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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.
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