Categories
Brandon Blog Post

CANADIAN BUSINESS: WHAT WILL BE THE ULTIMATE BUSINESS IN ONTARIO RECOVERY PROGRAM?

The Ira Smith Trustee Team is absolutely operational and Ira, in addition to Brandon Smith, is readily available for a telephone consultation or video meeting.

Canadian business introduction

In April 2020, a survey of entrepreneurs who own what could be called a small Canadian business across the GTA was conducted. It found that almost two-thirds of them might have to shut down for good as they struggle to stay on top of rent and other bills throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this Brandon’s Blog, I look at entrepreneurs in Canadian business, both small and large, and talk about the one essential ingredient that will determine Canadian business success or failure. This one necessary item may turn out to be the only Canadian business recovery program that will ultimately work.

Canadian business opening-up again

Many are progressively opening up under local, provincial and federal government guidance. They need to navigate a host of constraints, including restrictions on the number of customers at any one time. I have read that many say the restrictions with their added layer of costs may stop them from being profitable. Even though COVID-19 cases appear to be under control in Ontario, companies have actually reopened to dramatically smaller sized groups, imperilling their survival.

To save local Canadian businesses, and the millions they employ, the federal government developed Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan. The federal assistance programs for Canadian business include:

I have already written about most of these support programs. I have attached relevant links above so that you can read up on the various support programs for Canadian business.

Provincial governments have also stepped up. For example, in Ontario, the Doug Ford Conservative government has implemented:

  1. Interest/penalty relief – Canadian business in Ontario will get five months of interest and fine relief to make payments for taxes administered by the Province. From April 1, 2020 – August 31, 2020, Ontario will not apply any penalty interest on any late-filed returns or incomplete or late tax obligation payments under the Employer Health Tax, Tobacco Tax and Gas Tax obligations. This enhances relief from the federal government on interest and other charges from not remitting the amount owing for corporate income tax.
  2. WSIB payment deferments – Employers can delay WSIB payments for 6 months.
  3. Rent support for local Canadian business Ontario has partnered with the Government of Canada on the Ontario-Canada emergency commercial rent assistance for small businesses and landlords experiencing financial problems throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

But there are still Canadian business problems

Despite all these support programs, the Canadian business world still has to figure out how to pay the balance of their rent, utility, insurance as well as a host of various other recurring expenses. While some have had the ability to delay these expenses, they can’t do so for life. Companies will become required to take care of their unmet commitments. They will also have to figure out how they are going to go back to paying all their expenses in full once the support programs end and business has not yet come back to the pre-coronavirus pandemic level.

Some companies may have enough cash savings to ride out the pandemic or can access fresh cash resources from owners. That is both good and bad. Entrepreneurs will take from their retirement savings, and in some cases deplete them, in the hopes of keeping their business alive long enough to survive and once again be profitable. It is highly doubtful that Canadian business will be able to borrow from the Banks as a source of fresh capital under these circumstances.

For a lot of others, the crush of past-due costs will certainly limit and maybe even end their business.

What happens when the government support programs end?

That is a big question that I get asked always. The answer is somewhat obvious: Everyone will have to stand on their own two feet just like they had to before the COVID-19 pandemic. Right now all the Canadian business support programs are all scheduled to end August 31. What will happen then?

My personal belief is that the federal and provincial governments will not be able to end the economic response support programs that soon. Rather, I think they will have to extend all the programs again. They may tweak them to begin the process of weaning Canadian business off of government support. Nevertheless, I feel they will have to be extended.

I think the extension will come with stark warnings. I believe the government would not want to extend for more than 90 days, but Christmas will still come in December. Pandemic or no pandemic. Nobody will want to shut off the tap before Christmas. So, that means an extension until the end of the calendar year 2020. With it, the governments will have to warn everyone to get their houses in order now because for certain there will be no more support programs after December 31.

I don’t have any inside information. I am just guessing. But to me, that seems the most realistic to still help Canadian business because entrepreneurs and workers are still all scared. At the same time, the governments’ exit strategy time clock begins ticking. Everyone will have a fair warning.

There is one precious commodity Canadian business will need when the support programs stop

Please humour me. Let us just say you find my prediction to be a reasonable one. On January 1, 2021, Canadian business is not all of a sudden flush with cash. They have survived. Entrepreneurs will still be scared. They certainly will not hire everyone back with an uncertain economic climate. All of the creditors of the businesses will start demanding payment in full. They have been patient and understanding. But now, all business debts will be demanded.

