The answer becomes clearer when you understand that a Chapter 7 trustee is a private attorney appointed to a panel by the Department of Justice. In Maryland, trustees are paid only $65.00 per case according to statute and this is the total payment for approximately 95 percent of their cases. By looking closely at bankruptcy schedule details, in about 5 percent of their cases, trustees identify assets to use for paying creditors.
• When a trustee succeeds in finding assets to pay creditors, they get paid more than the $65.00 minimum fee.
• Once the trustee locates assets for paying creditors, they can then hire their own law firm and be paid $300.00 to $500.00 an hour. In addition to the hourly billing rate, the trustee also receives a percentage of the amount paid to creditors.
If you have a question about whether or not the trustee is going to take a close look at your case, please pick up the phone and call me at 410-484-9000.
