The 341 meeting is the mandatory meeting that any debtor filing bankruptcy must attend. It is also called the meeting of creditors because any of your creditors are free to attend and question you, however in most cases no creditors show up. It is usually just the debtor who filed bankruptcy, his or her attorney, and the bankruptcy trustee assigned to the case.

Once the 341 meeting is completed, creditors have 60 days to object to entry of the discharge. If the 60 days passes and no objections are filed, then the discharge can be entered. The trustee in the case must also file a report saying the 341 meeting has been held and concluded and stating whether any distributions have been made.

However, the debtor must also complete a mandatory debtor education course before his or her discharge can be entered. The debtor also has 60 days from the date of the 341 meeting to complete that course and file a certificate of completion with the court. If the debtor does not complete that requirement within the 60 days, the court can dismiss the case with no entry of the discharge.

Once the discharge has been entered, it will take about another 30 days and a final decree will be entered closing out the case.