Overwhelming Majority of Respondents Agree that Trustee Compensation Should be Increased for No-Asset or Low Income Cases in Latest ABI Poll

Overwhelming Majority of Respondents Agree that Trustee Compensation Should be Increased for No-Asset or Low Income Cases in Latest ABI Poll

Contact: John Hartgen
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OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF RESPONDENTS AGREE THAT TRUSTEE COMPENSATION SHOULD BE INCREASED FOR NO-ASSET OR LOW INCOME CASES IN LATEST ABI POLL

March 12, 2007, Alexandria, Va. — An overwhelming majority of respondents (71 percent) in a recent American Bankruptcy Institute online poll “strongly agreed” that chapter 7 trustee compensation should be increased for no-asset and qualified low-income cases (In forma pauperis or IFP cases), even if it means an increase in filing fees for consumer debtors. Overall, 78 percent of respondents agreed that chapter 7 trustee compensation should be increased in no-asset or cases in which a low-income debtor qualifies for filing fees to be waived; 7 percent of those “agreed somewhat” that the compensation should be increased, even if it means a filing fee increase for consumer debtors.  

Eighteen percent of respondents disagreed that chapter 7 trustee compensation should be increased for no-asset or IFP cases at the expense of a filing fee increase for consumer debtors. Fourteen percent of respondents “strongly disagreed” and 4 percent “disagreed somewhat” that chapter 7 trustee compensation should be increased, even if it means an increase in the filing fees for consumer debtors in general. Three percent did not know or had no opinion.

ABI members and the public were welcome to submit their response to the statement: “Chapter 7 trustee compensation should be increased for no-asset and IFP cases, even if it means a further increase in the filing fee for consumer debtors. The ABI Quick Poll was open for voting from March 1-8.

ABI’s weekly Quick Poll is posted on ABI’s home page, www.abiworld.org. ABI members and the public are invited to respond to a question on a timely bankruptcy or insolvency issue. Visit http://www.abiworld.net/quickpoll/ to access the results of previous ABI Quick Polls.

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ABI is the largest multi-disciplinary, nonpartisan organization dedicated to research and education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy issues. The ABI membership includes more than 11,000 attorneys, accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on ABI, visit www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information, visit http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html.