What is the one commodity Canadian business will desperately need? Cash is an obvious one but, no more is coming. Not from the government, the Banks or investors. Entrepreneurs are already tapped out having used personal savings to keep their businesses afloat. The most precious commodity Canadian business will need is TIME. Time to gear up again. Time to get back on their feet and bring in some cash. The Courts will have reopened. Creditors will begin to sue. There will be no more “time-outs” built into our Canadian economic system.

How will businesses get the time they need?

Bankruptcy protection will very likely be the answer

Breathing time that briefly ices up the need to pay off old debt while letting Canadian business function and have the time to find a strategy to keep going. In most cases, that will only be able to happen with a bankruptcy protection insolvency filing.

While bankruptcy is only thought of with going out of business, there are two Canadian federal statutes that allow viable businesses to develop a restructuring plan to lead them back to success. The trouble is that bankruptcy laws don’t give sufficient time to do this while there is still a pandemic. Ongoing COVID-19 health problems will likely suppress the Canadian economy in 2021.

Some out-of-the-box thinking and creativity are going to have to go into bankruptcy restructuring. It will be incumbent on licensed insolvency trustees (formerly called bankruptcy trustees), insolvency lawyers and the courts to recognize viable businesses that deserve to survive. This will be the case even if the processes being recommended are a bit unorthodox. These times are unorthodox and the solutions will have to fit the realities of our time.

I have previously written many blogs on how the two Canadian insolvency statutes can be used to allow Canadian business to restructure. The two statutes are:

For the purpose of this blog, I won’t repeat what I have previously written about corporate restructuring under either the BIA or CCAA. For this blog, what you need to know is that CCAA proceedings are for companies with $5 million or more of debt. BIA proceedings are for those companies with $4,999,999 of debt or less. Both statutes allow for bankruptcy protection filing. They are the Canadian equivalent to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States.

How will bankruptcy protections help Canadian business?

For numerous companies battling the consequences of COVID-19, the main issue will not be a massive backlog of debt. It will be the inability to pay off the debt fast due to an absence of immediate profits. Cash will be needed to carry on business and make commitments on a go-forward basis. Given enough time, Canadian business will be able to repay its debts which accrued during the coronavirus shutdown. Unfortunately, the time Canadian business will need will be much longer than how much longer creditors will be willing to wait.

This is where bankruptcy protection filing, under either the BIA or CCAA comes in. First, under a bankruptcy protection filing, there is an automatic stay of proceedings. Creditors will not be able to start or continue collection efforts. This includes repossession by secured creditors or beginning or continuing legal proceedings.

Other benefits of a bankruptcy protection filing for Canadian business will be:

  1. Buying some time to come up with a restructuring plan to keep viable businesses in operation.
  2. Saving jobs through restructuring rather than liquidating the assets of many companies.
  3. Allowing for the sale of entire business units to be integrated into other healthier companies in order for businesses to survive, albeit in a different legal format.
  4. To allow for the sale of redundant assets to raise much-needed cash.
  5. Get out of onerous equipment, IP or premises leases/contracts that need to be jettisoned or else a restructuring is not possible.
  6. Stopping secured lenders from calling a default on loan facilities due to either cash or non-cash impairment charges leading to going concern worries.
  7. Obtain operating capital by way of a new debtor-in-possession loan credit facility for restructuring. Most companies outside of a formal restructuring will be unable to borrow any more money as I have already mentioned. However, in a BIA or CCAA Canadian business restructuring, the court can approve emergency funding and raise that operating loan to the top of the pile by giving it a priority secured loan position.
  8. Stopping Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) from starting or continuing garnishee tactics, general collection efforts and especially placing liens on business property for unpaid taxes.
  9. To allow companies to restructure their debt and clean up their balance sheets in a post lockdown economy.

The biggest resource Canadian business will need is also going to be its largest enemy

So as you can see, I believe that the most important resource that Canadian business will need to survive will not be cash. It will be time. Creditors will no longer want to give businesses more time to repay. Companies will need more time to get back on their feet when the COVID-19 Economic Response Plan support programs end.

