Who is the trustee?
A trustee is the person who administers a bankruptcy. The trustee can be either the Accountant in Bankruptcy or a private insolvency practitioner (normally a chartered accountant who specialises in personal bankruptcy).
Roles of the trustee
The trustee will ingather the debtor's assets, including any property, and sell them to pay the costs of managing their bankruptcy and to pay their debts.
The trustee will contact the debtor for information about their finances. This will include information about their assets, who their creditors are, their income and what their weekly outgoings are. The trustee is also entitled to ask the debtor to provide evidence such as, wage slips, bills and bank statements.
The trustee may also want to interview the debtor at home, visit their business premises or ask the debtor to attend a meeting at the trustee's office.
A debtor must always co-operate with their trustee. Failure to co-operate can result in the bankruptcy lasting longer and restrictions being placed on the debtor. Debtors who fail to co-operate with their trustee may be committing a criminal offence and could be fined, sent to prison or both.
The trustee may call meetings of creditors. Where an insolvency practicioner is trustee the creditors can elect commissioners to oversee the administration of the bankruptcy at any meeting.
Trustee Fees
There will be a charge for the work the trustee does.
Trustees are required to produce accounts at the end of the first year and periodically thereafter until they are discharged. They have their accounts approved by the Accountant in Bankruptcy or elected commissioners.
The debtor and the creditors will be sent details of the trustee's outgoings and remuneration (fees).
Sederunt book
The trustee will compile a permanent record of the bankruptcy. This is called the sederunt book and contains copies of court orders, accounts and records of meetings but not general correspondence. During the bankruptcy period, the debtor and creditors can ask to inspect the sederunt book and the trustee should arrange a suitable time for this. At the end of the bankruptcy the sederunt book is sent to the National Archives of Scotland as a permanent public record of the bankruptcy.
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