Does this seem normal?

We are getting worried…

Should we contact someone within the government or bankruptcy offices about this??

Thanks in advance!

Answer: You should start by talking to your trustee.  The delay may be normal, or there may be other issues.  Ask your trustee to confirm the status of your discharge.

If you are not satisfied with your trustee’s answer, you could contact the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy and ask them to investigate, but that is a step that should only be taken after you have discussed it with your trustee.

My income is $95,000 per year and I owed $116,000 in unsecured debt.

I was supporting one of my common law’s two children, then half way through the nine month period, the other moved in with us.

Since then I’ve asked on several occasions for them to recalculate my surplus income. My original trustee left the business. They assigned me to another trustee from whom I’ve only heard once. That trustee has since left the business as well leaving one person to ‘wind up’ their business due to the death of the person who owned the company. The bottom line is that I’ve gotten no answers.

They sent me a letter last July stating that I missed a court date for a discharge hearing but I’d never been made aware of that required appearance. After contacting them, they advised that I had to finish my counselling and they would apply for another court date.

I asked them again to send me a revised amount owing based on the changes to my situation.

I’ve heard nothing from them since. I’ve called and left messages, but the message says they are no longer in the office as they’ve wound down the business and check messages occasionally.

I want to change trustees because clearly I’m not getting any level of service and want to deal with the amount owing so I can get on with my life.

As an aside, I am more than a bit annoyed because (although I didn’t know it at the time of filing) I could have done a consumer proposal at about 50 cents on the dollar and probably have avoided this whole mess.

My first thought is to see a bankruptcy lawyer, but I can’t afford that.

Any advice.

Answer: You are correct, you got very bad advice.  A consumer proposal was probably the logical solution to your problems initially.

You have three choices.

First, you could contact the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy and advise them that your trustee is not responding to your requests for information; perhaps they can help.

Your second option would be to contact a bankruptcy lawyer.  I realize that you said that you can’t afford it, but if you are earning $95,000 per year, it may be wise to save $1,000 and get some good, independent advice from an expert.  You are currently an undischarged bankrupt, which in the long run will cost you a significant amount of future hassle and money.

Your final option may be to file a consumer proposal.  It’s unusual to file a proposal while bankrupt, but it is not impossible.  If the proposal is accepted by your creditors, it serves to end your bankruptcy. An Ontario bankruptcy trustee can provide you with more information.

Answer: A garnishment can only be stopped by filing bankruptcy or a consumer proposal.  You cannot file bankruptcy if you were not discharged from your previous bankruptcy.  You cannot file a consumer proposal for any debts that were not part of the original bankruptcy.

Your best option will be to talk to an insolvency lawyer.  They can make an application to court to try to obtain a discharge from your first bankruptcy, which will then allow you to file a second bankruptcy if needed.

Thanks

Answer: In a bankruptcy in Ontario you are required to pay your house equity into your bankruptcy estate. If there is no equity, you could keep your house, provided you continued with your mortgage payments. You can continue making your car payments and keep the car as well. If your household furnishings have minimal value you could keep them as well.

The bigger issue is your gambling addiction. Before filing bankruptcy you should get help, through a gambling counsellor or other means. A bankruptcy can deal with your debts, but it will not stop you from gambling, so your gambling problems will continue.

In addition, because gambling is the cause of your financial problems, you will be required to appear in bankruptcy court and request your discharge from bankruptcy from the bankruptcy judge. The judge will want proof that you have received treatment for your gambling problem, and that you are no longer gambling. It is likely that your bankruptcy will also be extended as a result of the gambling issues.

Therefore, you should seek help for your gambling problem now, and then arrange a meeting with an Ontario bankruptcy trustee to decide whether or not a bankruptcy is the correct course of action.

Answer: Any creditor can oppose your discharge from bankruptcy, and then attend a hearing in front of the bankruptcy judge to request that you make additional payments. They would have to have a good reason for making that request. Your bankruptcy trustee can explain in more detail whether or not that is likely to happen in your case.

Answer: If you win the lottery while you are bankrupt (before you are discharged), the trustee will seize the lottery winnings and distribute the money to your creditors. If you win more than you owe, the trustee would return the difference to you, since all your creditors would have been paid in full.

If you win the lottery after you have been discharged from bankruptcy, the money is yours to keep.

Answer: Perhaps. This is a complicated area, so you should discuss it with your trustee.

If you filed bankruptcy in February 2007 you have probably already had a discharge hearing, where the Bankruptcy Judge determined what was required for you to finish your bankruptcy. It would appear that the judge decided that you are required to pay $3,000. It is therefore possible that you can unlock your LIRA and use the money to pay the trustee.

However, you want to discuss this with the trustee first, since you do not want the trustee to attempt to seize all of the money when it is unlocked.

Again, without more specific knowledge of your case, it is impossible to give a more specific answer.

Answer: If you owe more than $1,000 and you are insolvent (meaning your debts are larger than your assets, and you are unable to pay your debts), then you are eligible to file bankruptcy in Ontario. You meet with a licensed Ontario Bankruptcy Trustee, and if bankruptcy is the correct option for you, they will electronically file the bankruptcy on your behalf. No other humans are involved, so no-one else can stop the bankruptcy from occurring.

However, any creditor may object to your bankruptcy ending. A creditor can object to your discharge if they believe you could have filed a consumer proposal instead of filing bankruptcy, or if you are hiding assets or not being honest. If you complete all of your duties it is unusual for a creditor to object to your discharge.

An Ontario bankruptcy trustee can provide you with more information.

Answer: You should talk to your trustee to confirm your exact status. You say that you were discharged in August 2008, but you are not discharged. You can’t be both.

It is possible that you were discharged, but your trustee is not yet discharged. That’s not unusual. Your trustee must finish their work, including filing all tax returns (some of which may not be filed until after you are discharged), and they must complete their paperwork and file it with the government to get their discharge. This has no direct impact on you, so it’s not something to worry about.

On the other hand, it’s possible that you were not discharged. If that’s the case, you need to talk to your trustee to find out what you didn’t do, that you need to do, to get your discharge.

I don’t have an outrageous amount of assets – well below the limits – but there are a few items I wish people to specifically have.

Answer: Since you are discharged from bankruptcy, you are free to do whatever you wish with your assets. Even if you died while you were an undischarged bankrupt, if your assets were below the Ontario exemption limit, you would not lose your assets; they would pass to your beneficiaries under your will.