Financial obligations of any kind of size can be stressful. Most of us have some existing debt. It is when debt is out of control that gives people problems. People with debt problems ask me for my opinion on filing bankruptcy versus debt consolidation. So, I thought I would share my thoughts with you.
What is debt consolidation?
The first step is understanding what debt consolidation is (and isn’t). Debt consolidation is a do-it-yourself strategy that you control. Debt consolidation is a form of debt restructuring that combines several loans into one, mainly for two reasons: (i) to lower the interest rate charged on your debt; and (ii) to lower your monthly payment amount.
When you have multiple debts to different creditors and loans to pay at varying interest rates, debt consolidation is an option that allows you to combine them into one loan at a lower interest rate. Debt consolidation can be a good plan, particularly if your credit is decent enough to land a new loan and if your new consolidated monthly debt repayment amount won’t overwhelm your monthly after-tax income.
Getting that new loan
Applications for debt consolidation are not always accepted. It will depend on the lender you chose to work with and what their lending guidelines for debt consolidation are. Overall, make sure you are open and honest about where you are financially and what your goals for debt consolidation are during your loan meeting. Because the purpose of debt consolidation is to lower the cost of debts, any additional fees the lender may add on top are not helpful.
The most common type of debt consolidation loan is an unsecured loan. It can also be accomplished through a home equity loan or even transferring credit card balances from high-rate cards to a lower-rate credit card.
One of the goals of debt consolidation is to get the lowest interest rate possible applied to your debts. It is a simple, safe, and effective way for people with excess debt to responsibly pay off their debts without filing for bankruptcy.
How does debt consolidation affect my credit score?
While it can save you money, it might negatively impact your credit score at first. However, it will make managing your bills easier, as you will only have one bill to pay each month. This method is a powerful way to take control of your bills, pay off your debts sooner and simplify your payments.
Eventually, your credit score will improve because you are paying off your debt with each monthly payment. Every month your lender is reporting to the credit bureaus that you are making your payments on time and living up to your obligations. This is a much better position to be in than your debts overwhelming you and not being able to afford your monthly payments.
The side benefits
Debt consolidation can help you pay off what you owe faster and more conveniently, with one payment instead of many. This process may offer the relief you are looking for. Remembering to make each payment at the right time on all your debts can be taxing for some people. This makes the concept of such a program that much more appealing.
Choosing the right solution for consolidation is highly dependent on your unique financial situation. In most cases, if consolidation is the right option in your financial situation, then there shouldn’t be too many downsides to using the process in general. If you are overwhelmed by keeping up with multiple bills and loans, it will be able to help. Reviewing your current debts and total income will also help you determine exactly what your financial goals should be. It will also start to get you thinking about saving for your future also.
It is not the same as debt settlement
Consolidating your debts is not the same as a debt settlement negotiation. Consolidation reduces the number of financial institutions for your financial debts. Settlement will use an authorized credit counsellor to bargain with lenders in your place.
The bankruptcy process varies based upon whether or not you have previously been bankrupt and if you do or don’t have surplus income. An important attribute of personal bankruptcy is that a freeze or automatic stay is placed on all collection actions against you. The automatic stay initially includes repossession. Although you have to be able to pay your expenses going forward, the basic needs for a living cannot be denied to you because of your bankruptcy.
Debt consolidation cannot secure you from collection actions. But, either a consumer proposal or bankruptcy does invoke that automatic stay. While bankruptcy will initially harm your credit score, it ultimately will discharge you from your financial obligations. This positions you in the most effective way to start rebuilding a good credit rating.
Just like in a consumer proposal, only a Trustee can administer a bankruptcy. In a bankruptcy, the Trustee will need to take possession of your assets, other than those that are exempt under provincial law.
Filing bankruptcy versus debt consolidation: Is it better to file bankruptcy or do debt consolidation?
It is of course always better to avoid bankruptcy. Figuring out which alternative is much better for you will ultimately rely on your unique scenario. So, you should meet with a Trustee for a no-cost consultation to get advice on all of your options, tailored specifically to your financial situation. Filing bankruptcy versus debt consolidation is a serious decision. It should only be made with the assistance of professional Trustee help.
I hope you found this Brandon’s Blog, filing bankruptcy versus debt consolidation, useful.
