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.

Our motto is Starting Over, Starting Now! Ira Smith Trustee & Receiver Inc. can help you overcome your financial difficulties. Contact us today.

THIS VLOG WAS INSPIRED IN PART BY OUR eBOOK – PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY CANADA: Not because you are a dummy, because you need to get your life back on track