A Receiver is an officer of the Court and is appointed to administer and protect assets in “custodia legis” (The Custody of the Court). The Receiver has fiduciary duty to the Court and to whomever the Court ultimately determines are the proper beneficiaries (usually creditors). The Receiver does not become owner of the debtor’s real estate assets but through the Court Order, assumes possession and control of those assets to resolve the matter at hand. A Receiver’s powers are defined by statute, by the Order of Appointment.
Definition of a Receiver: 1. a person appointed by the court to receive the rents and profits of real property and to collect personal property affected by the proceedings and to do any act stated in the court’s order. The object of the appointment is to protect the property until the rights of the parties have been ascertained. In such a case the receiver is an officer of the court and generally has to give security for the due performance of the duties of his office. In bankruptcy proceedings, the Official Receiver maybe appointed as interim receiver at any time after the presentation of the petition if that course is necessary for the preservation of the estate; it is his duty so to act after adjudication until a trustee is appointed.
2. a mortgagee may appoint a receiver, being the agent of the mortgagor in law, without having to apply to the court where he is empowered to do so by the mortgage instrument, or in any event by virtue of Section 101 of the Law of Property Act 1925 if the mortgage is contained in a deed.
Collins Dictionary of Law © W.J. Stewart, 2006
Qualifications: 1) Not a party, attorney of a party, or person interested in action or related to any judge by consanguinity within the third degree, without consent of the parties. 2) An individual, not a corporation.