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.
1. The trustee's office should be open and operating
Monday through Friday during regular business hours.
2. The trustee should have a system in
place to promptly respond in a meaningful manner to inquiries from debtors,
creditors, attorneys, and all interested parties.
3. If the trustee is not personally
available, the trustee should have competent staff available to assist or to
respond to inquiries.
4. The trustee should work to ensure
that debtors comply with their obligations under the Bankruptcy Code and
Rules.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. The trustee should have a system to
timely and accurately record all receipts and disbursements on the
appropriate debtor ledger.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.