How do you get to be a trustee?!

[Rona123]

As I was sitting and waiting for over 3 hours for my 341 yesterday, I started wondering just how the guy sitting in the front of the room got there in the first place.

Is there a trustee school somewhere?

Are trustees former BK lawyers?

Does some kid tell his Mom "I want to be a trustee when I grow up!"??

I asked my lawyer, and even he didn't know.

Where do these guys come from, anyway?!

[StaciMM]

I think trustees ARE bankruptcy attorneys. Alot of them are, at least. Perhaps some were bankruptcy attorneys.

[SinkingFast]

Our Trustees here are practicing BK attnys. If one has a client, the other automatically get's assigned to the case.

How they get the job of Trustee, I don't know. But it evidently has nothing to do with life experience.

One of the Trustees here is a relatively young, unmarried woman. Our attny said when she first came on board, the BK attnys had to teach her that people with kids have higher living expenses. Parents with school aged children have more expenses than parents of tots and toddlers. Parents of teens have even higher living expenses. He said it's taken a while, but she's come to realize that X# people doesn't equal X# people, cost wise, in different families.

The other one is an older gentleman with grown kids and grandkids. He's been there done that and knows costs change as children grow.

[Minnymouth]

Most Trustees are bankruptcy attorneys with lots of experience....

Trustees are appointed by the US Trustee..... There is a "pool" of attorneys that are authorized to be Trustees.... (they are experienced and attend special classes for Trustees) They are assigned their cases by the US Trustee...

The US Trustee is appointed by the Attorney General in Washington, DC....

Yes, its a "good ole boy" situation and they all eat, drink and be merry together...... judge included.........

If you think they don't - HELLO, YOUR WRONG!!!!

[SinkingFast]

I've been reading up on this.

You don't have to be an attny to be a BK Trustee. You can be a CPA. In either case, the US BK Court will instruct the candidate in the BK Laws, how they are to be applied, rules of conduct, etc.

US Trustees are selected by the Appellate Couts, I think. Then US Trustees select Standing Panel Trustees. US Trustees are Federal employees. Standing Trustees are not Federal employees. They are private individuals, usually praciticing BK attnys, who are nominated and approved to represent the interests of the Court, the Creditors, and, to some extent, Debtors.

If a would be Trustee is an attny, they have to be a member of the highest Bar in their state or the District of Columbia. They also have to be a member in good standing. Trustees have to pass the same FBI background check that all Federal Employees are put thru. They must be bondable. All Trustees are bonded. Standing Trustees are bonded under an "aggregate bond" while nominated Trustees must submit their own bond.

Trustees are supposed to be totally objective, and unbiased. They are supposed to swear an oath to uphold the laws of the Court, be fair to all parties involved, and to not abuse their powers to attain special favors or remuneration.

The Trustee assigned to your case when you file is an Interim Trustee. Between the time you file and up to and during your 341, the Creditors and/or debtor can nominate another person to act as the Trustee for the case. No reason has to be given as to why either party chooses to select thier own Trustee. The Nominated person must meet certain criteria, must accept the nomination, and must provide their own bond, unless another Standing Trustee is selected. A Standing Trustee must deny the appointment within a few days, or they automatically get assigned to the case, and their aggregate bond will serve as the bond for the BK.

There's tons of info about how to become a Trustee available at the DOJ. It just takes a little diggning to find it all.

I read about one Trustee who really abused his power. Especially with women filers, pro se filers, and persons of other ethnic backgrounds. His disgusting behaviour was documented over a period of more than 2 years. One lady filer had an old car. The Trustee said, "Not worth much, eh?" She told him if he saw it he'd know that was true. He said not to mess with him. Sometimes he just takes things to be mean. There were many more comments recorded. Sexual in nature. Racial slurs as well. He received several warnings from the US Trustee, but did not heed the warnings. In December of 2005, that Trustee was suspended from receiving new cases in rotation, for get this,........... FOUR months. That's it!! That was his whole penalty. Oh, and he will be monitored on a light case load before returning to full duty. IF he steps over the line again, he will be dismissed and not allowed to practice as a Standing Trustee again. Unreal. People working regular jobs have been fired for much less derogatory behavior.