Do you have too much debt? Are you in need of financial restructuring? The financial restructuring process is complex. The Ira Smith Team understands how to do a complex restructuring. However, more importantly, we understand the needs of the entrepreneur or the person who has too much personal debt. You are worried because you are facing significant financial challenges.
It is not your fault that you are in this situation. You have been only shown the old ways that do not work anymore. The Ira Smith Team uses new modern ways to get you out of your debt troubles while avoiding bankruptcy. We can get you debt relief freedom.
The stress placed upon you is huge. We understand your pain points. We look at your entire situation and devise a strategy that is as unique as you and your problems; financial and emotional. The way we take the load off of your shoulders and devise a debt settlement plan, we know that we can help you.
We know that people facing financial problems need a realistic lifeline. There is no “one solution fits all” approach with the Ira Smith Team. That is why we can develop a restructuring process as unique as the financial problems and pain you are facing. If any of this sounds familiar to you and you are serious in finding a solution, contact the Ira Smith Trustee & Receiver Inc. team today.
Call us now for a free consultation. We will get you or your company back on the road to healthy stress-free operations and recover from the pain points in your life, Starting Over, Starting Now.
We have all heard the expression “third time’s a charm” or “third time lucky”. You say this when someone is successful the third time they try something after they failed the first two times. This expression is not meant to apply to the world of Canadian insolvency or a desperate financial situation. Certainly not for filing for bankruptcy in Ontario.
On December 9, 2019, the Toronto Star published an article by investigative reporters Jesse McLean and David Bruser titled “Rack up debt. Declare bankruptcy. Repeat. And repeat again. How thousands of Canadians are doing it and costing the rest of us”. The article talks about four specific people who file for bankruptcy multiple times.
In this Brandon’s Blog, I want to describe how filing for bankruptcy in Ontario works. Thankfully, the article does state that in the Toronto Bankruptcy CourtFreme, it is much tougher to get away with multiple bankruptcies, as it should be.
Filing for bankruptcy in Ontario: How do I declare bankruptcy in Canada?
Filing for bankruptcy in Ontario begins with a no-cost consultation with a licensed insolvency trustee (formerly called a bankruptcy trustee ) (Trustee). In that consultation, the Trustee will want to get a good understanding of your assets, liabilities, income and expenses. That way, the Trustee will be able to discuss with you all the available options and help you narrow them down to the most viable options to solve your debt problems.
At the end of the meeting, the Trustee will give you the standard intake form. By completing the form fully, you will provide the Trustee with the proper information needed for your filing for bankruptcy in Ontario. My Firm calls our standard intake form the Debt Relief Worksheet The information is then used in order for the Trustee to finalize his or her recommendations to you for dealing with your debt. The options available in general for dealing with personal debt are:
A consumer proposal is an insolvency process which is one of the best of all the alternatives to bankruptcy. It is much preferable than filing for bankruptcy in Ontario. In a consumer proposal, you are able to compromise your debt. You make an offer to pay less than the total you owe. You then make the monthly payment to the Trustee until you have paid the total you agreed to.
If you end up deciding on either a consumer proposal or bankruptcy, the Trustee will prepare the required documentation. This is the case for consumer proposal documents or those necessary for filing for bankruptcy in Ontario.
The Licensed Insolvency Trustee then takes the fully completed worksheet and all additional documents in support of your information. The information is then used in order to prepare the documentation necessary for filing for bankruptcy in Ontario. The documents include your Statement of Affairs and your Statement of Income and Expenses.
The Statement of Affairs used for filing is attested to by the debtor as to its accuracy. This statement includes a listing of all of the person’s assets and indicates which are exempt from seizure and which are not. The asset exemptions are guided by provincial law. As there are some variations between provinces, in this blog I will only be referring to bankruptcy process Ontario exemptions.
The assets not exempt from a seizure will be surrendered to the Trustee to be sold. The statement also lists all the names of the creditors, their respective addresses and the amount owed to each.
The Statement of Income and Expenses, as the name suggests, shows the monthly income and expenses of the household. It also shows whether or not the person will be subject to surplus income payments to the Trustee or not.
When all the documents are ready, the Trustee electronically files them with the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy (OSB). The local OSB representative reviews the filing. If everything is in order, the OSB issues a Bankruptcy Certificate. The issuance of that certificate is the moment the person is now bankrupt.
