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The Office of the United States Trustee is supposed to guard against
preceived bankruptcy abuse. In reality, there was no factual
basis for the passage of bankruptcy
"reform" in 2005.
The Office of the US Trustee is
a large office of taxpayer funded federal bureaucrats charged with
administering every
bankruptcy case filed. This government agency justifies its
existence, in part, by demonstrating how many bankrupt families it
can prosecute for a violation of the bankruptcy laws -- with the end
goal of getting your case dismissed.
Statistically, the chances of your
case being the target of a audit and a dismissal motion are quite small.
Nevertheless, it does happen. And unfortunately, it can
sometimes happen
without good cause and without a sound legal basis.
Results count. The
Office of the United States Trustee has never brought a successful
objection to discharge or motion to dismiss against a client of
William A. Morris, P.C. In a recent 2008 case, the Trustee
moved to revoke the discharge of a single, impoverished, divorced
woman. The Trustee's actions were based on nonsense from her
abusive ex-husband, but the staff attorney for the U.S. Trustee's
Office refused to back off. Following trial, the bankruptcy
court entered judgment on behalf of the client and the firm
prevailed. This
client preserved her right to walk away from tens of thousands of
dollars of debt.
The actual Office of the U.S. Trustee is not to
be confused with the panel trustee you will see at your bankruptcy
hearing. The panel trustee is actually an employee of the
Office of the U.S. Trustee. For the most part, the panel
trustee is looking for non-exempt property in your case that the
trustee can sell for the benefit of your creditors. However,
most property is exempt and cannot be taken
from you. Protecting your property is a primary function of
your bankruptcy attorney.
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