Bankruptcy

New Bankruptcy Trustees, New Rules!

By Joseph McDaniel, Esq.

One is that two new trustees have joined the panel of trustees in the District of Arizona.

And so far, I like 'em a lot.

At some points in the past, some new trustees have needed a break-in period to rub off some of the new.

These folks, for whatever reason, seem to have required no break-in period whatsoever.

They have shown a high degree of professionalism in their First Meetings of Creditors, and a high degree of courtesy toward my clients, which I always appreciate (although I warn my clients that bankruptcy trustees are, you know, human; they therefore have good and bad days. Go figure.).

They're both smart, which is good.

Mostly.

One of them, on the other hand, suggested that she might be objecting to an exemption based on a conflict in the case law.

Well, at least my client had the courtesy of a heads-up!

On the other hand, it's important that all debtors understand that no list of property claimed as exempt is completely safe, and no pre-bankrupcy planning whatsoever is without some risk. Any trustee on the panel can decide to object to an exemption or a transfer in any case.

And it may be my imagination, but it appears to me that the Trustee Panel in general is becoming more aggressive in objecting to exemptions claimed by debtors (either because of a technical issue, or because of a valuation issue), although most of those get settled in the ordinary course of business.

Most clients understand that those are just the speed bumps on the road to the fresh start, and that no amount of thought, planning, and research will guarantee a bankruptcy without speed bumps.

On the other hand, if bankruptcy cases were simple, easy, predictable and safe, people wouldn't hire bankruptcy lawyers to Sherpa them through the process.

NOTHING HERE CONSTITUTES LEGAL ADVICE RE A CHAPTER 7, CHAPTER 13, CHAPTER 11, OR CHAPTER 12. FIND AN ARIZONA BANKRUPTCY LAWYER WHO IS BOARD CERTIFIED IN BANKRUPTCY LAW, AV RATED, AVVO 10 RATED, ON SUPERLAWYERS, OR JUST VERY EXPERIENCED AND A FORMER CHAIR OF SOME BANKRUPTCY SECTION OR COMMITTEE. NOTHING HERE MAY BE USED AS LEGAL ADVICE IN CONNECTION WITH ANY BANKRUPTCY, WHETHER THAT BANKRUPTCY IS IN PHOENIX, GLENDALE, TEMPE, MESA, SCOTTSDALE, OR ANYWHERE ELSE.

Full post as published by Arizona Bankruptcy Attorney Blog on June 14, 2010 (boomark / email).