Tag: Financial Plans

What can I do if I cannot make my student loan payments?

Posted on by Jordan Rumanek

bankruptcy-150x150What can I do if I cannot make my student loan payments?

Thousands of Canadians cannot afford to pay their student loans. The law in Canada punishes anyone making a consumer proposal or filing for personal bankruptcy if they recently stopped being a full-time student. Student loans are not forgiven unless a person can satisfy the 7-year waiting period or the discretionary 5-year waiting period based on financial hardship.

If you cannot make your monthly student loan payments then you do have a number of options:

Firstly, your lender might offer a number of debt relief options. Secondly, it might be to your advantage to make small token monthly payments. Thirdly, if you have not made a payment on your student loan for a minimum of six months you can explore negotiating a one-time lump sum payment as settlement in full—sourcing funds from family members or the sale of an asset.

Finally, you might want to consider credit counselling as a “bridging strategy”. Credit counselling might help you reduce your monthly payments on your unsecured consumer debt—but not your student loan -which might significantly improve your cash flow situation. Some Canadians seeking personal bankruptcy or a consumer proposal will use credit counselling until they satisfy the all-important 7-year waiting period.

If you want to make a consumer proposal or file for personal bankruptcy and you have ceased attending school a minimum of 5 years—but not 7 years–then you can bring a motion before a judge who has a discretion to grant you a discharge on the grounds of financial hardship.

 

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 Can I Stop a Wage Garnishment?

Posted on by Jordan Rumanek

couple_bankruptcyHow Can I Stop a Wage Garnishment?

It is payday and you look at your paystub. There must be some mistake because your paycheque is significantly smaller than usual. You speak to the person responsible for payroll at your firm. That is when you learn, to your embarrassment, that your paycheque is now subject to a wage garnishment from one of your creditors.

All is not lost. There are four things you can do to stop a wage garnishment:

1. Quit your job

If you quit your job it will stop the current wage garnishment. If you get a job with a new employer then you run the risk that your creditor will simply arrange to obtain a wage garnishment against you with your new employer. In some instances, however, quitting one’s job may be a successful long-terms strategy for stopping a wage garnishment.

2. Negotiate a settlement with your creditor

There is nothing stopping you from negotiating a settlement with your creditor. Under this settlement agreement your creditor agrees to lift the current garnishment. In return you will either provide your creditor with a one-time lump sum payment—potentially for less than the current amount owing—or provide your creditor with installment payments.

3. Make a consumer proposal

You can stop a wage garnishment if you meet with a bankruptcy trustee and arrange to make a consumer proposal to your creditors.

4. File for personal bankruptcy

You can also stop a wage garnishment by arranging –through a bankruptcy trustee—to file for personal 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.

How Can I Avoid Collection Calls?

Posted on by Jordan Rumanek

Bankruptcy PeopleHow can I avoid Collection Calls

Many Canadians are very uncomfortable receiving a collection call from a bill collector. In some instances it can be a major headache for an Ontario resident to get a collection call at the workplace. There are three basic strategies for avoiding collection calls:

  1. Reduce the likelihood that a bill collector can find your phone number

You might want to get a new phone number if you are getting phone calls or you anticipate receiving collection calls. If you have a landline you should consider getting an unlisted number—and advising friends and family not to give out this unlisted number to anyone. Furthermore, you should avoid having your name mentioned on your voicemail greeting.

  1. Effectively screening potential phone calls from bill collectors

There are a substantial number of tactics you might employ to screen your calls:

  • Letting all incoming calls go to voicemail
  • Using the call display feature on your phone to screen your calls
  • Have someone else answer your phone
  • Decline to give out your name to callers unless they first identify the name of their employer
  1. Dealing with a bill collector who does get you on the phone

If a bill collector does get you on the phone then you have every right to hang up on the bill collector—or simply put the phone down on the table, or let them talk to your dog—at any time! You are under no legal obligation whatsoever to speak to a bill collector.

 

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.

Can I Buy a Car and Then Go Bankrupt?

Posted on by Jordan Rumanek

Bankruptcy People

The short answer is yes. There is always a “But.” The review of the trustee in bankruptcy will take into account the following:

  • How long before the bankruptcy did you buy the car?
  • What did you pay for the car?
  • Did you pay cash? – if so, was any part of the cash from cash advances on your credit cards or from lines of credit?
  • If you financed all or part of the purchase price of the car, do you still owe money to the finance company? Did the finance company put a lien on your car as security until they were paid? If the answers are yes and you wish to keep the car, you will likely just continue to make the car payments and keep the car
  • What is the car worth on the day you filed the assignment in bankruptcy?

The answers to all of the above questions determine what action, if any, the trustee will take. Obviously, the length of time between the purchase of the car and the date of filing bankruptcy and the current value of the car are the two most important factors. If this situation applies to you, you would be wise to review the details with your trustee before you file 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.

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