Missouri Bankruptcy Attorneys
If you are thinking of filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and got curious about the role of a trustee, you are not alone. Numerous people in Kansas City and other countries are often confused about the trustee’s role in bankruptcy cases. It is undeniably true that filing for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 requires individuals to understand its whole concept, including knowing the role of the bankruptcy trustee. If you are new to this, calling a skilled bankruptcy lawyer can make things clear to you.
Choosing Roach Bankruptcy Center, LLC as your legal counsel for questions about before filing for bankruptcy, automatic stay, stop foreclosure, stop repossession, stop garnishment, stop creditor harassment, means test, and others can be highly beneficial. Our legal team is experienced and skilled in bankruptcy law, and we are dedicated to serve you with utmost excellence.
You deserve debt relief to save your property and keep your home. Don’t hesitate to seek legal help; set a free consultation now!
The Bankruptcy Trustee
The bankruptcy court is legally granted the right to have control of your personal properties. Your trustee’s contact information and name will be indicated on the official notice, which you will receive through the mail box, days after filing your bankruptcy petition. The bankruptcy trustee, or sometimes its staff, will evaluate your documents to ensure that they are accurate. At this point, the trustee should also make sure that the creditors can be properly paid.
Primarily, the trustee will be checking out what you possess and claim for property exemptions. They will also check your financial transactions from the past. In rare cases, your previous financial transactions are unwound. The recaptured assets may be given to your creditors. Furthermore, since the trustee gets a percentage of the recovered assets, they will get paid if they find more for the creditors. Thus, it would be wise to conclude that trustees are not there to help you.
In other bankruptcy courts, they appoint a full-time trustee in bankruptcy. While other courts have a rotating bankruptcy trustee from a panel of trustees. In any of the two, bankruptcy trustees’ responsibilities will not be in any way different.
Facing Imminent Foreclosure?
We can help save your home! Even if time is running out, we’ll find a way. Find out how by speaking with our bankruptcy lawyer in Kansas City, Missouri today.
Call Us Today! (816) 454-5555
The Role of Bankruptcy Trustee in Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Kansas City
The trustee will get a minimal fee for assessing your bankruptcy paperwork and a percentage of the assets they sell. This incentive is to encourage the trustee to fastidiously examine your property, including properties that are transferred or sold before filing bankruptcy. Although trustees are required to be fair, their own interests will always take precedence. Hence, it will always depend on every trustee concerning how much they are willing to help you.
Below are the salient roles of bankruptcy trustee in Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Kansas City, Missouri:
Reviews your Bankruptcy Petition
Bankruptcy filings entail accomplishing a petition and other pertinent bankruptcy paperworks and schedules. In this paperwork, you will provide your financial and personal information regarding your debts, income, property, and financial affairs. You will also need to send substantial information to the bankruptcy trustee, such as tax returns, pay stubs, and your assets.
One of the prime duties of every bankruptcy trustee in Kansas City is to assess your petition for bankruptcy and validate all the pertinent calculations and information using their sources and financial documents. If you disclosed that you earn $3,000 per month, for example, the bankruptcy trustee would compare your pay stubs to see if this is true.
Examine the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Debtor
A month following the filing of your bankruptcy petition, you are required to participate in a 341 meeting of creditors. This is done while the bankruptcy trustee is present. While creditors can throw questions at you at the 341 meeting, there are slim chances that they will attend. In most cases, creditors only attend when they suspect you of hiding some assets. One of the roles of the bankruptcy trustee in Chapter 7 Kansas City is to initiate the hearing and ask questions about the data contained in your form while you answer them under oath.
Sell Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Assets
The trustee in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy is responsible for selling your properties if you cannot protect them. The funds that they will get from those will be distributed to the creditors. In Chapter 7, you can retain or exempt some amounts of your property such as clothing, household furnishings, or qualifying retirement accounts. Your protected assets will always be determined by state exemption laws.
- If you have nonexempt property – Nonexempt property is a property you possess that is beyond and above the allowable amount by your state. This will be sold by the bankruptcy trustee and have the funds distributed to your creditors. Before filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, knowing what will probably happen to your properties is crucial. You do not have a legal or automatic right to have your case dismissed. Judges in bankruptcy court will not allow you to cancel the petition just because you discovered too late that the bankruptcy trustee would sell your property.
- If you don’t have nonexempt property – If none of your assets were exempted, the bankruptcy trustee would issue a report stating that your case is classified as “no-asset,” which means no distributions will be made to your creditors.
There are cases when a debtor and the bankruptcy trustee will not agree on the exemption status of some assets. In cases like this, the judge has the right to make the final decision. If you are having problems because your properties cannot be turned over, your bankruptcy attorney will help you.
Avoid Security Interests and Certain Transfers
In addition, the trustee in bankruptcy has a number of powers to prevent inaccurately executed security interests or preferential transfers. If you have transferred property to another individual or paid creditors you prefer, such as friends or family members, the trustee can legally avoid or undo them and recover the property or money to disperse among your creditors.
Likewise, if a creditor placed an improper security or lien on your property, the trustee can avoid them by selling the property for free and removing the lien. These circumstances, however, are uncommon. It is most likely to occur if a family member or friend is the lender and was unable to properly prepare the loan paperwork or record the lien.
Facing Imminent Foreclosure?
We can help save your home! Even if time is running out, we’ll find a way. Find out how by speaking with our bankruptcy lawyer in Kansas City, Missouri today.
Call Us Today! (816) 454-5555
Call our Bankruptcy Attorney in Kansas City, Missouri Now!
After knowing and understanding the role of the bankruptcy trustee in Chapter 7 bankruptcy Kansas City, it is imperative to be diligent before filing this Chapter. In Chapter 7, the bankruptcy trustee will not assist you. Only you or your bankruptcy attorney can do so. With the complex bankruptcy laws, getting legal help is always a wise decision.
Roach Bankruptcy Center, LLC is the bankruptcy law firm in Kansas City that you can trust. We are strongly dedicated to resolving your debt problems and giving you a fresh start. We thoroughly listen to your situation and offer the best possible legal remedies. Our knowledgeable bankruptcy lawyer will help you save more time, money, and effort! Other than Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, our firm also handles Chapter 13. If you need legal help, schedule a free consultation now!