Regardless of the type of bankruptcy, a bankruptcy filing will be assigned a trustee. A bankruptcy trustee is appointed by the United States Trustee and is supervised by the court and U.S. Trustee officers. The duties of the trustee will vary based on the type of filing and the specific case details but in all cases, the trustee is responsible for evaluating and making recommendations based on the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.  The bankruptcy trustee will serve to represent the debtor’s estate and administer the chosen course of action for the abatement of debt.

What is a Bankruptcy Trustee?

For most filings, the trustee will first review the case and verify the financial information provided, ensuring the claim is not fraudulent. The first meeting with the trustee and the debtor will most likely be at a meeting of the creditors.  At this recorded meeting, the trustee will verify the identity of the filing party and the pertinent claim information through a series of standard questions.

What happens next is dependent on the type of bankruptcy being filed. For a Chapter 7 filing, the bankruptcy trustee will be in charge of managing the liquidation of assets and distributing the resulting funds back to the creditors. Typically, the bankruptcy trustee will receive a commission from this process, anywhere from three to twenty-five percent. As for a Chapter 13 filing, the trustee oversees the arranged repayment plan. The trustee’s payment, which cannot exceed five percent, is usually built into the plan.

In any filing, the bankruptcy trustee is supervised by the court and must get court approval for the agreed-upon course of action. Establishing a knowledgeable legal team to represent your case will help ensure your interests are protected during this process. Contact our team of experienced attorneys for more information on filing for bankruptcy.