still don't receive a discharge.

Do you have an attorney? A Chapter 11 is a very complex proceeding and you generally need to appease your largest creditor by negotiating with them. Now that you're converted to a Chapter 7, you really need to decide what to do. I would say that being able to discharge a $1,000,000 fee due to a legal battle may be worth it staying in the Chapter 7 and seeing it to its conclusion; but I'm not you.

Typically, the Chapter 7 Trustee doesn't request "fees" from you personally but from the Estate. The Estate can exist of all assets that become part of the Estate upon filing (or conversion). The Trustee may need to liquidate the Estate in order to get his/her fees. Since I don't have any idea of what your case is about, whether you are/were represented, and what the fuss is all about, I can't really comment any more. Suffice it to say that you need to have your attorney read the Trustee's notice of conversion and/or the commencement of Chapter 7 to determine specifically what the Trustee wants.

According to my handy-dandy guide, the fee for conversion from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7 is $15. (http://www.nvb.uscourts.gov/filing/f.../fee-schedule/) Any other fees, the Chapter 7 Trustee would normally obtain from the Chapter 11/Chapter 7 estate through liquidation or other means.

[LadyInTheRed]

Now a trustee is assigned to Chapter 7 and is requesting a meeting before creditors and payment of fees, both of which I will not pay/perform.

Do you realize the the creditor's meeting is something that every debtor must attend in order to get a discharge? When you convert from one chapter to another, a new meeting is required. This isn't something the trustee just decided to request.

If the issue is that the trustee is trying to liquidate assets you want to keep, it may be that if you have any choice at all, that choice is to either keep the assets and the $1M debt or cooperate, lose the assets, get the debt discharged and move on to rebuild your finances without being weighed down by debt.

You sound like you are digging your heals in and refusing to cooperate. Don't expect that to end well unless it is part of a well developed strategy that you are implementing on the advice of an attorney.