Filing for bankruptcy in Ontario: How long does bankruptcy last in Ontario?
The Canadian bankruptcy system is administered under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada). This is a federal statute and bankruptcy is a complex legal process. Bankruptcy allows you to compromise the debts to your unsecured creditors. It does not deal with the debt owing to a secured creditor if you are able and wish to keep the asset.
So the question is not how long does bankruptcy last in Ontario? Rather, it really is how long does bankruptcy last in Canada?
The Toronto Star investigative article talks about the length of a bankruptcy. It correctly states that a first-time bankrupt, that does not need to pay surplus income, is entitled to an automatic discharge after 9 months. This assumes that they have lived up to all of their commitments as an undischarged bankrupt as well as completely cooperated with the Trustee.
If a first-time bankrupt surplus income, they must pay it for 21 months prior to qualifying for a discharge. This again assumes that they have fully cooperated with the Trustee. In both cases, if neither the Trustee nor a creditor opposes the discharge of the bankrupt, the Trustee can issue the discharge certificate.
In a second time bankruptcy, with no surplus income, the bankrupt has to wait for 24 months before being eligible for a discharge. Again, if the bankrupt has completed all duties and has cooperated fully, and no creditor opposes the discharge, the Trustee can issue the discharge certificate. If there is a surplus income requirement, then the minimum period before being eligible for a discharge is 36 months. Under the same conditions, the Trustee can issue the discharge certificate if there is no opposition.
The article highlights, correctly, that if it is the person’s third or more bankruptcy, the Trustee cannot issue a discharge certificate. The discharge hearing must be held in Court, even if the Trustee is not opposing. The reason for this is because the Canadian bankruptcy system is supposed to financially rehabilitate the honest but unfortunate debtor.
So in a third or more bankruptcy, the Court wants to review the circumstances of the person’s bankruptcy and why rehabilitation has not been accomplished yet. If there is a Trustee or creditor opposition to discharge, the hearing becomes more complicated.
I have written several blogs previously on the bankruptcy discharge process. You can search for them up above in the search function. If you wish to find out more about the bankruptcy process, you can CLICK HERE and read our filing for bankruptcy in Ontario faq.
What about my credit cards when filing for bankruptcy in Ontario?
When filing for bankruptcy in Ontario, you have to do the following:
disclose to the Trustee information regarding every one of your assets and financial debts;
disclose to the Trustee any transactions where you sold or transferred any of your property in the last 5 years;
surrender your credit cards to the Licensed Insolvency Trustee;
attend the initial meeting of creditors (if required);
attend 1 credit counselling session near the beginning of the insolvency process and another 1 credit counselling session later on in the administration;
keep the bankruptcy Trustee informed of any address change; and
assist the Trustee whenever asked for information, documents or property
What about my credit report when filing for bankruptcy in Ontario?
The information in your credit report that affects your credit score is usually eliminated after a specific period of time. Generally, it will be removed after six or 7 years for initial bankruptcy. The time frame is a bit less in a consumer proposal.
Sometimes you may hear people say that you remain in bankruptcy for seven years. That is not true. What that time frame really is all about when filing for bankruptcy in Ontario is the amount of time it takes for the notation of your bankruptcy to affect your credit rating and to be eliminated from your credit record. However, even before you are discharged from bankruptcy, or finish your consumer proposal, there are steps you can take to begin rebuilding your credit score and credit report.
How bankruptcies work in Canada – Filing for bankruptcy in Ontario multiple times
The investigative reporting in the Toronto Star details the multiple bankruptcies of four different people. These people range from being in their third to fifth bankruptcy. The article states that the Province of Quebec has the most people who have gone bankrupt multiple times. The article, of course, and rightly so, takes a very dim view of people who “game the system” with multiple bankruptcies.
As I mentioned earlier, the article clearly states that from their research in Ontario and Quebec, the writers found that the Toronto bankruptcy court takes the dimmest view of people with multiple bankruptcies when they come up for their discharge hearing.
