§105 Finding that Debtor’s Attorney is not a Debt Relief Agency as that Term is Defined in 11 U.S.C. See, e.g., United States Trustee’s Response to Motion Pursuant to 11 U.S.C. Therefore, the United States Trustee Program’s position is that attorneys who represent debtors pro bono do not qualify as debt relief agencies. The plain language of section 101(12A) states that a person must provide assistance “in return for the payment of money or other valuable consideration” in order to be considered a debt relief agency. Section 101(12A) defines a “debt relief agency” as “any person who provides any bankruptcy assistance to an assisted person in return for the payment of money or other valuable consideration, or who is a bankruptcy petition preparer under section 110.” By definition, pro bono counsel do not receive, and do not expect to receive, payment of money from their clients in exchange for their services. Will a chapter 13 trustee be discharged from a case that is automatically dismissed if a debtor fails to produce all requested documents within 45 days. Assuming the trustee has standing, it is within the trustee’s discretion as to whether an action against the attorney is justified. They are: (1) only the debtor has standing to sue, (2) the chapter 13 has concurrent jurisdiction with the debtor, and (3) the chapter 13 trustee has exclusive standing to sue. Three lines of case law exist on the issue of whether a chapter 13 trustee has standing to sue. Accordingly, the chapter 13 trustee may not have standing to pursue an action against the prior attorney. Moreover, property of the estate is vested in the debtor unless the confirmed plan provides otherwise. Unlike a chapter 7 trustee, the duties of a chapter 13 trustee do not include the requirement to collect and reduce to money the property of the estate for which such trustee serves. The question assumes that the chapter 13 trustee has standing to pursue an action against the debtor’s attorney.
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