What is a Trustee in Bankruptcy?
A trustee in bankruptcy is a highly trained insolvency and restructuring professional who has passed a stringent examination process and has been licensed by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy (OSB) to administer insolvency estates. A trustee is an officer of the Court and, as such, has a duty to remain impartial in order to protect the rights of all parties involved in an insolvency proceeding. When an individual is facing financial stress a trustee in bankruptcy is well equipped to provide good advice and practical solutions.
The trustee's primary duties are to:
- Assess and evaluate the individual’s financial situation and explain the merits and consequences of the alternatives available to you;
- Prepare official documentation that is both filed with the OSB and used to notify creditors;
- Ensure that each debtor or bankrupt is provided with access to at least two financial counselling sessions:
1) The first counselling session will provide you with information on money management, spending and shopping habits, the warning signs of financial difficulty and obtaining and using credit.
2) The second counselling session will help you discover and understand the underlying causes of your insolvency or bankruptcy, and will assist you in establishing a plan to help you avoid any future financial difficulty; it will also help you develop a future financial plan.
- To check the claims of creditors to ensure they are valid and not statute barred;
- Provide access to mediation services if there is a dispute regarding amounts of surplus income the bankrupt is required to contribute;
- Sell the debtor's assets, except those assets that are exempt from seizure by provincial and federal laws, and distribute the proceeds to the creditors;
- File tax returns for the year of the bankruptcy;
- Report on the debtor's conduct before as well as during a bankruptcy, as well as the cause(s) of the bankruptcy; and
- Make an application for a debtor's discharge (in the case of individual debtors).
If you are overcome by your financial difficulties, meeting with a Deloitte bankruptcy trustee will help you make an informed decision and develop a good solution that works for you.