When you file your bankruptcy case – whether it is Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 – the bankruptcy court appoints a trustee to oversee your case.  The trustee’s job is to administer your bankruptcy estate.  Your estate consists of all of your assets and liabilities.

In a Chapter 7 case, your trustee will evaluate your Chapter 7 petition and determine whether there are any assets to liquidate.   In most cases, all of your assets will be “exempt” or sheltered – which is why most Chapter 7 cases are “no asset” cases.  If there are any assets that we cannot shelter, then the trustee will sell those assets and distribute the proceeds to your creditors.

In a Chapter 13 case, the Chapter 13 trustee serves as a kind of banker.  You fund your case by sending money to the Chapter 13 trustee, who then distributes that money per the terms set out in your plan.

Both the Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 trustees are part of the United States Trustee’s office, which is part of the U.S. Department of Justice.   This means that all petitions filed under Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 are reviewed by an attorney in the United States trustee’s office for accuracy.  Accuracy in submitting information to the bankruptcy courts is a must – everything you file is submitted under penalty of perjury and you can find yourself  in trouble if you intentionally misrepresent your financial situation.

The U.S. trustee’s office generally gets involved if they see an issue in the means test or median income test calculations.   Usually any means test issues can be resolved, but again, you must provide our office with all requested information about your income, expenses, assets and liabilities.