Maine Bankruptcy and Debt Relief Blog

United States Trustee Initiative

Posted on 02/02/2006 at 05:26 pm by Jim Molleur
Viewed 31 times

Bankruptcy Article #9

The United States Trustee's office for the District of Maine evaluates individuals filing Chapter 7 petitions to determine whether they might be better placed in some other bankruptcy chapter. Individuals with higher incomes are the targets. If a debtor has higher income and is capable of making some payment toward his or her debts, the U.S. Trustee's office may file a motion to dismiss the Chapter 7 case. Debtors at that point have the option of either disputing the U.S. Trustee's position (which will result in extensive litigation and additional counsel fees for the debtor) or converting his or her case to a Chapter 13. If the debtor converts the case to a Chapter 13, the U.S. Trustee's office will not pursue its inquiry of the debtor's finances since the Chapter 13 Trustee's office is capable of performing that function.