The only way I can see that truly happening while allowing for proper restructuring of viable businesses will be under bankruptcy protection filings. Those businesses that are not viable, by definition, will fall by the wayside causing more harm to many good people.

So this why I say formal bankruptcy protection proceedings to allow viable businesses to restructure will be the ultimate business recovery program in a post-lockdown Canada.

Canadian business summary

I hope you have found this Canadian business Brandon’s Blog interesting and helpful. The Ira Smith Team family hopes that you and your family members are remaining secure, healthy and well-balanced. Our hearts go out to every person that has been affected either via misfortune or inconvenience.

We all must help each other to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Social distancing and self-quarantining are sacrifices that are not optional. Families are literally separated from each other. We look forward to the time when life can return to something near to typical and we can all be together once again.

Ira Smith Trustee & Receiver Inc. has constantly used clean, safe and secure ways in our professional firm and we continue to do so.

Income, revenue and cash flow shortages are critical issues facing entrepreneurs, their companies and individual Canadians. This is especially true these days.

If anyone needs our assistance for debt relief Canada COVID-19, or you just need some answers for questions that are bothering you, feel confident that Ira or Brandon can still assist you. Telephone consultations and/or virtual conferences are readily available for anyone feeling the need to discuss their personal or company situation.

The Ira Smith Trustee Team is absolutely operational and Ira, in addition to Brandon Smith, is readily available for a telephone consultation or video meeting.

canadian business
canadian business
Categories
Brandon Blog Post

COMMERCIAL TENANCIES ACT ONTARIO: NEW FIX FOR YOUR UNRULY LANDLORD’S COVID-19 COMMERCIAL LEASE TERMINATION

commercial tenancies act
B commercial tenancies act

The Ira Smith Team is absolutely operational and Ira, in addition to Brandon Smith, is readily available for a telephone consultation or video meeting.

If you would prefer to listen to the audio version of this Brandon’s Blog, please scroll to the bottom and click on the podcast

Commercial Tenancies Act introduction

On June 18, 2020, Royal Assent was given to the Ontario Bill 192, Protecting Small Business Act, 2020, An Act to amend the Commercial Tenancies Act Ontario. The aim of this provincial law is to prevent commercial landlords from either terminating a commercial tenancy or distraining on a commercial tenant’s property. If that has already taken place, then this amendment to provincial law tries to compensate the commercial tenant for damages.

This is an updated to my April 27, 2020 blog titled, SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF PROGRAM: CANADA EMERGENCY COMMERCIAL RENT ASSISTANCE. In this Brandon’s Blog, I will describe how this Bill 192 amending the Commercial Tenancies Act works. As with everything, the devil is in the details.

Which commercial landlords qualify?

This Ontario law applies to all commercial landlords who:

  1. Are eligible to obtain help under the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses program. This is designed as an unsecured, interest-free, forgivable loan program administered by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
  2. Can receive help under the CECRA if the landlord participated in a rent reduction contract with the commercial tenant having a moratorium on the eviction.

To get CECRA for small businesses, the landlord must:

  • own commercial real estate which is leased to one or more affected small business tenants;
  • go into (or have actually already entered) into a lawfully binding rent reduction agreement for the period of April, May and also June 2020 (presumably subject to extension of the program by the federal government), decreasing an affected small business renter’s lease cost by at least 75%;
  • ensure the rent decrease agreement with each affected renter includes:
    • a postponement on eviction for the period throughout which the property owner consents to apply the loan funds; as well as
    • a statement of rental revenue included in the attestation.

In order to be considered an affected small business tenant, the tenant has to have been in operation before March 1, 2020, as well as should not generate greater than $20 million in gross annual income when calculated on a combined basis, based upon 2019 earnings.

The landlord also cannot:

  1. Have an owner holding a federal or provincial political office.
  2. Controlled by a person holding such a political position.

CECRA will not include any federal, provincial, or municipal-owned properties, where a government is the landlord of the small business tenant. Initially, the landlord had to have a mortgage financing the property. CMHC later qualified that this was not the case.

Which small business tenants qualify?

Impacted small business lessees are businesses, including charitable and non-profit organizations that:

  • pay no greater than $50,000 in monthly gross lease cost per location (as specified by a valid and enforceable written lease).
  • creates no more than $20 million in gross yearly income, calculated on a parent company consolidated basis.
  • have experienced a minimum of a 70% decrease in pre-COVID-19 income.