Being a serial bankrupt is not a good thing. The reporting is fair and balanced. It does admit that some people just get a curveball thrown at them in life and have no choice but for filing for bankruptcy in Ontario. However, there are two themes stressed in the article which I don’t think are accurate. They are:
“Unpaid taxes owed by repeat bankrupts make up a portion of the nearly $4 billion the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has written off since 2009 because of consumer and commercial insolvencies. In Quebec, the provincial tax agency has lost nearly $2 billion to insolvencies in the last five years alone.” While this is true, it assumes that the taxes would have been paid if the people did not file for bankruptcy multiple times.
My belief is that people who go bankrupt multiple times have their affairs arranged in such a way that they do not have much to lose in bankruptcy. If they don’t have much to lose in a bankruptcy, then there isn’t much for CRA to seize if the person is not bankrupt. So the reality is that there is a class of Canadians that will not pay their fair share no matter what. This is clearly unfair to society as a whole, but it isn’t bankruptcy that causes it.
“Meanwhile, credit card lenders absorb the cost of bankrupts who do not pay their bills by charging high-interest rates to their customers who do pay their debts.”
The fact that credit card companies charge high-interest rates is true. However, in my experience, customers who do pay their credit card debt are not incurring interest charges. They pay their credit card balance off monthly.
Those who only make the minimum payment are the ones who are incurring high-interest charges. Ultimately, those people cannot afford to make all their debt payments and they ultimately invoke an insolvency process, being either a consumer proposal or bankruptcy.
So even a one-time-only bankrupt pushes a loss onto a credit card company. Hence the high-interest rates charged. By the way, who is it that makes the credit decision to extend new credit to a multiple time bankrupt? It isn’t the bankruptcy system, it is the credit card issuer. Perhaps they should not give a credit card to someone who has demonstrated many times that they cannot handle the credit responsibly.
Filing for bankruptcy in Ontario – Rack up debt
The statistics quoted in the article shows that although there has been an increase over the years in multiple time bankrupts, this is somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy. By definition, if a certain segment of the Canadian population goes bankrupt multiple times, then the statistics have to show an increase.
The statistics used in the article shows the following regarding the percentage between 1st and 2nd + out of total personal bankruptcies between 2011 through 2018:
Year
Total # bankruptcies
1st time
%
2nd + time
%
2011
77,993
84.41
15.59
2012
71,495
83.83
16.17
2013
69,224
82.74
17.26
2014
64,839
81.31
18.69
2015
63,406
80.52
19.48
2016
63,372
80.10
19.90
2017
57,969
79.23
20.77
2018
55,091
78.99
21.01
My takeaways from these statistics are:
Personal bankruptcies in Canada dropped by 29.4% between 2011 and 2018. I believe there are two main reasons. First, fewer Canadians are opting for an insolvency process in an era of unprecedented low-interest rates. Second, those requiring an insolvency process, have sufficient income to perform a successful consumer proposal thereby being able to avoid bankruptcy.
The increase in second and more time bankrupts is just under 5%. I believe most of the increase is as mentioned above, somewhat self-fulfilling. Every time the same person goes bankrupt, the statistic has to increase! So, what percentage increase is because of the actual mathematical formula, and what percentage increase is because there are actually more people in raw numbers are filing for bankruptcy more than one time?
Filing for bankruptcy in Ontario – The bankruptcy discharge
A discharge from bankruptcy releases you from the legal commitment to pay off your debts you had as of the day you applied for bankruptcy, with certain exceptions. Examples of certain exceptions are alimony, child support, certain student loans (if you stopped being a student less than seven years before filing), court-ordered penalties or fines and financial debts as a result of a fraud finding against you.
Of course, the ultimate objective for those filing for bankruptcy in Ontario is to receive the most sought after discharge from bankruptcy after you have performed all of your duties. The bankruptcy discharge releases a person from the majority of his or her debts as indicated above.
While many people thinking about bankruptcy currently have a poor credit score, it’s usually not irreparable. Declaring personal bankruptcy, nevertheless, will drop it to an R9 rating. This is the worst possible score there is. Unfortunately, this rating will last for about 6 years post-discharge. As I have already mentioned, there are steps you can take to start rebuilding your credit score.
Filing for bankruptcy in Ontario summary
I hope you found this Brandon’s Blog on filing for bankruptcy in Ontario useful. Sometimes things are too far gone and more drastic and immediate triage action is required.
Do you have too much debt? Are you in need of financial restructuring? The financial restructuring process is complex. The Ira Smith Team understands how to do a complex restructuring. We can help with your personal debt situation. We can also help with insolvency for business.
