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Standing trustees
are appointed by United States Trustees under 28 U.S.C. 586 to administer chapter
12-13 bankruptcy cases. The following "Pledge of Excellence" was developed
by the U.S. Trustee Program in conjunction with the National Association of
Chapter 13 Trustees to reflect that standing trustees are committed to the highest
standards of professional, moral and ethical conduct.
STANDING
TRUSTEE PLEDGE OF EXCELLENCE
Standing Trustees are committed to excellence and to providing a high level of trust and service
to chapter 13 debtors and creditors. Creditors, debtors, attorneys, judges and others who come
into contact with Standing Trustees are entitled to service which adheres to the highest standards
of professional, moral and ethical conduct.
- The trustee's office should be
open and operating Monday through Friday during regular business hours.
- The trustee should have a system
in place to promptly respond in a meaningful manner to inquiries from debtors,
creditors, attorneys, and other interested parties.
- If the trustee is not personally
available, the trustee should have competent staff available to assist or
to respond to inquiries.
- The trustee should work to ensure
that debtors comply with their obligations under the Bankruptcy Code and Rules.
- The trustee should work to ensure
that debtors comply with the provisions of their plan and should take appropriate
action if the debtor fails to commence plan payments when required or if there
is a subsequent default in plan performance.
- The trustee should maintain a
system which efficiently tracks the progress and the receipts and disbursements
in every chapter 13 case, from the time it is filed until the case is closed.
- The trustee should have a system
to timely and accurately record all receipts and disbursements on the appropriate
debtor ledger.
- The trustee should disburse plan
payments to creditors on a monthly basis, and should have procedures in place
to properly classify and pay creditors' claims and to detect and recover any
erroneous payments.
- The trustee should ensure that
all trust account ledgers and accounts are balanced on a monthly basis and
should have a procedure to regularly review all cases with significantly large
balances on hand or other fund irregularities.
- The trustee should maintain a
reasonably comprehensive system of internal controls over accounting and office
operations, both paper and electronic, to safeguard estate assets and trust
funds.
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Last Updated:
Thursday, June 12, 2003 3:09 PM
U.S. Trustee Program/Department of Justice
usdoj/ust/ajc