Bankruptcy

The Bankruptcy Trustee Is Not The Debtor's Friend

By Jonathan Alper

Once in a while our office gets a call from the Chapter 13 Trustee or one of the Chapter 7 trustees telling us that one of our clients called or wrote their office about an issue in or question about their case. We then contact the client and explain to them that when they are represented by an attorney in a bankruptcy case their attorney should handle all communications with their bankruptcy trustee. Why would a bankruptcy debtor bypass their attorney and speak directly to a trustee?

I think some clients try dealing directly with their trustee because they believe they will get a faster response, and some may think they will be charged legal fees if they asked their attorney to call the trustee (rarely true). In some cases the debtor wants to verify, or have explained, an answer they have already received from their bankruptcy attorney.

One of our bankruptcy trustees discussed this issue at a meeting with a group of bankruptcy attorneys. The trustee told the attorney group that when a represented bankruptcy debtor calls his office he assumes that there may be a problem in the bankruptcy case. His assistant will always review the bankruptcy file for unresolved issues or overlooked facts. More often than not, his review will result in problems for the debtor.

The Trustee told the attorneys that, "no good thing can happen from a (debtor) calling a trustee." He advised us to explain to our bankruptcy clients that the trustee is not the debtor?s friend.

Full post as published by Florida Bankruptcy Law on March 07, 2010 (boomark / email).