Bankruptcy

What is bankruptcy?

Personal Bankruptcy is a legal process to relieve an honest individual from the burden of his debts and allow him to get a fresh start and become financially active again.

Personal Bankruptcy will protect you against any garnishment of your wages and will suspend any legal actions against you. Personal Bankruptcy will permit orderly distribution of your non-exempt assets to the creditors.

Can I go bankrupt?

Certain conditions must be met in order to file an assignment in bankruptcy:

• owe at least $1,000, and
• be unable to meet regular payments as they fall due, or
• own insufficient property to pay all of your debts.

A licensed Trustee can evaluate your financial situation and whether or not bankruptcy is a viable option for you.

What is the personal bankruptcy process?

The major steps in Personal Bankruptcy are:

• Contact a licensed Trustee - Click to contact us
• File an assignment in Bankruptcy
• Attend a creditor’s meeting (if required)
• Attend two (2) counselling sessions
• Make required monthly payments for a period of nine (9) months or twenty-one (21) months depending on the circumstances.
• Discharge your bankruptcy

Each of the above steps are detailed as follows:

Contact a trustee

The first step in the bankruptcy process is to contact a licensed Trustee at PSB Boisjoli to evaluate your financial situation. The Trustee will then recommend an option to you, and if bankruptcy is inevitable, he/she will inform you of the effects of bankruptcy.

File an assignment in Bankruptcy

The Trustee will prepare all necessary statutory documents to file the assignment in bankruptcy with the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy to put the bankruptcy into effect.

Attend Creditor’s meeting

The bankrupt must attend the first meeting of creditors only if requested by the statutory majority of creditors.

Attend counselling sessions

Two counselling sessions are obligatory to obtain your discharge. These sessions will help you to discover and understand the causes of your bankruptcy. They will also provide information to help you manage your budget.

Monthly payments

All future income is considered an asset. The law requests that the Trustee determine the portion of surplus revenue that the bankrupt must pay to the benefit of creditors during the bankruptcy. These payments are determined while taking into consideration the income and expenses of the bankrupt.

Discharge

For a first-time (PRIOR TO SEPTEMBER 18th 2009) bankrupt who has respected all his duties, an automatic discharge is granted after nine (9) months unless someone opposes the discharge. If you do not qualify for an automatic discharge, the Trustee will request that the Court set a hearing date for your discharge.

Effective September 18th 2009

1. First time bankrupt - Automatic Discharge
   1. If you have no surplus income according to the formula set by the Superintendent of Bankruptcy , you are automatically discharged after nine (9) months, unless someone opposes your discharge.
   2. If you have surplus income, then you are automatically discharged after twenty-one (21) months, unless someone opposes your discharge
2. Second time bankrupt - Automatic Discharge
   1. If you have no surplus income according to the formula set by the Superintendent of Bankruptcy , you are automatically discharged after twenty-four (24) months, unless someone opposes your discharge.
   2. If you have surplus income, then you are automatically discharged after thirty-six (36) months, unless someone opposes your discharge
3. Court hearing for application for discharge
   1. There is no automatic discharge if someone opposes your automatic discharge and/or you have been previously bankrupt at least twice; and/or your fiscal debts total more than $200,000.00 and comprise 75% or more of your total debts.