However, more importantly, we understand the needs of the entrepreneur or the person who has too much personal debt. You are worried because you are facing significant financial challenges.
It is not your fault that you are in this situation. You have been only shown the old ways that do not work anymore. The Ira Smith Team uses new modern ways to get you out of your debt troubles while avoiding bankruptcy. We can get you debt relief freedom.
The stress placed upon you is huge. We understand your pain points. We look at your entire situation and devise a strategy that is as unique as you and your problems; financial and emotional. The way we take the load off of your shoulders and devise a debt settlement plan, we know that we can help you.
We know that people facing financial problems need a realistic lifeline. There is no “one solution fits all” approach with the Ira Smith Team . That is why we can develop a restructuring process as unique as the financial problems and pain you are facing. If any of this sounds familiar to you and you are serious about finding a solution, contact the Ira Smith Trustee & Receiver Inc. team today.
Call us now for a free consultation. We will get you or your company back on the road to healthy stress-free operations and recover from the pain points in your life, Starting Over, Starting Now.
A bankruptcy discharge is when the bankrupt is released under Canadian bankruptcy law from his or her debts as part of the bankruptcy process. Some people think that it is the act of filing bankruptcy that releases the bankrupt from liability. This is not the case. It is the discharge from bankruptcy process that “discharges” the bankrupt’s debts.
We explain in this vlog the procedure when a bankrupt’s outright discharge is opposed. We discuss the top 8 things that the Bankruptcy Court will consider in determining just what outcome the bankrupt could expect.
The primary benefit of the bankruptcy process for the insolvent person
The bankruptcy discharge is among the primary benefits of relief under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Canada) (BIA). The discharge is vital to the bankruptcy process. Debtors, after bankruptcy, can wipe the slate clean and start over, which is a central principle under the BIA statute.
Not all debts may be released
A bankruptcy discharge offers the discharge of many unsecured debts. Credit card debts, personal income tax debt, unsecured personal loans and under certain conditions, some student loan debt are all dischargeable debts. Financial debts, which will not be discharged include:
support payments to a previous spouse or to children;
fines or financial charges imposed by the Court;
debts emerging from fraudulent behaviour;
student loans if fewer than seven years have passed considering that the bankrupt quit being a full or part-time student.
bankruptcy discharge
It can be opposed
An insolvent’s bankruptcy discharge application may be opposed by one or more unsecured creditors or the Licensed Insolvency Trustee (formerly called a bankruptcy trustee) (LIT). A creditor opposition is created when the creditor files the required notice of opposition, setting out the reasons for opposing.
This happens if the insolvent has not met all of his/her responsibilities under the BIA. Making full disclosure, attending the required two financial counselling sessions and making all necessary surplus income payments are all duties of the bankrupt that must be fulfilled if a discharge is to be considered.
It can also happen if the individual bankrupt has actually committed a bankruptcy offence. Those are acts listed in section 173 (1) of the BIA. In this case, there needs to be a bankruptcy discharge hearing in Court and the Court will after that evaluate the LIT or creditor opposition as well as give its decision on the discharge from personal bankruptcy.
Absolute discharge— The bankrupt is launched from the legal obligation to pay off financial obligations that existed on the day of bankruptcy, except for certain types of debt identified above.
Conditional discharge— The bankrupt must fulfill certain conditions, additional payments into the bankruptcy estate, to get an absolute discharge. Once all conditions have been fulfilled, an absolute discharge will certainly be granted.
Suspended discharge— An absolute discharge that will be granted at later on a specific date determined by the Court.
If there is no opposition to the discharge from bankruptcy of the bankrupt by a creditor or the LIT, then the LIT is able to provide an automatic discharge by issuing the appropriate certificate. There is no need for attendance in Court.
bankruptcy discharge
The opposition process
When a debtor’s bankruptcy discharge application is opposed by either an unsecured creditor or the LIT, the Trustee needs to secure a Court day. This will be for a Court hearing on the insolvent’s application for discharge. The LIT must then tell all creditors who have filed a proof of claim of the opposition. Details are also provided about the date, time as well as place of the Court hearing.
The Trustee needs to also file a report with the Court on the conduct of the bankrupt both prior to as well as after applying for bankruptcy. The report will as well give a summary of the financial results of the bankruptcy administration. If a creditor has opposed the bankrupt’s discharge, then that creditor likewise needed to send a notice of opposition.
