Exactly What Is A Chapter 13 Trustee, Anyway? Some ruminations on a strange and unique position. Part 1 of 2

By Jan Sensenich, Chapter 13 Trustee for the District of Vermont (Special thanks to Joyce Babin, Chapter 13 Trustee, Little Rock, Arkansas)
click here for part 2
This may, at first, seem an odd title for an article appearing in a publication which is largely addressed to Chapter 13 Trustees. One would hope that we would know what we are. However, how many of us really take time to look at how varied and diverse this work we do really is? Or, for that matter, how often do . . .

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