What to Expect From Your Bankruptcy Trustee

July 14th, 2009 by Reed Allmand

As the number of bankruptcies increase, bankruptcy courts are seeing more and more people file bankruptcy for the first time. According to the American Bankruptcy Institute the number of bankruptcy filings increased by 36 percent in the first six months of 2009 and those filing for bankruptcy are coming from all walks of life. Because of the recession, many bankruptcy courts aren’t just seeing hourly workers but also small-business owners and professionals working at all levels. Many of these people are nervous about the process especially their relationship with the bankruptcy trustee. Many ask, what should a bankruptcy filer expect from the trustee?

The bankruptcy trustee is empowered by the court to meet with debtors, creditors and approve (or disapprove) Chapter 13 bankruptcy plans or Chapter 7 bankruptcy discharges. The bankruptcy trustee is also responsible for collecting payments from debtors and disbursing them to creditors. It is important to remember that bankruptcy trustees are responsible for making sure that creditors receive the maximum amount of money owed to them allowable within the law. The bankruptcy trustee is not responsible for educating the debtor on which bankruptcy exemptions they should take etc. In other words, the bankruptcy trustee does not “represent” the debtor and is not in a position to “advocate” on behalf of the debtor, that’s what bankruptcy attorney’s are for. It is important that debtors remember this fact. To find out more about bankruptcy, contact a Dallas-Fort Worth bankruptcy attorney today.

About Reed Allmand

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Allmand's vision is rooted in his own financially precarious childhood in Abilene "My father always had difficulty holding a job and supporting our family, so after my parents divorced when I was 12, my sister and I got jobs to help make ends meet," he recalls. "I remember what it felt like as a child to worry that our car would be repossessed or home foreclosed on."

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