Proof of Claim

• The Chapter 7 Trustee will begin investigating the debtor's assets once the bankruptcy case is filed. If the Trustee feels that there may be non-exempt assets to sell or money to collect, he will file a Notice of Asset Case. Each creditor will receive a copy of this notice along with a Proof of Claim form. Each creditor must complete this form and return it to the court for filing by the due date shown on the Notice of Asset Case. Failure to complete the form or submit the form by the due date will likely result in non-payment of the claim.
  
  

Trustee Review of Claims

• Once the deadline for submitting Proofs of Claim has passed, the Trustee will review the claims to determine if he can object to any. The Trustee will object to claims for various reasons, including but not limited to lack of documentary support; late filing; incorrect amount; wrong debtor; incomplete form; lack of signature; and mischaracterization of the type of debt.
  
  

Trustee Objection to Claims

• The Trustee will file an Objection to Claims with the court after he has finished reviewing all claims on file. The Objection will set forth each claim to which the Trustee is objecting as well as the grounds for his objections. The Trustee will ask that the claims either be rejected entirely, reduced or changed. The Objection will include a date and time for a hearing. If the Trustee objects to a creditor's claim, the creditor may file a response to the Objection and must appear at the hearing. If the Trustee objects and the creditor does not respond or appear, the court will sustain the Trustee's objection, and the claim will be disallowed or altered.
  
  

Distribution

• Once the claims have all been filed and the objections to claims have been resolved, the Trustee will make a distribution. The creditors will receive payment based upon the payment priorities set forth in Section 507 of the Bankruptcy Code. After distributions are made and administrative expenses are paid, the Trustee will file his Final Report. If no parties object to the Final Report, the case will be closed.