Eligible small business tenants include those who have entered into written valid sub-tenancy arrangements that meet the CECRA requirements.

To determine the 70% reduction in earnings, the following two circumstances apply:

  1. Your small business was operating throughout April through June 2019. Compare your gross income from April, May and June of 2020 to your revenues of April, May and June of 2019.
  2. The small business was not running throughout April through June 2019. In this case, compare your average gross revenue from April, May and June of 2020 to your typical gross income for January and February 2020.

How is the Commercial Tenancies Act amended?

Bill 192, Protecting Small Business Act, 2020, modifies the Commercial Tenancies Act to forbid particular activities by property owners if the landlord is or would qualify to receive assistance from the CECRA. If the landlord is accepted and receives the CECRA help, then these provincial amendments cease to apply. The reason for that is because, under the federal program, the landlord has agreed not to evict the tenant.

This provincial legislation also forbids Judges from making a writ of possession that is effective throughout the non-enforcement time out if the basis for making the writ is arrears of rent under the lease. These Commercial Tenancies Act amendments also ban landlords from enforcing a right of re-entry and from seizing any property of the tenant by way of distress for arrears of rent throughout the non-enforcement time period.

The non-enforcement period begins on May 1, 2020, and ends midnight September 1, 2020. This will obviously be subject to either extension or even termination on an earlier day to be called by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.

If a landlord exercises a right of re-entry between May 1, 2020, and August 31, 2020, inclusive, the commercial tenant has to recover possession of the commercial space. The tenancy is regarded to be reinstated on the same terms and conditions unless the property owner and the occupant agree on other terms and conditions If it is incapable to return the leased premises to the commercial tenant, the landlord must compensate the tenant for damages.

Similarly, if a commercial landlord distrains against a tenant’s goods in the non-enforcement period on account of rent arrears under a commercial lease, the landlord needs to return any unsold items to the tenant.

Some obvious comments

I have some comments on this Bill 192, Protecting Small Business Act, 2020, An Act to amend the Commercial Tenancies Act Ontario. Most of my comments I think will be obvious. To date, whatever I have read on how landlords feel about these amendments, has not been positive. It will be interesting to see if the Courts reopen prior to August 31, if any landlords go to Court to overturn it and what the Court decision will be.

I think the real strength of the amendments to the Commercial Tenancies Act comes from the fact that the Ontario Courts are closed. No one can challenge the law on a constitutional basis at this time!

So my comments are:

  1. The wording of the Bill to see if a landlord qualifies is:

80 (1) Subject to subsection (2), this Part applies to a tenancy in respect of which the landlord satisfies either of the following criteria:

  1. The landlord is eligible to receive assistance under the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance for small businesses program.
  2. The landlord would be eligible to receive assistance under the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance for small businesses program if the landlord entered into a rent reduction agreement with the tenant containing a moratorium on eviction.

A landlord is only “eligible to receive assistance” based on a two-part test; one is a landlord test and the other is a commercial tenant test. A landlord should have the right to receive sufficient financial information from its tenant to see if the tenant can meet its test of reduced gross revenue. The only way a landlord is eligible is if the tenant meets the required tests.

What if the tenant refuses to divulge that information? Can the landlord merely take the position that it is not “eligible”? If so, then the landlord could either terminate the lease or effect distraint. Again, with the Courts closed, it will be all over before the tenant can have their day in Court.

  1. These amendments are effective beginning on May 1, 2020. The emergency COVID-19 shutdown in Ontario began on March 17, 2020. As a result, many small businesses were not in a position to make their April rent payment. Does this mean that landlords who either terminated a commercial lease or distrained on the tenant’s assets before May 1 are exempt?
  2. The landlord is not entitled to either terminate the lease or distrain during the non-enforcement period on the assets for non-payment of rent. What if the tenant, prior to the Ontario emergency shutdown was in breach of the lease for other reasons. If the landlord has not yet taken action as a result of those breaches and wishes to get rid of the tenant for reasons other than rent arrears, can the landlord take action during the non-enforcement period as long as rent arrears is not one of the reasons?
  1. A commercial tenant whose landlord terminated the lease is entitled to compensation for damages if the premises cannot be handed back to the tenant. How the damages are calculated are not spelled out. It will most certainly be the subject matter of future litigation.

