How receivers should handle outside referral compensation tied to estate assets
A receiver is paid as the appointing court orders, so any outside reward connected to receivership assets should be disclosed to the court before it is accepted, and accepted only if the court approves. Introducing an estate company to SourceX for the estate's benefit is a separate decision from whether the receiver may earn a personal partner reward.
The short answer: your order sets your pay, so the court hears about anything else
A receiver acts for the court that made the appointment and is paid as that court orders. Any outside reward connected to a receivership asset should therefore be disclosed to the court before it is accepted, and accepted only with the court's approval. If the asset is a company whose operating records could be licensed through SourceX, the clean sequence is to get authority for the license as an estate decision, then raise the partner reward separately, with a proposal to decline it or treat it as the court directs.
The details depend on where you were appointed. Receiverships run on state statutes and court rules, on federal law and orders for federal equity receivers, and above all on the appointment order in your case. This guide sets out the questions; your order and your counsel supply the answers.
Where a receiver's duties and compensation come from
A receivership is one of the non-bankruptcy routes for dealing with a troubled business, alongside assignments for the benefit of creditors and compositions, as the open textbook The Law of Commercial Transactions describes. Unlike a bankruptcy trustee working under one federal code, a receiver's authority is assembled from several layers.
| Layer | What it usually covers | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Appointment order | Scope of the estate, powers to operate, lease or sell assets, compensation method, reporting duties | The order itself and any amendments |
| Fee and reporting orders | How and when fees are applied for, reviewed and paid | Later orders, the docket, the judge's standing procedures |
| Local court rules | Filing format, notice to parties, fee application practice | The court's local rules |
| State receivership statute | Grounds for appointment, receiver qualifications, conflicts, sale procedures | Your state's code |
| Fiduciary case law | Loyalty to the estate, self-dealing, undisclosed benefits | Decisions in your jurisdiction, through counsel |
Read the order for two things in particular: how your compensation is set, and whether you may accept anything of value from people dealing with the estate. If the order says nothing, do not read silence as permission.
Why a SourceX partner reward is a conflict question
Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 per referred company. The reward becomes payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee, and no reward is guaranteed. The money comes out of SourceX's fee, never out of what the company receives.
That last point helps, but it does not settle the issue. As receiver you would decide whether the estate pursues a license, which platform runs it and whether the terms are acceptable. A personal payment that depends on that deal closing is compensation outside your order, and any party could argue it shaped your choices. The court, not the receiver, decides whether that risk is acceptable.
SourceX has its own reason to want the court involved. When a court, trustee or assignee controls a company's assets and has not been part of the conversation, the opportunity is treated as a red flag, and nothing is delivered without an executed agreement and authorization from whoever controls the company.
Common situations and what to check
| Situation | What to check | Outcome to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| You are receiver of a company whose records could be licensed | Whether the order lets you license estate assets without a further order | Seek authority for the license; disclose the reward and propose declining it or the treatment the court directs |
| Your firm, not you personally, would register as the partner | Whether the court treats firm income as your compensation | Disclose on the same terms and expect the court to look through the firm |
| A secured lender in the case suggests the introduction | Whether acting on one party's suggestion calls for notice to the others | Put the proposal on the record so every party can respond |
| The case has closed and you have been discharged | Whether the discharge order or confidentiality terms still bind you | Confirm with counsel before introducing a company you learned about as receiver |
| A company in your network unrelated to any estate | Your firm's outside-activity policy | Usually a firm-policy question rather than a court one; see referral rewards when your employer is an advisory firm |
| The company is in chapter 11 or chapter 7 instead | Who controls the assets and what the Bankruptcy Code requires to use or sell them | In chapter 11 the debtor in possession ordinarily keeps control, as the federal courts' chapter 11 overview explains, so the debtor or trustee decides under court oversight |
| The company made an assignment for the benefit of creditors | The state ABC statute and the assignee's duties | Procedures differ by state; Florida, for example, runs ABCs under chapter 727 with circuit court supervision |
Bankruptcy law shows how closely courts watch data assets in insolvent estates. Under 11 U.S.C. section 363(b)(1), if a debtor's privacy policy barred transferring personally identifiable information, the trustee may not sell or lease it unless the sale fits the policy or the court approves it after a hearing and the appointment of a consumer privacy ombudsman under section 332. Those sections govern bankruptcy cases, not receiverships, but a receivership court may ask similar questions about customer data.
