There are several different bankruptcy discharge scenarios and it depends on a few factors:
1. If this is your first bankruptcy and you are not paying surplus income (income you would be using to make payments if you earn over a certain amount each month) then you will be automatically discharged 9 nine months after filing for bankruptcy.
2. If this is your first bankruptcy and you are paying surplus income, your automatic discharge will be 21 months after you filed for bankruptcy.
However, you must attend 2 financial counselling sessions and make sure you are always truthful and disclose all information to your trustee because the trustee and/or the Office of the Superintendent of the Bankruptcy office has the right to oppose the discharge if any discrepancies occur.
3. If you do not qualify for an automatic discharge, you need to contact your trustee and they will set up a date for a discharge hearing. This hearing involves the court deciding whether or not you will be discharged. They consider initial reasons you filed for bankruptcy, if you have attended the financial counselling sessions and your financial conduct and affairs during your bankruptcy.
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.
Help! I am not able to pay back my student loans. I continue to apply for Repayment Assistance but I have been unable to start paying back my loans for over five years now. Do I have to wait two more years to declare bankruptcy? Will my student loan be included in the bankruptcy at that time?
Student loans are not usually included in your bankruptcy until seven years after full time studies and the end date is determined by your academic institution. However, after five years of full time studies and extreme hardship you may declare bankruptcy and apply for a “Hardship Provision”. If the courts accept your application, your bankruptcy will include your student loans after five years instead of seven.
In order to decide, the courts will look at various factors:
1. How did you use your student loan?
2. What efforts did you make to graduate from the program your student loan funded?
3. What efforts did you make over the years to repay your loan? Such as applying for Repayment Assistance Plan
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.
Where does the consumer debtor find a bankruptcy lawyer? A trustee?
Bankruptcy lawyers are generally prohibited from advertising their specialty in the yellow pages or any other form of public newspaper or magazine. Nonetheless, they may place their name as a lawyer in the yellow pages, telephone directory and in good taste in the newspaper. The Law Society of Upper Canada recognizes specialists in different areas of law, including bankruptcy and insolvency. In addition, the Canadian Bar Association, both provincially and nationally, has a bankruptcy and insolvency section. Members of the Association may be able to direct the consumer debtor to a member of the section.
If the consumer debtor does not know a bankruptcy practitioner, the consumer debtor can be referred to one by a friend, but the consumer debtor is best to see a general practitioner and have him or her refer the consumer debtor to the bankruptcy specialist. The bankruptcy specialist can give the consumer debtor answers to most, if not all, of the consumer debtor’s questions.
A bankruptcy lawyer, or a general practitioner, can also give the consumer debtor a selection of names of trustees. While a licensed trustee can administer a consumer bankruptcy, sub-specialties have developed within the profession. Most general practitioners, lawyers and accountants, will probably not know the distinction. However, bankruptcy specialists within the area will know that some practice in the area of consumer bankruptcies while others service only corporate debtors, and yet still others give management or receivership advice. Obviously, the consumer debtor should pick the appropriate trustee for his or her own needs.
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.
The Law: the rules are governed by Ontario’s Collection Agency Act
Contact with Third Parties: In Ontario, collection agencies are only allowed to contact third parties to ask for the debtor’s address and telephone number. The collection company can, of course, contact anyone (spouse, relative) if that person has guaranteed the debt.
Telephone Calls
Home: During the week telephone calls are only allowed between 7:00 am and 9:00 pm. On Sundays and holidays telephone calls are allowed between 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm. A collection agency cannot threaten or intimidate you and cannot use profane or coercive language. In other words they cannot use excessive or unreasonable pressure to try to get you to pay the debt.
Work: A collection agency can only contact your employer once to confirm that you are employed, unless, of course you gave the collection company or the creditor your consent in writing to contact your employer more often. If the collection company has obtained a court order, wage garnishee or wage assignment they can contact your employer to enforce these orders. Also if your employer has guaranteed your debt, the collection agency may deal with your employer (as the guarantor) to collect the debt.
By Mail: In order for the collection agency to phone you they must first (within 60 days) send you a letter detailing
– the name of the creditor
– the amount owing
– the name of the collection agency
– the authority of the collection agency to act for the creditor.
Your rights: If you send the collection agency a registered letter telling them you dispute the debt, they are not supposed to contact you further. Effectively they must go to court to prove the debt.
If you send a registered letter to the collection agency instructing them to deal only with your lawyer – the collection agency is supposed to follow these instructions and not contact you again.
Once you have confirmed with the collection agency that you are the proper debtor that they are dealing with, they are only supposed to contact you a maximum of 3 times in any 7 day period.
If you have informed the creditor or the collection agency that you are not the debtor that owes the money, then the collection agency is not to contact you any further, unless, of course, they can prove that you are the proper debtor.
Rules for the Collection Company
They cannot give you or anyone else false or misleading information that could damage you or your family
They must notify you before they commence any legal actions against you.
They can only call you between 7:00 am and 9:00 pm on regular days. On Sundays or statutory holidays calls are limited to between 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm.
No continued demands for payment if you claim not to owe the money
Must not collect more money than is actually owed.
Cannot threaten bodily harm or damage to your property if you fail to pay your debt. This could be held to be extortion or intimidation under the Criminal Code of Canada.
Cannot write a false or misleading statements about you, knowing them to be false. The collection agency could be charged with libel.
Cannot enter your home without your consent or a court order. The collection agency could be charged with “break and enter”.
Complaints: If there is any reason for you to complain about the collection agency you should just try to resolve the issue directly with the collection agency. If that fails phone the Consumer Protection Branch, Province of Ontario, Government and Consumer Services Ministry at:
Disclaimer: This is based on our understanding of the rules as they apply in the Province of Ontario. They are meant to be a general guideline and should not be used in any specific circumstances. Readers are cautioned that the law of other provinces and territories in Canada and elsewhere are not the same as in Ontario. The staff at Rumanek & Company Ltd. would be pleased to meet with you to review any problems you might have and resolve them to your satisfaction.
Contact Rumanek & Company Ltd. for more information. Please fill out the form on the contact us page for additional information. If you would like a free evaluation please fill out the evaluation form. To learn more please visit our YouTube Channel. Rumanek & Company have been helping individuals and families overcome bankruptcy in Ontario for more than 25 years.
How do I obtain my discharge from bankruptcy?
How do I obtain my discharge from bankruptcy?
Student Loans, Bankruptcy and Hardship Provision
Where does the consumer debtor find a bankruptcy lawyer? A trustee?