Bankruptcy Ottawa

Did you know that in the first 9 months of 2010 there were over 37,000 people in Ontario alone that filed for personal bankruptcy. That’s quite a number! If we look at the number of people who filed Consumer Proposals in the same year we would find the number exceeds 22,000, which by the way, is an increase of over 15% from the previous year.

Filing for personal bankruptcy is not a “do it yourself” thing. As this is a complicated legal matter with a number of debtors involved and certain laws and procedures that need to be followed, a bankruptcy trustee must be appointed to handle your file.

Personal Bankruptcy – Steps you need to take!

Step # 1.

Contact Jean or another bankruptcy trustee here in Ottawa and make an appointment.

Step # 2.

Get everything together. Make a complete list of all the people/companies you owe money to and the amount you owe them. Don’t leave anything out! This is not a situation where you get to decide who you can pay and who you can’t pay. Write down all your sources of income and the amounts you make every month so the trustee can have an accurate picture of your finances. Make a list of any assets you may have.

Step # 3.

With the help of the bankruptcy trustee decide whether or not filing is the best way forward for you. The trustee will explore other avenues with you. He or she might advise you to handle your current debt by showing you how to budget properly or make a Consumer Proposal to your creditors.

Step # 4.

If you have no other real choice than to declare personal bankruptcy then do it as quickly as possible so that you can start getting your life back in order and move on.

Step # 5.

You will be required to attend two credit counselling sessions before you will get discharged from bankruptcy in Ontario. At these sessions you will discuss budgeting, and ways to re-build your credit when the bankruptcy is finished. These counselling sessions can be very helpful.

In conclusion, once the process is started, all the legal requirements for the actual filing for personal bankruptcy in Ontario will be looked after by the bankruptcy trustee. All you need to do is follow the simple instruction the trustee will give you and they handle the rest.