Technically, there is no limit to the number of times that you can file an Assignment in Bankruptcy. The practical issue is that after the first bankruptcy, it gets harder to get discharged from the bankruptcy. In a second bankruptcy, you are still entitled to an automatic discharge but the minimum period of time is increased from 9 months in a first bankruptcy to 21 months. If you have surplus income, the minimum period until you are discharged is 36 months. Simply stated, the second bankruptcy takes longer to finish and is more expensive than the first bankruptcy.
If there are any circumstances in the second bankruptcy that causes the trustee, a creditor or Office of the Superintendent to oppose you automatic discharge, the court will not look kindly on the fact that this is a second time bankruptcy. This is especially true if both bankruptcies have a similar cause. It is for this reason that your trustee (for your 2nd bankruptcy) will ask you for copies of the documents from your first bankruptcy. Your trustee will want to be very explicit in describing the cause of your 2nd bankruptcy. It may be a hassle for you to find your old papers, but your trustee is only trying to help you. About two months before your discharge, your trustee is required to write a report* in which he describes what he has found during his administration of your file. In this report, the trustee must recommend that you receive an automatic discharge or he is required to oppose your discharge which may result in an appearance in court by yourself.
* Report on the Bankrupt’s Application for Discharge is required under Section 170 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. It is often simply called the “170 report.”
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.
Fight the Fear…File your Income Tax and Benefit Return Online!
As mentioned in our two previous blogs on Income tax and Benefit Return, filing your taxes is a great start to organizing and understanding your financial life. Once you have filed your income tax and benefit return, you can begin to set financial goals, budget more easily and most importantly know where you stand financially. Your income tax and benefit return can be filed online at www.netfile.gc.ca. This is a step-by-step electronic tax-filing option that is safe and secure. Like anything new, it will be challenging at first but that is why you set aside time to work on your taxes. Because you are filing online you can save your work and return the following day to finish. You do not have to file electronically all in one day. To file online you need to follow the steps to filing which include:
Organize all forms/records (get a plastic portable file folder to store all tax papers and receipts and label the file 2013)
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.
Bankruptcy Proposals and Your Life Insurance Policy
When you file a Proposal, your Trustee who acts as the Administrator of your proposal will ask you for a copy of your life insurance policy. He is doing this to determine if the life insurance policy is a term insurance policy (no cash value) or a whole life policy (possible cash value). It is very unusual for a proponent (the debtor who files the proposal) to offer to the creditors any part of the cash value of an insurance policy. There is, however, the requirement to inform the creditors if there is any cash value to an insurance policy. In this way, the creditors have full disclosure of your assets and liabilities when they vote on accepting or refusing your proposal.
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.
When you initiate a bankruptcy proceeding, your appointed Bankruptcy Trustee will ask you for a copy of your life insurance policy. This is not an invasion of your privacy, but rather a necessary step in the process. They want to ascertain whether it is a term insurance policy or a whole life policy that might possess a cash value. The trustee’s role is to determine if this cash value is part of your insolvent estate without compromising the rights of the beneficiary of your life insurance policy.
Should you nominate your “estate” as the beneficiary, the trustee would normally extract the cash value or propose an option for you to reimburse the amount the trustee would have obtained if they had accessed the cash value. Rest assured, your trustee will not invalidate your life insurance policy. With your cooperation, the insurance provider and your life insurance broker may remain unaware of your bankruptcy filing.
Another aspect of concern for your trustee revolves around the situation if you were to pass away while your bankruptcy is still not discharged and your estate has been designated as the insurance policy beneficiary. In such a case, the policy proceeds would be directed towards your trustee. They would first allocate funds for your funeral and testamentary expenses, following which, the balance would be distributed among your creditors, post the deduction of the trustee’s fees and charges. Any residual funds would be transferred to the executor of your estate.
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.