What is a Bankruptcy Trustee?
A Trustee is a lawyer, but not always, whose job it is to administer the bankruptcy case and bankruptcy estate. The Trustee presides over the creditor’s meeting and ensures that creditors are treated according to the bankruptcy code. A Trustee will collect and sell non-exempt property from the debtor in a chapter 7 bankruptcy, or collect pay-out money in a repayment plan under Chapter 12 or 13 bankruptcy. The Trustee acts on behalf of the U.S. Trustee Office and does not represent the debtor. Moreover, a debtor’s failure to cooperate with a trustee may result in the trustee filing a motion to dismiss the bankruptcy petition.
In all chapter 7, 12, 13 and in some chapter 11 cases, a case trustee is assigned by the court to administer the bankruptcy proceedings. Who is the United States Trustee? What is the function of the U.S. Trustee? The Office of the U.S. Trustee is an Executive Branch agency that is part of the Department of Justice. The U.S. Trustee is responsible for appointing trustees to administer bankruptcy cases and setting the First Meeting of Creditors (ยง341 Meetings) dates and times. The staff also monitors the bankruptcy cases to see if bankruptcy fraud has occurred. They are prohibited from providing legal advice.
A bankruptcy trustee will see that your creditors are paid as much as possible on what you owe them. The trustee goes through the papers you file and asks you questions at a short hearing, called the “creditors’ meeting,” which you must attend. After the hearing, the trustee collects the property that can be taken from you (your nonexempt property) to be sold to pay your creditors.
Related Questions
- Are payments received from Pathfinder subject to recovery in the event the Bankruptcy Court trustee seeks to recover monies previously paid to Gramercy Court lenders?
- How does a person buy back their own assets from the bankruptcy trustee?
- What kind of questions does the bankruptcy trustee ask people?