Does the bankrupt need a lawyer on an opposed discharge?
When going to Court for his/her discharge application hearing, a bankrupt would be well advised to come with a skilled bankruptcy lawyer to represent his or her interests. Sometimes the discharge hearing is less formal than various other types of Court hearings.
However, the Court follows all the proper regulations of civil procedure. It is sometimes tough for nonprofessionals to put their best foot forward without an attorney’s aid.
The top 8 things the Bankruptcy Court will consider
The concerns the Court thought about, in determining what type of bankruptcy discharge certificate to issue, which is the same in all bankruptcy discharge hearings, were:
Do the conditions of the bankruptcy filing and the bankrupt’s conduct sustain an order discharging the Bankrupt’s unsecured debts?
The Court’s problem is to make sure that within a choice the policy purposes of the BIA are fulfilled. The bankruptcy, including the insolvent’s discharge, should act as a deterrence for the person not to duplicate the very same behaviour.
If the circumstances of the bankruptcy support an order discharging the bankrupt, what terms of discharge are proper under the distinct circumstances of the bankruptcy?
What were the conditions of the insolvent when the debts were sustained?
What efforts did the insolvent make to pay the creditors?
Did the bankrupt pay in respect of certain other debts but not all of them and particularly not the debt of the opposing creditor?
Exactly what are the insolvent’s monetary opportunities for the future?
Is there any other conduct or reality that needs to be factored into with the regard to discharge?
The Court will take lots of variables into account. The conduct, previous income, education and age of the bankrupt are all important factors. The Court will certainly likewise trust the Trustee’s report to Court on the bankrupt’s application for discharge. The Trustee’s report assists in determining facts about the conduct of the insolvent and his or her future prospects.
Prevention is always a consideration. It is however very important to remember that Courts tend to be extra conventional when dealing with older bankrupts. A more youthful bankrupt with years of income-making opportunities could be needed to make an extra significant repayment. Less respect is given to the instant ability to pay.
An older bankrupt with some surplus income but fewer working years might be needed to pay less surplus income obligations into the bankruptcy estate.
Bankruptcy discharge: Is my bankruptcy case over when I get a discharge?
You should by this point in my Brandon Blog realize that when you receive an absolute discharge from your bankruptcy, at that point, you are discharged from your unsecured debts.
A discharge shows that you have finished with your bankruptcy legal process and your personal liability for unsecured debts has ceased. It’s not a separate thing from bankruptcy; it happens either automatically or by an Order of the Court, as I have described above.
At that point, the LIT still has some duties to fulfill. They include:
if there is going to be a dividend paid to the creditors, making sure that all proofs of claim have been reviewed and allowed for dividend purposes;
resolve any uncertainties the LIT may have concerning certain filed bankruptcy claims, including the issuance of Notices of Disallowance if any;
preparing the bankruptcy administration Final Statement of Receipts and Disbursements;
getting approval from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy to the Final Statement
getting the Final Statement, including the LIT’s fee and disbursements, approved by the Court;
issuing the dividend bankruptcy payments, if any
getting the discharge of the LIT
It is then that your bankruptcy case is closed.
Bankruptcy discharge: Do you have too much debt and want to avoid bankruptcy?
Do you have too many debt obligations and debt payments and have no idea how to deal with them? Act before you find yourself in the throes of an emergency financial situation. Ira Smith Trustee & Receiver Inc. has assisted many Canadian businesses and people throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in dealing with debts that need a plan for Starting Over, Starting Now. Don’t postpone. Give us a call today. Financial problems can be solved while avoiding bankruptcy with timely activity as well as our excellent strategy tailored just for you.
Filing bankruptcy is tough – but not as tough as you have already experienced
It has been a tough time for David and Julie and now they are seriously contemplating filing bankruptcy. He has been laid off and the bills are piling up. They have been thinking about bankruptcy. David begins an online search to get information about bankruptcy and he finds the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, an organization that licenses and regulates licensed insolvency trustee professionals.
