Pursuant to General Order No. 08-01, signed by Chief Judge Carol Doyle on February 27, 2008, pay advices in Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases filed on or after June 23, 2008 will need to be transmitted to the U.S. Trustee in adddition to the panel trustee. The Trustee must receive the pay advices at least seven days prior to the first date set for the meeting of creditors. It is unclear as to why the panel trustee cannot forward his set of pay advices to the US Trustee or why the US Trustee is exerting this extent of oversight upon the panel trustees. In any event, the result is clear: This will increase the work load for debtors’ attorneys and subject debtors to further scrutiny from the US Trustee’s office. Coincidentally, the funding for debtor audits was suspended within the last few weeks. This additional request of the US Trustee may be in connection with the lack of independent audits of debtors. The US Trustee, in effect, is taking more of the lead role in terms of investigating the finances of would-be Chapter 7 debtors.
What still needs to be determined is just how the US Trustee would like the information in Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases. They may want the information via email or they may want the information hand delivered or mailed. I have placed a call to Mr. Friedman at the U.S. Trustee’s office in Chicago. Once I receive an answer, I will post that information withing the blog.
In the meantime, Chapter 7 filings continue to rise to the highest level since the law change of October 17, 2005.