personal bankruptcy blog Archives - Ira SmithTrustee & Receiver Inc.

Bankruptcy blog review: Introduction

I hope that you are all enjoying quality family time together over the holidays. As 2018 is nearly over, I thought that it would be interesting to do a bankruptcy blog review on my Brandon’s Blog. So here is a review of the 7 most viewed blogs over the past year.

Bankruptcy blog review: The 7 most viewed blogs in 2018

BANKRUPTCY AND INSOLVENCY ACT: COURT MAY NOT LISTEN TO BANKRUPTCY TRUSTEE

This blog was about a very interesting case decided in the Court of Appeal of British Columbia. The bankrupt’s creditors applied to have the transactions reviewed under section I00 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. B-3 (“BIA”). One of the areas of contention was that the judge in the lower court found he could not rely on the bankruptcy trustee’s opinion of value in the circumstances.

MORTGAGE LENDING CRITERIA SELF EMPLOYED: BIGGEST MYTH MAY BE RIGHT

In this Brandon’s Blog, I wrote about mortgage lending criteria self-employed, I discussed a Court decision that shows when it comes to a self-employed person’s mortgage, if there is a deemed trust claim by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), you cannot solely rely upon the registry system.

STALKING HORSE CREDIT BID: WE NEED COURT APPROVAL BEFORE STARTING A COURT SUPERVISED SALES PROCESS

This bankruptcy blog review post came from our corporate case files. I discussed the decision making process the Court goes through when being asked to approve a stalking horse sales process and the stalking horse credit bid being recommended by the licensed insolvency trustee (formerly called a bankruptcy trustee).

CREDIT KARMA CANADA REVIEW: IS IT REALLY FREE AND LEGITIMATE?

Since 2007, Credit Karma USA has attempted to simplify credit and finance for more than 60 million Credit Karma members. They advertise very heavily on US television to attract new members. Becoming a member is free, and it allows any member to get access to their free credit score and credit report, with the option to update every single week. Credit Karma also provides financial education to put credit into context.

Credit Karma Canada arrived this past year from the United States. Its website is creditkarma.ca. The purpose of this blog was to describe what Credit Karma Canada is and to let you decide if it would be helpful or not for you or someone you know.

IS GOODWILL A NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION? ARE YOU SCARED BECAUSE YOUR COMPANY HAS TURNED INTO ONE?

The Goodwill Toronto bankruptcy confused and astonished many people. After all, how can Goodwill, a non-profit organization, go bankrupt? Isn’t the very nature of a non-profit or not-for-profit that it doesn’t have to make a profit? This Brandon’s Blog discussed the issues.

FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY IN CANADA: MENTAL HEALTH & DISCHARGED BANKRUPTCY

This bankruptcy blogspot dealt with filing for bankruptcy in Canada and the bankruptcy discharge process when mental health issues are involved.

POOR CREDIT PERSONAL LOANS GUARANTEED APPROVAL CANADA: REDUCE AND DON’T INCREASE DEBT TO IMPROVE YOUR CREDIT SCORE

This Brandon’s Blog was a discussion about and a warning against being seduced by ads from companies for poor credit personal loans guaranteed approval. We pointed out the pitfalls of the products being offered. We also showed how people with poor credit can go about settling their debts and improving their credit score.

Bankruptcy blog review: Conclusion

These are my 7 top viewed Brandon’s Blogs in 2018. Four are about personal debt issues or personal bankruptcy blog items and three are about corporate insolvency issues. Three are about a review of a then-recent court case.

I hope that the year 2019 will be a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year for you and your families.

Have you taken on too much debt in 2018 or the years before? Is the pain and stress of too much debt now negatively affecting your health?

If so, contact the Ira Smith Team today. We have decades and generations of helping people and companies in need of financial restructuring and counselling. As a licensed insolvency trustee (formerly known as a bankruptcy trustee), we are the only professionals licensed and supervised by the Federal government to provide debt settlement and financial restructuring services.

We offer a free consultation to help you solve your problems. We understand your pain that debt causes. We can also eliminate it right away from your life. This will allow you to begin a fresh start, Starting Over Starting Now. Call the Ira Smith Team today so that we can begin helping you and get you back into a healthy, stress-free life. bankruptcy blog review

Introduction

Our Brandon’s Blog certainly is a personal bankruptcy blog, but it is more than that. Brandon writes on various finance and insolvency-related topics including corporate restructuring, corporate bankruptcy, alternatives to bankruptcy, credit counselling, restructuring through a consumer proposal or a Division I Proposal or the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).

