Answer: No and no. Think of the Trustee as a kind of referee. Their job is to work with you and with your creditors to make sure everyone is treated fairly. They have to figure out what assets you have that might be worth something that they could sell so that there is more money to distribute to your creditors and they also have to keep your creditors in line so that no one creditor gets more than they are entitled to. If you have been on the receiving end of a collections call, you know that every creditor thinks that the amount you owe them is more important than the amount you owe to anyone else. The Trustee makes sure that no one gets more than their fair share of your assets, no matter how much they whine, beg or plead. You will find that Trustee's are usually very fair-minded individuals and they want only what will be best for all involved in the long run.
Trustees are usually attorneys and/or CPA's. They know the law inside and out. There are rules that the Trustee must follow. Sometimes you might get a request for documents from your Trustee that seems really silly. One client of ours was asked to take pictures of his coffee maker and submit them to the Trustee. Does the Trustee want his coffee maker? Probably not. Will the Trustee take his coffee maker? Probably not. So why bother asking for pictures? The Trustee has a boss too and the boss requires that they be thorough in their investigation of you and your assets. Many of the things your Trustee will ask you for are simply so that a thorough fact checking can be done. While most people who file for bankruptcy are honest people, there are always a few bad apples and it is the Trustee's job to make sure that you are not one of them. The best thing to do is give the Trustee whatever documentation they ask for in a timely manner.
With that said, the whole purpose of bankruptcy is to give YOU a fresh start. With that in mind, the Trustee is not likely going to come to your house, take everything you own and have a yard sale to raise money. You are entitled to keep a number of your belongings, subject to certain dollar limitations, so that after bankruptcy you are not literally starting out with nothing to your name. In Arizona, for example, you can usually keep a car, your pets, your wedding rings...even your TV.
In short, the Trustee is not your friend, but he or she is not your enemy either. The Trustee is a neutral third party whose sole mission in life is to make sure that both you and your creditors get treated fairly as you navigate the bankruptcy process. There is no reason to fear the Trustee. But you also don't want to make him or her angry either. Do your best to comply with all requests they make of you, regardless of how silly they may seem and you will be making the Trustee's job easier. The easier you make the Trustee's job, the more smoothly and quickly your bankruptcy will go.
