Detroit Chapter 7 Creditor Meetings

Except for Monroe and Washtenaw Counties, (which are held in Ann Arbor) Chapter 7 341 hearings for the Eastern District of Michigan, that is, Detroit, are held in the building at 211 West Fort in downtown Detroit.  A Comerica bank takes up most of the lobby.
The building takes up the block bounded by Fort Street on the North, Shelby on the East, Congress on the South, and Washington Boulevard on the West.

There are entrances from either Fort Street or Washington Boulevard.

You do NOT have to go through a metal detector to get to this hearing, just take the elevator to the third floor.

Once there, there is a door leading to a large central room, with several small conference rooms on the left and right, and four different hearing rooms at different corners inside, in which the actual hearings are held.

Creditor meetings, or 341 hearings, are held every half hour from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with breaks for lunch.

There is a parking structure across Washington Boulevard.  Or, there is valet parking one block east at the entrance to the Penobscot Building, $10. 

Parking ease depends on what other events, like the Auto Show, are going on.

Always try to be there 30 minutes early.

You have to produce a picture ID, and Social Security card, or other proof of your Social Security number.

You should have provided your attorney with documents for the Trustee, who presides over the hearing, ahead of time.  Bring everything with you, just in case.  Your attorney can tell you which documents the court rule requires.

The rule is repeated in full in my form court date letter, on my website.

Do not expect a formal court setting.  The trustee, maybe with an assistant, sits at a table with a tape recorder, which makes the official record of the hearing.

There are chairs to his or her left for debtor attorneys, on the right for creditors who wish to ask questions on the record, and across from him for debtors.

You have to be sworn in before answering questions.

Because of electronic filing, you will be asked to verify your signature on the original papers, which your attorney should have with her.

Up to seven or eight hearings are scheduled for each half hour.  If one or more cases has run long, you may be delayed one or two hours before your case is called.

Most cases take less than ten minutes, usually closer to five, though some creditor attorneys, for the car finance companies or credit unions, may want to talk to you and your lawyer after the hearing.

Always answer questions truthfully.  If you do not know, you do not know.  If you do not remember, you do not remember.  If you do not understand a question, say so.

Check with your attorney before the hearing if you have questions about it.  You want to finish the first time, and not have to come back to clear up loose ends.