A commercial tenant whose landlord distrained on the tenant’s property is only entitled to a return of the property that has not yet been sold. This is presumably because the lease has not been terminated. However, I presume the tenant will not be operated again if all or most of its property has been sold. Now what? More litigation no doubt.

The amendments contained in the Bill 192, Protecting Small Business Act, 2020, An Act to amend the Commercial Tenancies Act Ontario is obviously done to persuade landlords to enter into the CECRA program with their tenants. That is a good thing. As you can see from my comments, it is more persuasion and relying on the fact that the Courts are closed than brilliant wordsmithing language.

Commercial Tenancies Act summary

I hope you have found this Commercial Tenancies Act Brandon’s Blog interesting and helpful. The Ira Smith Team family hopes that you and your family members are remaining secure, healthy and well-balanced. Our hearts go out to every person that has been affected either via misfortune or inconvenience.

We all must help each other to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Social distancing and self-quarantining are sacrifices that are not optional. Families are literally separated from each other. We look forward to the time when life can return to something near to typical and we can all be together once again.

Ira Smith Trustee & Receiver Inc. has constantly used clean, safe and secure ways in our professional firm and we continue to do so.

Income, revenue and cash flow shortages are critical issues facing entrepreneurs, their companies and individual Canadians. This is especially true these days.

If anyone needs our assistance for debt relief Canada COVID, or you just need some answers for questions that are bothering you, feel confident that Ira or Brandon can still assist you. Telephone consultations and/or virtual conferences are readily available for anyone feeling the need to discuss their personal or company situation.

The Ira Smith Team is absolutely operational and Ira, in addition to Brandon Smith, is readily available for a telephone consultation or video meeting.

Categories
Brandon Blog Post

SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF PROGRAM: CANADA EMERGENCY COMMERCIAL RENT ASSISTANCE

small business relief program

If you would prefer to listen to the audio version of this Brandon’s Blog, please scroll to the bottom and click on the podcast

The Ira Smith Team is absolutely operational and both Ira, as well as Brandon Smith, are right here for a telephone appointment, conference calls and also virtual meetings.

Stay healthy and safe everybody.

Introduction

I want to describe what is known right now about the most recent Canadian small business relief program. The program named the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CERC) Program was set up to help small companies cover their commercial rent payments for April, May and June. This kind of program is necessary because of the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic.

The latest small business relief program announcement

On Friday, April 24, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the launch of the CERC for small companies that have been strongly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. It is designed to reduce rental costs by 75 percent for impacted local businesses.

The CERC will provide forgivable loans to commercial landlords that qualify under the plan to cover half of the three regular monthly rent payments. It is designed to help small businesses experiencing financial difficulty throughout April, May and June.

The expense and management of the CERC will be shared by the provincial and federal governments. It should be accessible by mid-May.

“A big business starts small.”
-Richard Branson

The Ontario program

Since I practise in the province of Ontario, that is the provincial program I will comment on. Other than for the level of money contributed, presumably, the federal program works the same way in all provinces. When all the details come out, we will then know for sure.

The Ontario Government is devoting $241 million to partner with the federal government to supply more than $900 million in immediate aid. This small business relief program is for both small businesses and their landlords via a brand-new program, the Ontario-Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance Program (OCECRA).

The OCECRA will offer forgivable loans to qualified commercial property owners experiencing potential rental income deficiencies since their local business lessees have been greatly affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

The program has been created to share the cost of small businesses with property owners. Local business occupants, as well as landlords, will each be asked to pay 25 percent of the previous rent cost, before profit. The provincial and federal governments will share the remaining 50 percent.

For example, say the monthly rent payment under a commercial lease for a local business is $10,000. In this instance, presume the property owner doesn’t make a profit (How this will be determined/monitored/enforced right now is anyone’s guess). The landlord gives up $2,500 (25% of rent). The small company would be accountable for paying $2,500 (25% of the rent). The government would cover $5,000. The federal/provincial split will be $3,750 from the federal government (37.5%) and $1,250 (12.5%) from the provincial government.

