SUMMARY
Qualifications and Standards for Standing Trustees; Final Rule
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SUMMARY: This final rule amends the qualifications for appointment as a standing trustee, sets forth the continuing qualifications for appointment and standards of conduct for standing trustees, and corrects certain typographical errors in part 58.
The qualifications for appointment as a standing trustee are amended to provide that certain persons who are related to standing trustees and bankruptcy judges and clerks cannot be appointed as standing trustee. The rule also sets forth fiduciary standards that govern a standing trustee's operation. These fiduciary standards address the employment of relatives, dealings with related parties, and employment of other standing trustees. The rule will aid the Director of the Executive Office for United States Trustees and the United States Trustees in supervising standing trustees in the administration of cases and in evaluating the actual, necessary expenses of standing trustees relative to fixing appropriate percentage fees and compensation. Adherence to the rule will help to ensure the fair, impartial administration of the office of the standing trustee, to maximize the efficiency of case administration, and to avoid improprieties, whether actual or perceived, that could diminish the integrity of the standing trustee system and the administration of chapter 12 and chapter 13 bankruptcy cases.