Based on his search, he finds a licensed insolvency trustee and gets an appointment to meet with the licensed insolvency trustee for filing bankruptcy. During their first free consultation, the licensed insolvency trustee asks David and Julie various questions to get information about their current circumstances, their assets and their liabilities. She also tells them about options to avoid bankruptcy. David and Julie also have many questions about filing bankruptcy and Canadian bankruptcy laws. The licensed insolvency trustee answers them easily because they are often asked questions.
How do you begin the process?
Based on this discussion, Julie and David decide that bankruptcy is in fact the right tool. They give the licensed insolvency trustee the necessary information and documents. The licensed insolvency trustee prepares the necessary paperwork to file an assignment in bankruptcy. Julie and David then sign the documents.
What happens next once the filing process has begun?
The licensed insolvency trustee files the bankruptcy application with the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. Once the trustee files the assignment in bankruptcy, the trustee takes care of communicating with David and Julie’s creditors directly. The trustee is now in charge of reporting directly and prepares a report on David and Julie’s affairs.
Upon filing, all legal actions against David and Julie stop and no one can sue or garnishee. Some of David and Julie’s assets they will be able to keep because those assets are protected by provincial and federal laws. Other assets will be sold and the proceeds used to help repay their creditors. Their creditors will be notified of the bankruptcy. If a meeting of creditors needs to be called, David and Julie will have to attend.
David and Julie will also have to attend two counselling sessions to help them get back on the road to financial health. Finally, if David and Julie have enough joint income that surplus income arises in the bankruptcy, David and Julie will have to pay a calculated amount towards their debts. After doing so, they will get their discharge from bankruptcy, relieving them from the obligation of repaying most of the debts they had when they filed for bankruptcy.
Certain debts will not be discharged by the bankruptcy. Examples of such debts are:
any fine, penalty, restitution order or other order similar in nature to a fine, penalty or restitution order, imposed by a court in respect of an offence, or any debt arising out of a recognizance or bail;
any award of damages by a court in civil proceedings in respect of
(i) bodily harm intentionally inflicted, or sexual assault, or
(ii) wrongful death resulting therefrom;
any debt or liability for alimony or alimentary pension;
any debt or liability arising under a judicial decision establishing affiliation or respecting support or maintenance, or under an agreement for maintenance and support of a spouse, former spouse, former common-law partner or child living apart from the bankrupt;
any debt or liability arising out of fraud, embezzlement, misappropriation or defalcation while acting in a fiduciary capacity or, in the Province of Quebec, as a trustee or administrator of the property of others;
any debt or liability resulting from obtaining property or services by false pretences or fraudulent misrepresentation, other than a debt or liability that arises from an equity claim;
liability for the dividend that a creditor would have been entitled to receive on any provable claim not disclosed to the trustee unless the creditor had notice or knowledge of the bankruptcy and failed to take reasonable action to prove his claim;
any debt or obligation in respect of a loan made under the Canada Student Loans Act, the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act or any enactment of a province that provides for loans or guarantees of loans to students where the date of bankruptcy of the bankrupt occurred
(i) before the date on which the bankrupt ceased to be a full- or part-time student, as the case may be, under the applicable Act or enactment, or
(ii) within seven years after the date on which the bankrupt ceased to be a full- or part-time student;
any debt or obligation in respect of a loan made under the Apprentice Loans Act where the date of bankruptcy of the bankrupt occurred
(i) before the date on which the bankrupt ceased, under that Act, to be an eligible apprentice within the meaning of that Act, or
(ii) within seven years after the date on which the bankrupt ceased to be an eligible apprentice; or
any debt for interest owed in relation to an amount referred to in any of the above paragraphs.
David and Julie want to know how bankruptcy will affect their credit rating. The licensed insolvency trustee tells them that it will negatively impact their credit rating for the years they are in bankruptcy. She also tells them that once they are discharged from bankruptcy, they can start to rebuild their financial future. It’s not an ideal situation but dealing with this does lift a weight off their shoulders.
Are you considering filing bankruptcy?
Are you insolvent and looking for solutions? The Ira Smith Team is here to offer alternatives to bankruptcy and bankruptcy. We offer help in Vaughan and throughout the GTA.
Are you a person or company who feels your situation is hopeless? Ira Smith Trustee & Receiver Inc. can prepare and put in place the plan MADE JUST FOR YOU. The plan will free you from the burden of your financial challenges. With our help, you will go on to live a productive, stress-free, financially sound life.
Introduction
