Effects of Filing Bankruptcy

Your employer was already contacted by your creditors so they could garnish your wages. In order to stop this wage garnishment, we will have no choice but to inform your employer of your bankruptcy. To avoid this, you should consider declaring bankruptcy before one of your creditors garnishes your wages.

When a person files an Assignment in Bankruptcy, a portion of their take-home pay may be payable to the Trustee for the benefit of all creditors. The actual amount payable depends on several factors, including: the take-home pay of the family unit, the number of people in the family and whether the family has non-discretionary expenses such as child care or child support. Any questions you have with respect to surplus income can be addressed with the Trustee when you first meet with us.

Under the Canadian bankruptcy surplus rules, if you have surplus income greater than, on average, $200 per month, your bankruptcy is automatically extended for a further 12 months. A first time bankrupt with surplus income is bankrupt for 21 months, and they are required to make surplus income payments for the entire 21 months.

The surplus income rules in Canada are very complicated. There are countless possible outcomes depending on your personal situation.

Before you decide to file bankruptcy, you need to have a detailed consultation with a Dana Trustee professional, and ask them to explain, in detail, how your surplus income payment will be calculated in your case. Spending ten minutes with us and a calculator will help you prepare for your bankruptcy. With proper research you can understand how the rules will affect you, and you can be prepared for all possible situations.

For more details on income during bankruptcy see Directive 11R2-2012 from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada.

Tax refunds for the bankruptcy year will be seized by the Trustee. HST refunds will be sent to the Trustee until the Trustee notifies Canada Revenue Agency that the HST refunds can be sent to the bankrupt directly. This would be the case when your fee obligations to the bankruptcy estate have been met. Any HST refunds received by the Trustee and are not required for the fee obligation of the bankruptcy estate are returned to the bankrupt before the Trustee finishes the administration of the estate.

Federal tax credits will be sent directly to the Trustee. Provincial tax credits for the year of your bankruptcy will have to be transferred to the Trustee.

No, family allowances will not be seized and are sent directly to the bankrupt.

Only contributions made to RRSPs during the 12 month period prior to the date of bankruptcy will be seized. Pensions are generally exempt from seizure but are recorded as income during the bankruptcy administration.

If you finished school more than seven years ago, you will not have to pay off your student loan because it becomes a dischargeable debt in the event of bankruptcy.

Otherwise you will have to continue paying off your loan but may qualify for suspended payments until the bankruptcy has been completed. Contact students loan to see if you would qualify.

If you finished school more than seven years ago, you will not have to pay off your student loan because it becomes a dischargeable debt in the event of bankruptcy.

Otherwise you will have to continue paying off your loan but may qualify for suspended payments until the bankruptcy has been completed. Contact students loan to see if you would qualify.

Your share of an inheritance may be seized in the event of bankruptcy.

For a first bankruptcy, you are eligible for an automatic discharge after nine months or 21 months if you have income exceeding the standard amount deemed to be reasonable by the Government of Canada. For a second bankruptcy, it may take 24 to 36 months. In any case, if you are an individual with tax debt of over $200,000 that totals more than 75% of your total debt, you cannot receive an automatic discharge. The Trustee in bankruptcy will have to file an application with the court. Company debt obligations are not included in the $200,000 calculation for directors.

It varies by credit agency. In general, your credit score will be affected for 6 years after discharge for a first bankruptcy and for 14 years for a second bankruptcy. You may be able to rebuild your credit earlier, though. Our experts can show you how to fix your credit.

However, if you make a consumer proposal your credit score will be affected for 3 years after you have paid the full amount promised to your creditors in your proposal.

The law sets no limit. However, if you have declared bankruptcy repeatedly (3 or more times) the application for discharge must be filed with the court. The bankruptcy court may then issue a discharge judgment extending the bankruptcy period or a conditional discharge judgment ordering the payment of an additional amount.

To annul your bankruptcy, you have to pay your creditors back in full and file a petition with the court. It could also be annulled if you make a proposal to creditors while in bankruptcy and the proposal is accepted by creditors.

When you are in bankruptcy, you cannot be the director of an incorporated company. You may continue to be self-employed, however. During your bankruptcy, you may also run an unincorporated sole proprietorship.

A person who has declared bankruptcy cannot be the director of an incorporated company but can still be an officer of the company. However, if the company is not incorporated, the bankrupt person may continue to manage it. If the bankrupt person is self-employed, he or she may continue to run the business.