Court-appointed custodian (judicial trustee)

A judicial custodian is the person or entity to whom attached or seized property is entrusted for safekeeping. Goods may be left with the debtor upon the creditor's consent, handed to a third party or placed in licensed depots operating for this purpose.

The custodian's duty is to preserve the property with care and return it intact on demand; using, transferring or selling it is prohibited. Attached vehicles held in custodial car parks are the most visible example. Storage fees are added to the enforcement costs and paid with priority out of the sale proceeds.

Failing to return entrusted property or passing it to others triggers criminal liability, prosecuted as abuse of the safekeeping duty. As often occurs when debtors act as custodians of their own goods, selling or spiriting away the property leads to both criminal and compensation proceedings.