To obtain the funding, commercial property owners will need to reduce the rental expenses of small company tenants for April through June 2020 by a minimum of 75%. The funding is also contingent on the finalizing of an agreement or letter for rent reduction between the impacted tenant and the landlord. In addition to confirming the rent abatement for the 3 month period, it would also include a halt on distraint or termination for three months.

“You don’t build a business, you build people, then people build the business.”
-Zig Ziglar

How to apply for OCECRA

The OCECRA will be administered by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Applications can be filed up until September 30, 2020. Support would be retroactive to April 1, covering April, May and June 2020.

“Bringing great people onto your team is about demonstrating that size really doesn’t matter – people do.”
-Jess Campbell

Are there any restrictions on the CERC/OCECRA?

The OCECRA small business relief program would apply to commercial properties with small business occupants. Commercial with a residential component, and mixed-use residential and commercial properties with at least 30% of the space being commercial, qualify as it relates to the commercial rental only.

The property owner must be both the registered owner landlord of the property. If a property owner does not have a mortgage registered against the commercial rental building, the owner has to contact CMHC. Then there will be a discussion if the property owner/landlord has any other type of debt that would allow it to qualify under the program.

What are the qualification demands for small businesses?

“Make something people want” includes making a company that people want to work for.”
-Sahil Lavingia

Are there any qualifications the small business commercial tenant must meet?

A qualified small company lessee is one that:

  • Pays a regular monthly rental not more than $50,000 in gross lease payments; and
  • is a non-essential local business that has had to shut down or that is experiencing a 70% drop in pre-COVID-19 earnings (identified by comparing earnings in April, May or June to the very same month in 2019.

Not-for-profit organizations and charitable entities would also be taken into consideration for the program.

“A small business is an amazing way to serve and leave an impact on the world you live in.”
-Nicole Snow

Are any kind of small businesses omitted from the CERC/OCECRA program?

The following excludes any business from this small business relief program:

  • businesses owned by people holding political office;
  • companies that promote physical violence, incite hatred or discriminate; and
  • a company placed in their lender’s special accounts group prior to March 1, 2020.

The impact this small business relief program will have depends of course on all the fine print that has not yet come out. For it to be successful, landlords have to agree to the program. A commercial tenant cannot apply on its own.

“Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.”
-Jack Welch

Summary

The Ira Smith Team family hopes that you and your family members are remaining secure, healthy and well-balanced. Our hearts go out to every person that has been affected either via misfortune or inconvenience.

We all must help each other to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Social distancing and self-quarantining are sacrifices that are not optional. Families are literally separated from each other. We look forward to the time when life can return to something near to typical and we can all be together once again.

Ira Smith Trustee & Receiver Inc. has constantly used clean, safe and secure ways in our professional firm and we continue to do so.

Revenue and cash flow shortages are critical issues facing entrepreneurs and their companies and businesses.

If anyone needs our assistance, or you just need some answers for questions that are bothering you, feel confident that Ira or Brandon can still assist you. Telephone consultations and/or virtual conferences are readily available for anyone feeling the need to discuss their personal or company situation.

Are you now worried just how you or your business are going to survive? Those concerns are obviously on your mind. This pandemic situation has made everyone scared.

The Ira Smith Team understands these concerns. More significantly, we know the requirements of the business owner or the individual that has way too much financial debt. You are trying to manage these difficult financial problems and you are understandably anxious.

It is not your fault you can’t fix this problem on your own. The pandemic has thrown everyone a curveball. We have not been trained to deal with this. You have only been taught the old ways. The old ways do not work anymore. The Ira Smith Team makes use of new contemporary ways to get you out of your debt problems while avoiding bankruptcy. We can get you debt relief now.

We look at your whole circumstance and design a strategy that is as distinct as you are. We take the load off of your shoulders as part of the debt settlement strategy we will draft just for you.

We understand that people facing money problems require a lifeline. That is why we can establish a restructuring procedure for you and end the discomfort you feel.

Call us now for a no-cost consultation. We will listen to the unique issues facing you and provide you with practical and actionable ideas you can implement right away to end the pain points in your life, Starting Over, Starting Now.

“Find a great mentor, someone who has already been through the many challenges of being an entrepreneur..”
-Jodi Levine

The Ira Smith Team is absolutely operational and both Ira, as well as Brandon Smith, are right here for a telephone appointment, conference calls and also virtual meetings.

Stay healthy and safe everybody.

Call a Trustee Now!