519-646-2222Blog Articles
Pensioners and debt
Pensioners relying on CPP, OAS and GIS have about $1,100 per month of income. The Canadian government has established the poverty line (Low Income Threshold) at over $2,100 per month, effectively setting seniors up to fail. We live in an aging population with an increasing number of Canadians becoming entirely dependent on government pensions as […]
Read moreI can’t go bankrupt on only $5,000
There is no magic number or threshold that must be reached to be eligible to file a bankruptcy or proposal, some people think “I can’t go bankruptcy ononly $5,000”. The reality is that $5,000 for some people might as well be $5,000,000 based on their means. Although it would not make any sense to file […]
Read moreProposals starting at $40.00 per week
Although that may not be the best way or most appropriate way to advertise it is true, consumer proposals starting at $40.00 per week are available to some qualified people. So, what do you need to qualify for such low payments? You need stable income, you generally need to have a lack of means (to […]
Read moreResolving Discharge Issues
A surprising number of people file for bankruptcy then do not get discharged, this blog is a guide to resolving discharge issues that should help regardless of who your trustee was. Common problems: Did not pay the trustee fees Missed attending at the two required counselling sessions Did not provide trustee with the information for […]
Read moreJoint filing
You may be eligible for a joint filing in either bankruptcy or a proposal if you are in some way financially related to the person with who you wish to make a joint filing. The relationship does not need to be a blood relationship since, as previously discussed, a corporation may be considered a person […]
Read moreTrusting a trustee
Many people have concerns about trusting a trustee and sometimes with very good reason. There are a lot of sharks in the debt pool from cagey bankers to sketchy credit counsellors. Trustees fit into the spectrum in different places depending on many factors. Some trustee firms, such as ours, refuse to work with debt referral […]
Read moreReceivership versus Bankruptcy
Are you confused about when to use receivership versus bankruptcy? The media sometimes uses the terms interchangeably but they mean quite different things and are used for divergent reasons. A receivership is used by secured creditors and a bankruptcy is for unsecured creditors. A receiver is appointed either by the court or by an instrument […]
Read moreDo not self-liquidate
Self-liquidation is becoming a major problem for Canadians. Far too many consumers sell off their RSPs and take unnecessary loans against insurance policies to deal with debt problems. Such measures should be last resorts, even behind filing a bankruptcy. Many assets are exempt from seizure or sale by a bankruptcy trustee (Licensed Insolvency Trustee). You […]
Read moreJoint corporate and personal bankruptcies
The definition of a person in the Bankruptcy & Insolvency Act includes a “a corporation” and the Act contemplates the filing of joint files for both bankruptcies and proposals. So, there is no reason why a joint corporate and personal bankruptcy, or proposal, cannot be filed. There may be issues with joint files, imposed by […]
Read moreBankrupts can leave the country
We are sometimes asked if bankrupts can leave the country, and the answer is yes. Now, it is important to recognize the difference between leaving the country and fleeing the country. If someone files for bankruptcy then skips out of the country taking assets and leaving no contact information they may have committed an offence […]
Read moreLooking for a job
Are you looking for a job? What sector are you looking in? How much money do you need to earn to maintain your lifestyle? How much can you anticipate your income changing relative to living costs? These are all important questions for people of all ages, especially those completing college and university educations, to contemplate. […]
Read moreDeceased bankrupts (dead people can go bankrupt)
Yes, dead people can go bankrupt. A deceased person may be assigned into bankruptcy either by the estate executor/trustee with the blessing of the court or by a creditor petitioning the estate into bankruptcy. Of course, another scenario is that a person might die after filing an assignment into bankruptcy. Section 136 of the Bankruptcy […]
Read moreWhat are my options?
If you are in debt over your head, you may very well be asking “what are my options?”. There are four possibilities that we will consider in this article. 1. Pay my creditors as they become due; 2. Consolidate into a mortgage; 3. File a proposal; and 4. File a bankruptcy For each scenario we […]
Read moreThe Stock Market is up and down
Sure, the stock market does that, sometimes it’s up and sometimes it’s down, that’s called fluctuation. The market is always fluctuating, but consumer debts don’t tend to do that. Consumer debt loads have been increasing year over year for decades with no sign of abatement. In fact, the average Canadian consumer is paying about $900.00 […]
Read moreStaying in debt is not a solution
Although bankers seem bent on creating perpetual consumer debt, staying in debt is not a solution that works for consumers. Have you ever looked a credit card statement with a balance of $5,600 and an interest rate of 17% and wondered why your minimum required monthly payment is only $10? I shake my head every […]
Read moreMortgages in arrears
Across Canada there are 11,249 Bank issued mortgages in arrears. Saskatchewan leads the pack with a .75% delinquency rate, while Ontarians are most up to date on their payments with a .09% delinquency rate. Many more Canadians have private mortgages than in the past, and those mortgages do not appear in these statistics. Nonetheless, it remains […]
Read moreGet out of debt free card
Sadly, perhaps, there is no get out of debt free card. Getting out of debt can be relatively cheap with a bankruptcy costing little more than a thousand dollars but allowing a debtor to divest him/herself of potentially millions of dollars of debts. But there is always a monitoring throughout the process and certain duties […]
Read moreHow to get rich in a hurry
It’s true, no one ever got rich by paying interest, in fact, no one ever got rich by working hard either. Seems that the easiest way to get rich is to be born into money, next is to find some form of exploitation such as charging people large amounts of money for a service or […]
Read moreFurniture as security
We sometimes get asked: if furniture can be used as security for debts; and, if the debtor goes bankrupt does the creditor have a right to pick up the stuff? The answer, generally, depends on the nature of the loan and if or not the creditor took the steps necessary to register a security interest. […]
Read moreDoes your budget look like this?
Does your budget look like this? We constructed a budget using the Canadian Median Income for 2015 from Statistics Canada and after deducting taxes using the CRA payroll deductions calculator. We then found the average rent for a one-bedroom unit in the City of London and calculated some simple living expenses – as you can […]
Read more