Question: Can you do your own Personal Bankruptcy without a Bankruptcy Trusty, and how do you do it if you can?
Answer: In Ontario, and in Canada, you require the services of a bankruptcy trustee. The bankruptcy process is a legal process, and therefore legal assistance is required.
Question: I am trying to file bankruptcy in Ontario and after several meetings with the Trustee office I keep getting different answers and run around. I feel the person working on my file has made some errors which I now may have to pay for. Who can I contact to make a complaint and get the answers I require? I no longer trust this Trustee office and feel that they are being dishonest.
Answer: All bankruptcy trustees in Canada are licensed by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. You can contact them on their website, and they can advise you on the process for making a complaint.
There are many bankruptcy trustees in Ontario, so if you meet with one and are not satisfied with the information they provide, we recommend that you contact another Ontario bankruptcy trustee until you find a trustee that you can work with. It’s your choice, so getting a second opinion is usually a prudent choice.
Question: We filed for bankruptcy in 2009 and our trustee promptly misfiled our 2008 taxes, then proceeded to be very rude and treat us like trash for the next 8 months at which point we received a letter stating that our early discharge was being opposed. We contacted the trustee and resolved the issue as quickly as possible, but the trustee did not revoke the opposition because, ‘we took too long and they were busy’ even though we had everything taken care of by the date on the letter we received. Now after over a year we have yet to receive our discharge paperwork and the trustee messed up our 2009 tax return as well. Quite frankly we were having an easier time with our creditors. Is there anything we can do? Can we file a complaint or something against the trustee?
Answer: Yes, you can contact the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy to file a complaint against a trustee.
Question: Hi, my boyfriend is heavily in debt and we would like to seek some advise. He has $70,000 in credit card and line of credit debt and is having a hard time coping up with the payments since he only works part time. The only assets he has is his car that he has paid off a long time ago and the house his parents bought which is named after him, his sister and brother. If he decides to file for bankruptcy in Ontario what will happen to the house that is house and also to his car? I hope you can help us. Thank you very much!
Answer: If you file bankruptcy in Ontario, you are required to either surrender your house to the trustee, or pay to the trustee the equity in your house. Equity is the value of the house (the difference between the value of the house, and the amount owing on the mortgage and other charges). If there is no equity, you could keep your house (provided you keep the mortgage in good standing). In your brother’s case, if the house is owned jointly by him, his sister, and his brother, he would only be required to pay his share of the equity (presumably one third).
He should get an appraisal on the house, and confirm the balance owing on the mortgage, and then meet with a trustee to discuss his options.
For the car, if there are no loans against it, you can keep a car worth up to $5,650 if you go bankrupt. Since his car is old, it is probably not worth more than that amount, although again he can have it appraised to be sure.
More information can be found in this article on what happens to your house if you file bankruptcy in Ontario, and what happens to my car if I file bankruptcy in Ontario.
For a review of his exact situation, he should consult an Ontario bankruptcy trustee for a no charge initial consultation.