This question is regarding listing a trustee as a creditor. I may be
refiling a Ch. 7 pro se since it seems that, for my situation, I have
learned the hard way from my present attorney. I have my original
filing papers and feel that I am competent enough to complete those on
my own.

For a brief history.....

I filed Ch. 7 in December 2002. Had my attorney advised me properly, he
would have told me to wait until April 2003, which I could have done, to
file because I repaid a family member money($6000) from a downpayment on
a house I sold in March 2002. The attorney said, mistakenly, that he
didn't think the trustee would care about that.

Well, he was wrong and the trustee was going to try to get the $6000
back from this family member. To avoid this, he suggested converting to
a Ch. 13 and then defaulting on the payments to get the Ch. 13
dismissed. Once it is dismissed, I could refile the Ch. 7 and wouldn't
have to disclose the repayment of the family member because it would
have been more than a year.

The conversion was successful, however, after the conversion I received
a notice that the Ch. 7 trustee wanted to be compensated for
"administrative expenses" of $400.00 for his services in the Ch. 7. The
motion that the trustee filed also listed that he believed "the debtor
converted his case to a Ch. 13 because of a possible fraudulent transfer
to his grandmother...." My attorney said this would "go away" with the
Ch. 13.

The Ch. 13 was dismissed without prejudice in May 2003. Now, I am
wondering if I should include the trustee as a creditor. I would say
yes. When I called the attorney after receiving the dismissal, he said
"oh yeah, that is good thinking." Figures. I just want to make sure
that is the right thing to do. Would listing this trustee as a creditor
raise any flags? I assume that he couldn't be appointed trustee of the
case if he is listed as a creditor. I know there are many trustees, but
you never know who you will get.

I never received anything from the trustee's attorney about collecting
the debt. Any opinions?

This issue has never come up in my practice. In thinking about
it, however, it would seem that the Trustee'm administrative
expense is a charge only to your previous bankruptcy, and thus
the Trustee would not be a creditor in your new case. Some
jurisdictions, however, might require the payment of this expense
as a condition of refiling, or could make problems for you in
some other way. I'd strongly recommend finding a good lawyer to
handle your current case. If you let me know your state and the
nearest large city, I'll see if I can refer you to someone.

--
Brett

************************************************** ***************
* Personal Injury/Malpractice Bankruptcy *
* *
* BRETT WEISS, P.C. *
* Attorneys at Law *
* Maryland, D.C. and Federal Bars *
* lawyer@erols.com *
* http://www.erols.com/lawyer *
* *
* Small Business Estates & Estate Planning *
************************************************** ***************

The Small Print: This response is for discussion purposes only.
It isn't meant to be legal advice and you shouldn't treat it as
such. If you want legal advice, speak with a local lawyer
familiar with your state's laws who can review *all* of the facts
and the law applicable to your situation.
************************************************** ***************


"some guy" <here@home.com> wrote in message
news:3F1B5BEC.7060709@home.com... This question is regarding listing a trustee as a creditor. I
may be refiling a Ch. 7 pro se since it seems that, for my situation,
I have learned the hard way from my present attorney. I have my
original filing papers and feel that I am competent enough to complete
those on my own. For a brief history..... I filed Ch. 7 in December 2002. Had my attorney advised me
properly, he would have told me to wait until April 2003, which I could have
done, to file because I repaid a family member money($6000) from a
downpayment on a house I sold in March 2002. The attorney said, mistakenly,
that he didn't think the trustee would care about that. Well, he was wrong and the trustee was going to try to get the
$6000 back from this family member. To avoid this, he suggested
converting to a Ch. 13 and then defaulting on the payments to get the Ch. 13 dismissed. Once it is dismissed, I could refile the Ch. 7 and
wouldn't have to disclose the repayment of the family member because it
would have been more than a year. The conversion was successful, however, after the conversion I
received a notice that the Ch. 7 trustee wanted to be compensated for "administrative expenses" of $400.00 for his services in the
Ch. 7. The motion that the trustee filed also listed that he believed "the
debtor converted his case to a Ch. 13 because of a possible fraudulent
transfer to his grandmother...." My attorney said this would "go away"
with the Ch. 13. The Ch. 13 was dismissed without prejudice in May 2003. Now, I
am wondering if I should include the trustee as a creditor. I
would say yes. When I called the attorney after receiving the dismissal,
he said "oh yeah, that is good thinking." Figures. I just want to
make sure that is the right thing to do. Would listing this trustee as a
creditor raise any flags? I assume that he couldn't be appointed
trustee of the case if he is listed as a creditor. I know there are many
trustees, but you never know who you will get. I never received anything from the trustee's attorney about
collecting the debt. Any opinions?

Thanks for responding Brett. I am in Florida....Tampa Bay area.

I was considering filing pro se the second time to cut my costs down.
My original attorney will refile the paperwork and attend the 341 again
for $500(that includes the filing fee.) I thougth that if I can save
the $300 for his attendance at the 341, why not? I can basically copy
the original ch. 7 forms almost verbatim. After attending the last 341,
I can't see any real tough questions that the trustee would ask. The
only thing I have to explain is the previous filing.

Brett Weiss wrote: This issue has never come up in my practice. In thinking about it, however, it would seem that the Trustee'm administrative expense is a charge only to your previous bankruptcy, and thus the Trustee would not be a creditor in your new case. Some jurisdictions, however, might require the payment of this expense as a condition of refiling, or could make problems for you in some other way. I'd strongly recommend finding a good lawyer to handle your current case. If you let me know your state and the nearest large city, I'll see if I can refer you to someone.