Every Monday and Wednesday night Brandon posts to Brandon’s Blog. Monday night is a blog and Wednesday night is a vlog. Just to remind you what this means, here are dictionary definitions:

blog Pronunciation: /blɒɡ/noun

A regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by a person or small group, written in an informal or conversational style: you can add personal bankruptcy blog to the growing list of insolvency-related material popping up on the Web

vlog Pronunciation: /vlɒɡ/ noun

A blog in which the postings are primarily in video form: you can add personal bankruptcy vlog to the growing list of insolvency-related material popping up on the Web

Differences between US and Canadian insolvency statutes

In the United States, people filing for bankruptcy have many “chapters” from which to choose. Similarly, Canada has one chief insolvency law, the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, or BIA, and several supporting pieces of legislation. In perusing a personal bankruptcy blog, the potential filer can find the information he or she seeks.

In the United States, Chapter 11 bankruptcy is the most complex because it applies to large businesses and usually involves gigantic sums of money. In Canada, the equivalent is the Division I proposal. In such a proposal, the debtor’s business can keep assets necessary for its role so that it can generate streams of income from other places to repay its debts. Management also stays in control of the company and business operations.

What are the Choices in Canada?

The BIA sets out the ground rules, and several smaller pieces of legislation fill in the details. Although we Canadians don’t call them various chapters, our legislation is like that of the U.S. Here are the options for filing bankruptcy in Canada:

Personal Bankruptcy – Summary Administration (streamlined) or Ordinary
Consumer Proposal
Division I Proposal

Personal bankruptcy in Canada is most similar to Chapter 7 in the U.S. By filing bankruptcy, the debtor seeks to deal with his or her entire debt load at once. The debtor does not believe that he or she has the means to attempt a restructuring. There are certain assets that are exempt for any one of a number of reasons, so anyone filing bankruptcy should consult a Trustee to find out more.

If a debtor decides to file a consumer proposal (because his or her debt load is $250,000 or less, not including any mortgages against the principal residence) or a Division I Proposal (for unsecured debts $250,000 or greater) instead, he or she is seeking a restructuring of debt so for repayment over a five years or less. Many times, debtors can negotiate with their creditors for part of the amount owed and work out deals on monthly payments, rates of interest, and other such considerations. A proposal is most similar to Chapter 13 in the U.S. and used by people who wish to AVOID bankruptcy.

Basically, the business operates as usual while making an offer to its creditors of payments over time, totalling an amount greater than the creditors would receive if everything was sold off in liquidation in bankruptcy. The largest businesses might even have several layers of debt that would need restructuring as part of a Division I proposal, and each layer might have different guidelines and restrictions based on the proposal.

For companies with greater than $5 million in debt, they could also make use of a different Federal restructuring statute called the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). Both the Proposal under the BIA and restructuring under the CCAA are for large complex corporate reorganizations.

Is a Lawyer Required?

Unlike citizens of the United States, Canadians don’t need a lawyer to file for bankruptcy. A Licensed Insolvency Trustee acts as the “referee” between debtor and creditors. In this way, people file and handle bankruptcy proceedings on their own in Canada. If the debtor has various complex issues or is a defendant in litigation where the plaintiff wishes to continue the litigation perhaps to attempt to prove that their claim is one not released by the person’s discharge from bankruptcy, then they may very well need a lawyer for those issues.

What to do if you have too much debt and want to read a personal bankruptcy blog?

To find out more, check out our Brandon’s Blog entries for the topic of personal bankruptcy blog. If you’re dealing with serious financial issues, contact a trustee, who is the Canadian bankruptcy expert. For the reasons already given, you should do this whether or not you’re contemplating bankruptcy. The reason is very simple: the licensed insolvency trustee will assess your situation, offer you all of your available options and will do this for you for free! You can’t find a better deal anywhere.

We’re not only bankruptcy experts; we’re experts in dealing with debt. Contact Ira Smith Trustee & Receiver Inc. today for a free consultation and you will be well on your way to regaining your former quality of life Starting Over, Starting Now.