What Happens If I Lie To My Licensed Insolvency Trustee?

What Happens If I Lie To My Licensed Insolvency Trustee?

It is a statutory obligation for every person filing an assignment in bankruptcy to make full disclosure of all assets, liabilities, income and living expenses. As well, you must disclose information as to the disposal of any of your assets within the past 12 months (5 years if the asset is real estate). If you intentionally do not disclose significant information to your trustee, you will have your discharge from bankruptcy opposed by the trustee.

You might even be required to appear in court to explain why you did not disclose full and complete information. The court can impose penalties on you, depending on the significance of the non-disclosure. You should also be aware that you are asked under oath to swear that all of the information that you gave to the trustee is reasonable and accurate to the best of your knowledge and belief.

Swearing a false affidavit is called “perjury” and now you may be charged under the Criminal Code as well as under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. Not a good situation to find yourself in when you are already stressed out over your debts.

Please read our blog entitled – How a Trustee Searches for Hidden Assets.

Contact Rumanek & Company Ltd. for more information on bankruptcy and debt solutions. Or please fill out the free bankruptcy evaluation form.

To learn more please visit our YouTube  Channel. 

Rumanek & Company have been helping individuals and families overcome debt for more than 25 years.  

How does a Licensed Insolvency Trustee find hidden assets?

When you fill out the Application Form to file an assignment in bankruptcy, you provide information about yourself and your assets, liabilities, income, expenses as well as your financial history. You will also be asked to supply the trustee with creditors statements, lawsuits, copies of your last income tax returns, current pay stub, your personal bank account for the last 12 months, business financial statements and business bank accounts as well as any other information that the trustee feels he needs. The trustee is not being intrusive–he is just doing his job in the administration of your bankruptcy. He is making sure you are being truthful about your affairs.

Creditors statements and bank accounts are reviewed to see who you owe money to as well as what you charging on credit. If there are significant duplication of purchases of electronics, you will be asked if you are buying electronics on credit and selling them for cash to finance an addiction. Taking numerous cash advances at a casino is obviously a gambling problem which will usually result in you being asked to sign a Self-Exclusion form so that you will no longer be able to go to a casino. The trustee will also be obligated to file an opposition to your discharge. Payments to mortgage companies, insurance companies, secured lines of credit will be matched against your listed assets. If you made a cheque payable to a marina – did you declare ownership of a boat? If you charged gasoline – did you declare ownership of a car? The list goes on.

Your income tax return will be reviewed for any deductions or carry forward balances pertaining to RRSPs, RESPs, RIFs, business losses, number of dependants living with you, etc. Your pay stub might show a deduction for Canada Savings Bonds, Life Insurance or other assets. Many trustees are capable of searching for assets being financed via registrations of the secured lender under the Personal Property Security Act which covers almost everything other than real estate.

And last – your creditors.   Every time you fill out a credit application, you are giving information about yourself, your family, your job, assets with their value. In years gone by, this information might be buried in a file folder in a storage room in the basement.

Today, it is likely scanned and can be retrieved in a few seconds. If a creditor notices that an asset of significant value has not been shown on your list of assets, they will contact the trustee about the discrepancy. Hopefully, the trustee will determine that the asset was sold between the date of the credit application and the date of the bankruptcy and the sale proceeds were properly accounted for.

But what if you forgot to disclose an asset. As soon as you discover the omission, notify the trustee. If the error is not significant, he will correct his file and nothing further will happen. If the error is significant – i.e.- the asset information given to the creditors at the start of the bankruptcy was not correct to the point of being misleading, the trustee will prepare documents to amend the original Statement of Affairs and this will be sent to all creditors, the court and the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. An explanation as to why the asset was not properly disclosed will have to be provided but the fact that you voluntarily disclosed the missing information will show that you only made a mistake and it was an accident and not intentional on your part to mislead your creditors.

Does a trustee check your bank account?

Contact Rumanek & Company Ltd. for more information on bankruptcy and debt solutions. Or please fill out the free bankruptcy evaluation form. To learn more please visit our YouTube Channel. Rumanek & Company have been helping individuals and families overcome debt for more than 25 years.

We Want Your Debt & Financial Freedom Stories!

We Want Your Debt & Financial Freedom Stories!

Retired couple discussing their financial budget at home
Retired couple discussing financial freedom!

To submit a story go to www.rumanek.com/contact/submit-a-story/

Do you have a story that can help others with their finances? Did your financial decisions lead you to financial freedom? Join us in helping thousands of others attain the financial freedom they have always dreamed of. For over a decade now, Rumanek & Company Ltd. have received positive emails, letters and inspiring stories from people who said: Good Bye to Debt! and started living their financially abundant lives. Rumanek & Company Ltd. have now decided to share these positive financial stories in a 3 Volume Series: Financial Freedom-it Forward.

But they need your help!

This is a call for the opportunity to share your story, help and inspire others. This is your opportunity to share your positive financial stories. How did you get out of debt? What worked for you? What story can you share with others to help them make the right financial choices and steps towards freedom? Are you an RRSP expert? Did you make the right financial choices?

Email us your stories for the chance to be involved in this amazing process to help others attain financial freedom. Your story may be chosen for this 3 Volume Series and you will get the opportunity to: Financial Freedom-it Forward!

We will be accepting inspiring financial freedom stories for the next 3 months so share your story with us and don’t miss the opportunity to help others feel great about their finances. To submit a story go to www.rumanek.com/contact/submit-a-story/

Best Regards,

Rumanek & Company Ltd. – Trustees in Bankruptcy & Administrators of Proposals

To learn more please visit our YouTube channel. Rumanek & Company have been helping individuals and families overcome debt for more than 25 years.

Do I Have to Tell My Spouse About My Bankruptcy?

old_debtDo I Have to Tell My Spouse About My Bankruptcy?

Now this is an unusual question. The technical answer is: you do not have to tell him or her anything. When you sign the papers to file an Assignment in Bankruptcy, you will be asked to sign a document under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) which specifies that your trustee will only deal with those people that they are required to do so in order to perform their duty as your trustee. This normally includes only your creditors, Canada Revenue Agency, Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, the court and any collection agencies or lawyers who have been hired by your creditors. If you wish to authorize your trustee to speak to any other party such as your wife/husband, children, employer, brother, sister, etc., you will be asked to do so in writing.

The trustee will not ordinarily disclose your bankruptcy to your employer. The exception is if one of your creditors tries to garnishee your wages. Your trustee can stop the garnishee, but, if the papers have already been sent to your employer, then your trustee will have to send your employer a letter to stop the garnishee.

With respect to your husband or wife, the issue can get more complicated. If they are a creditor, they must be notified for that reason. The usual problem is that your trustee will periodically be sending you documents, notices, etc. and you will have to make sure that your wife or husband does not open your mail. You should be aware that the envelope has only a return address with no name on it. If this is an issue, please speak to your trustee at the initial meeting and we will try to resolve it by way of Email, fax or an outside mail box service.

It is, of course, better to be honest and upfront with your partner about the financial problems and the fact that you have chosen bankruptcy as the solution to your problems.

Contact Rumanek & Company Ltd. for more information on bankruptcy and debt solutions. Or please fill out the free bankruptcy evaluation form, to learn more please visit our YouTube. Rumanek & Company have been helping individuals and families overcome debt for more than 25 years.