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Glossary

Continuance in Bankruptcy: Moving a Meeting or Hearing

A continuance is the postponement of a scheduled bankruptcy event, such as the § 341 meeting of creditors or a court hearing, to a later date. A request to continue the § 341 meeting generally goes to the case trustee — or the U.S. Trustee, or the Bankruptcy Administrator in Alabama and North Carolina, in Chapter 11 — because the court may not preside at that meeting.

Key points

  • A continuance postpones a scheduled event, such as the § 341 meeting of creditors or a court hearing; it moves the date and nothing else.
  • The court may not preside at or attend a § 341 meeting, so requests to move that meeting go to the case trustee, or in Chapter 11 to the U.S. Trustee, or the Bankruptcy Administrator in Alabama and North Carolina (11 U.S.C. § 341).
  • When a meeting is continued before its original date, the debtor or the debtor's attorney commonly must notify all creditors of the new date and file proof of service.
  • A continuance does not excuse the debtor from appearing and submitting to examination under oath (11 U.S.C. § 343) — being excused is a separate request.
  • A motion to "continue the automatic stay" means keeping an existing stay in force, not postponing anything.

If a notice arrived saying a meeting or hearing has been continued, or your lawyer says one is being requested, the word is doing simple work: a date is moving. What varies is who decides, what notice has to go out, and what the delay costs. Those details are set by each bankruptcy court's local rules, so your own district is the place to check.

What does "continuance" mean in a bankruptcy case?

A continuance is a postponement. Something already on the calendar is moved to a later date — most often the meeting of creditors held under 11 U.S.C. § 341, but also a plan confirmation hearing, a hearing on a motion, or a trial in an adversary proceeding. Local rules use several names for the same thing: continuance, rescheduling, adjournment, or postponement (S.D. Ohio LBR 2003–1; D. Md. LBR 9013-7). Nothing about the underlying obligation changes when the date does. If the § 341 meeting moves, the debtor still must appear and submit to examination under oath at the rescheduled meeting (11 U.S.C. § 343). Deadlines already running in the case do not pause on their own because a date moved, and creditors entitled to notice still have to be told the new date (11 U.S.C. § 342). A continuance buys time; it does not erase anything.

Why does a continuance matter in a bankruptcy case?

The § 341 meeting is where the trustee, and any creditor who attends, examines the debtor under oath about debts and property (11 U.S.C. § 343). Because much of a case is sequenced around that meeting, moving the date commonly moves what follows. Some districts link the two directly: in Maryland, a Chapter 7 debtor requesting a continuance may have to certify that a consent motion has been or will be filed to extend deadlines that run from the meeting, and to deliver required documents to the trustee with the request (D. Md. LBR 9013-7). Missing the meeting altogether is a different problem. In the Eastern District of Missouri, an unexcused failure to appear leads the trustee to set a continued meeting, and a second unexcused absence leads the trustee to ask that the case be dismissed (E.D. Mo. L.R. 2003). In Chapter 7, unreasonable delay by the debtor that is prejudicial to creditors is listed as cause for dismissal (11 U.S.C. § 707).

Who grants a continuance, and how is one requested?

Asking the right office first is most of the job. Because the court may not preside at or attend a § 341 meeting (11 U.S.C. § 341), requests to move that meeting are directed to the trustee or the U.S. Trustee rather than the judge (W.D. La. LBR 2003-1; N.D. Ind. L.B.R. B-5071-1). The basics are consistent: contact the trustee as early as possible, in writing in some districts, identifying the circumstances that prevent the debtor or counsel from appearing (Bankr. D. Idaho LBR 2003-1). If the request is granted before the original date, the debtor or the debtor's attorney commonly must file a notice of the continued meeting, serve it on all creditors and parties in interest, and file a certificate of service (S.D. Ill. LBR 2003; D.N.M. LBR 2003-1). A trustee may also continue a meeting by announcing the new date at the meeting itself and docketing it, with no further notice required.

Where a continuance request goes
What is being continuedWho the request goes to
§ 341 meeting in a Chapter 7, 12, or 13 caseThe trustee assigned to the case (Bankr. M.D. Ala. R. 2003-1)
§ 341 meeting in a Chapter 11 caseThe U.S. Trustee, or the Bankruptcy Administrator in Alabama and North Carolina (Administrative Office of the United States Courts, Trustees and Administrators)
A court hearing or trialThe judge, by motion or an approved agreed request — agreement of counsel alone is generally not enough (D. Mass. LBR 5071-1; N.D. Ga. BLR 5071-1)

What do people get wrong about continuances?

Three mix-ups come up repeatedly. The first is filing a motion with the judge to move a § 341 meeting. In the Middle District of Florida, such a motion is denied by an internal form order directing the movant to the case trustee or the U.S. Trustee (Bankr. M.D. Fla. Procedure Manual — Motion to Continue or Reschedule 341 Meeting). In the Southern District of Ohio, the court may be asked only after the trustee has denied the request (S.D. Ohio LBR 2003–1). The second is reading "continue" as "postpone" everywhere. A motion to continue the automatic stay asks the court to keep an existing stay in force for a repeat filer whose stay would otherwise end early under 11 U.S.C. § 362 — the opposite of pushing a date back. The third is treating a continuance as an excuse from appearing. Excusing a debtor's appearance is a separate request, generally supported by documentation, and inconvenience alone is not a sufficient basis (Bankr. M.D. Ala. R. 2003-1).

Frequently asked questions

Can I ask the judge to continue my 341 meeting?
Generally no — that request goes to the case trustee, or in a Chapter 11 case to the U.S. Trustee, or the Bankruptcy Administrator in Alabama and North Carolina. The court may not preside at or attend a § 341 meeting (11 U.S.C. § 341), and some districts deny such motions by form order and direct the movant back to the trustee (Bankr. M.D. Fla. Procedure Manual — Motion to Continue or Reschedule 341 Meeting).
Does a continuance change the automatic stay or my deadlines?
No — a continuance moves one event on the calendar and nothing else. Deadlines running in the case are extended only if someone asks and the applicable rule or the court allows it. In Maryland, for example, a Chapter 7 continuance request may require a certification that a consent motion to extend related deadlines has been or will be filed (D. Md. LBR 9013-7).
How many times can a 341 meeting be continued?
There is no single national answer, because district local rules differ. Some require a request to state the number of prior continuances and why the trustee did not simply continue the meeting (KYEB LBR 2003-1); others let the trustee continue a meeting from time to time by announcement (E.D. Mo. L.R. 2003). Repeated delay carries risk: in Chapter 7, unreasonable delay prejudicial to creditors is listed as cause for dismissal (11 U.S.C. § 707).

Sources

By Antonio G. Jimenez, Esq. · Florida Bar No. 21022

Sources verified July 28, 2026 · How we verify

Every figure on this page is drawn from a primary legal source and checked against our canonical legal database before publication. Bankruptcy.law is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.

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