Pointers on Finding Reliable Bankruptcy Info in Canada

Posted by: Sandy Lyons on 01/24/2012

If you’re thinking about bankruptcy because of serious debt, the right bankruptcy info can serve as the basis of your plans to regain your financial footing.  If you don’t obtain data on bankruptcy from reliable sources, you might take steps in the wrong direction and diminish your chances at financial security rather than increase them. For many debtors who are faced with overwhelming debt and an overwhelming amount of bankruptcy data, this question exists: how do I find the right bankruptcy info?

In your quest towards mitigating the effects of bankruptcy, you may come across many unfamiliar terms. Here are some of the general terms and definitions you’ll probably run across in your research on bankruptcy:

Assets – items owned by the debtor. Assets may be disposed of or sold to pay for the filer’s debts.

Bankruptcy – an event that protects the filer from further creditor collections. In this event, the trustee sells off the debtor’s assets for debt payment. Personal assets may need to be turned over in a bankruptcy filing, except for items exempted under the law. 

Consumer Proposal – an agreement facilitated between a debtor and a creditor. Borrowers with debts of and below a quarter of a million dollars may be allowed to pay off a portion of their overall debt within a set time of no more than five years to avoid bankruptcy.

Insolvency – a state wherein a debtor no longer has the money for debt payments. The debt has to total a minimum of at least $1,000.

Statement of Affairs – a document that contains descriptions of all a debtor’s assets, his or her creditors, and each debt balance.

Basic Bankruptcy Information

Basic information, such as national legislation surrounding bankruptcy, may be obtained from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. Their website contains general information that a potential filer can use as a starting point in his or her research on bankruptcy. If you’re looking for more specific information, your own provincial office has regulations as to what assets can be retained in the event of a bankruptcy declaration – these may differ from one province to the next. For information and counsel that’s tailored towards your own personal and financial circumstances, talk to a certified bankruptcy trustee.

Bankruptcy Trustees

Licensed bankruptcy trustees can give you debt help, bankruptcy information and counsel that’s uniquely relevant to your own financial situation. These professionals are trained and certified by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy to represent debtors and creditors, and serve the former by providing access to different legal options that can help sustain financial security and manage staggering debt loads.

Contrary to popular opinion, there are many bankruptcy alternatives available to an individual faced with mounting debt. Aside from reading up on bankruptcy info from the website of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy or talking to a licensed bankruptcy trustee, you may also ask your creditors or bankers for help on debt management – specifically in terms of debt restructuring and debt consolidation.