Licensed Trustees in Bankruptcy are officers of the court.
I have seen and heard a lot of advertisements from various credit counseling firms warning people against dealing with a licensed trustee in bankruptcy. They make the case that they are working for you, the debtor, whereas a licensed trustee in bankruptcy is working for your creditors. They make it sound like we will take advantage of you when in fact the exact opposite is true.
While it is true that as a licensed trustee in bankruptcy, I do have an obligation to protect creditors’ rights, it is not true that I am working for the creditors only. However, I am an officer of the court and I am required to make sure that both debtor and creditor rights are protected.
The role of a trustee in the bankruptcy process is similar to that of a referee in a hockey game.
I am required to enforce the rules and make sure that both sides are being treated fairly. In most cases this means protecting debtors’ rights and making sure that they are not being taken advantage of by their creditors.
The rule book that I am required to follow, The Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, is extremely debtor-friendly and it was designed to help people to get a fresh start.
While the thought of filing personal bankruptcy or making a consumer proposal may seem scary, the reality is that these processes were designed to help individuals to get out of debt, and the trustee is the person licensed by the federal government to provide these services.
If you have questions about how I can help, please contact my office and set up a free consultation with me.