A disclosure sequence for receivers
- Separate the two decisions. Whether the estate should license its records is an asset decision; whether you may accept a reward is a compensation decision. Brief them separately.
- Check the asset first. Confirm that the company created its records, that client contracts and privacy promises allow a license, and that exports still exist. The company fit checker gives a preliminary, non-binding screen.
- Seek authority for the license in the form your order and local rules require, with notice to the parties entitled to it.
- Disclose the partner program in the same filing or a separate notice: who pays, the formula, the payment trigger and the fact that the estate's proceeds stay the same.
- Propose a treatment: decline the reward, turn it over to the estate, or accept it only as the court orders.
- Register only after the court rules, and only in the name the ruling allows. If the answer is no, the estate company can still apply on its own.
- Keep the roles apart. As the estate's representative you authorize the data inventory, redaction rules and any delivery under an executed agreement; as an introducer you have no data role at all.
Illustrative disclosure wording
Illustrative only; adapt it with counsel to your court's format and practice.
Questions to take to counsel
- Does my appointment order, or the state statute, address compensation from third parties dealing with the estate?
- Does the order's power to sell or lease property extend to a time-limited, exclusive data license, or do I need a separate order?
- Must notice go to every party, or only to those who have appeared?
- If I practise through a firm, do the firm's other principals need to disclose as well?
- Do privacy promises the company made to customers limit what can be licensed?
- If the case converts to bankruptcy, how does an existing license or disclosure carry over?
If your firm has no written policy on outside compensation, the conflict of interest policy template for consultants and advisors is a starting point. Selling the company's equity as a going concern raises separate broker-registration questions; the guide to the M&A broker exemption explains why that exemption concerns ownership transfers and does not cover a data-licensing introduction.
This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel, tax adviser or professional body before acting.
Next step
If the court approves a license, the estate company can apply at sourcex.si/apply with you acting as its authorized representative. If the court permits a partner role, read the program terms and then register as a partner in the name the order allows.
- Step 1Share your linkSend your personal link to a company you know.
- Step 2Company appliesThe company applies itself at /apply.
- Step 3Buyer selects and paysThe buyer selects and pays for the data and SourceX receives its fee.
- Step 4You get your rewardYour share of SourceX fees becomes payable.
Common questions
Can a receiver accept a referral reward if no party objects?
An absence of objections is not the same as approval. A receiver's compensation is normally fixed or approved by the appointing court, so the safer course is to disclose the reward and ask for an express ruling before accepting anything. Parties who stayed quiet at the time may still raise the issue later, for example when fee applications are reviewed or the receiver seeks discharge.
Does the partner reward reduce what the receivership estate receives?
No. The reward is paid out of SourceX's own fee, and the company is quoted a single all-in price that covers everything, with no separate charges. That is worth stating in any disclosure, but it does not answer the conflict question, because the receiver still influences whether the license happens and on what terms.
Can the receiver introduce the estate company without taking any reward?
Yes. The company can apply to SourceX directly with the receiver acting as its authorized representative, and no partner account is needed. That route removes the compensation question entirely, although the license itself may still need the court's approval under the appointment order and the notice rules that apply in the case.
What should a receiver preserve before shutting down a company's systems?
Keep complete exports of email, chat, shared drives, CRM, finance, support and engineering systems before subscriptions lapse, together with records showing who created the material and under which contracts. Deleted archives are one of the common reasons a company cannot license its records later. Preservation duties under your order and any litigation holds come first.
Is a data license treated as a sale of estate property?
The company keeps ownership of its records; it grants a license, typically exclusive for AI training for an agreed term, in return for a one-time payment. Whether your order's power to sell or lease property covers that kind of license, or whether a separate order is needed, is a question for your counsel and the court.
Related pages
Free resources
- PDF bank statement to CSV converter — Turn Chase, Bank of America or Wells Fargo PDF statements into CSV, privately in your browser.
- Client data licensing eligibility checker — A transparent preliminary screen for one company.
- Enterprise value calculator — Enterprise value from equity value, debt and cash.
- All free tools · MCP resource center
By SourceX Partnerships Team · Published 2026-10-09 · Updated 2026-10-09
Know a US company with valuable proprietary data?
Become a referral partner from anywhere we support, get your link and introduce an owner or authorized decision-maker.
Refer a company →I own a business
Explore licensing your company's data to AI developers worldwide. Start a short assessment; no uploads needed.
Start an assessment