A bankruptcy trustee is a person or entity who is independent of the bankruptcy court and is appointed to oversee your bankruptcy case. A bankruptcy trustee is appointed in most every case—except in Chapter 11 reorganizations and Chapter 9 municipality cases. The bankruptcy trustee is responsible for reviewing your bankruptcy forms, investigating and verifying your financial information, and making sure your bankruptcy filing is not fraudulent.
In Texas, as in other states, a bankruptcy trustee is an independent party appointed to manage the bankruptcy process for most types of bankruptcy cases, excluding Chapter 11 reorganizations and Chapter 9 municipality cases. The trustee's role is to oversee the case, review bankruptcy forms, investigate the financial information provided, and ensure that there is no fraud involved in the filing. The trustee also has the authority to sell nonexempt property to pay creditors in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and can challenge creditors' claims or the debtor's discharge in a bankruptcy case. Trustees are appointed by the United States Trustee Program, which is a component of the Department of Justice, and their actions are governed by federal bankruptcy laws as well as local rules of the bankruptcy court within the relevant Texas district.
