Personal Bankruptcy Simcoe – Facts, Options & Alternatives | Ontario
No one feels good about filing for bankruptcy. Get more information and find out what other options and solutions could work better, before making this important decision.
Personal Bankruptcy in Simcoe, Ontario – When you can’t afford to pay your bills and debts what comes to mind first? Many people think of filing for bankruptcy. While bankruptcy might be the right solution for you, you first need to find out about your other options, the ins and outs of the process, and how it will affect you and your family in the future. We want to help you avoid making a huge mistake by giving you information to make an informed decision.
Types of Debts – What Bankruptcy Won’t Do
It’s easy for people to tell you that bankruptcy helped them eliminate their debts, but do they also tell you that it’s not possible for everyone? Some debts might still have to be paid because by law, they can’t be included when you file for bankruptcy.
3 types of debt that you can’t declare bankruptcy on:
- Secured debts, like mortgages or car loans
- Student loans that are less than 7 years old
- Child and alimony support payments that are in arrears
Some people also want to declare bankruptcy because of their credit card debt. However, if they only recently got into debt with their credit cards, creditors may oppose eliminating the debts with bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy Procedures – The Process of Working with Your Trustee to Attain Your Discharge
Filing for bankruptcy is the easy part. Did you know that it takes at least 9 months to complete the whole bankruptcy process? During that time, there are costs and fees to pay to your trustee for bankruptcy. You are also required to attend two bankruptcy counselling sessions. Depending on your situation, if you have to pay extra money to your creditors, completing the process will take longer. If you have too much equity in your home, or assets above what you’re allowed to keep in Ontario, your trustee will sell your assets for you.
Many people aren’t aware that their trustee, their creditors, the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy or the Court could oppose or delay their discharge from bankruptcy. Depending on someone’s situation, they may need to attend a hearing, answer questions under oath and/or meet additional requirements to obtain their discharge.
Credit Ratings & Bankruptcy in Canada
Bankruptcy is noted on your credit report and seriously impacts your credit rating. Despite what people say, getting credit after you have eliminated your debts legally through bankruptcy is not easy. It takes patience and time to prove yourself to creditors again. Until they trust you enough to lend you money again, your financial plans might be on hold because you won’t be able to take out a loan, renew your mortgage or apply for a low interest rate credit card.
People We Helped Interviewed by the News Media
From time to time, the news media interviews some of the people we helped who are comfortable sharing their story publicly. Below are three Canadians who shared their experience with the Credit Counselling Society.
You can see more of the Credit Counselling Society in the news.
Ontario Bankruptcy Alternatives
You may now be curious as to which bankruptcy alternatives can work for you. The right solution might not just be one option, but a combination of a few different ones. Depending on your situation, 4 options that you likely need more information about are: consolidation loans, debt repayment programs, debt settlement options or a Consumer Proposal.
Consolidation & Debt Repayment Programs
Consolidation means a lot of things, and while most people think that they need a loan to consolidate their bills and debts, that’s not always possible. If you’ve got a good household budget, a loan might work for you. However, if you’ve been declined for a debt consolidation loan, consolidating only your monthly payments might make more sense.
If you happen to have bad credit, you might be worried about consolidating your debts, but consolidating payments doesn’t mean borrowing more money, so credit problems aren’t an issue. That’s how a debt management program with a non-profit credit counselling agency works. Your creditors help you by lowering or waiving interest charges. This makes smaller payments possible, saves you thousands in interest and lets you pay back what you borrowed. Your monthly payments are based on what you can afford and there’s no loan to get you deeper into debt.
Settle Debt
To help you pay back what you borrowed, consolidation programs and loans can help. Most people don’t want to walk away from their debts and go bankrupt, but they think they have to because they don’t know what else to do. Surprisingly, sometimes only paying back part of what you owe can also be a solution. When done properly, a debt settlement offers your creditors a lump sum of money. That might not be as far-fetched an option as you might think.
Filing for a Consumer Proposal
If you need a legal alternative to filing for bankruptcy, your situation might mean that you need a Consumer Proposal. A Consumer Proposal in Simcoe is set up by a trustee, and once agreed to by your creditors, you make monthly payments to repay part of what you owe.
What’s My Best Option?
By now you can likely gather that a lot depends on your situation. And regardless of what you’ve tried in the past, you need help taking an objective look at your whole financial situation with a fresh set of eyes. You need a trained and certified Credit Counsellor to help you come up with a good plan.
There’s Life Beyond Debt for Everyone
“I am likely going to be out of debt within a year – and that’s over a year ahead of the initial estimate! Best part of that is that because the Credit Counselling Society did it as a debt repayment arrangement, unlike bankruptcy, it will be much better on my credit rating – and as proof, when I applied for new cell and cable service in Vancouver, my rating has already improved such that I got new accounts without a limit or deposit!”
– Paul, Actual Client from Yelp
Non Profit Bankruptcy Information & Credit Counselling Advice in Simcoe, Ontario
One of our expert Credit Counsellors can help if you need answers to questions about joint debts, have questions about debts left over from a divorce, want to learn more about alternatives to bankruptcy, or want to know more about how going bankrupt would affect you. They are experts in helping people come up with good solutions to deal with their debts, and would be happy to provide you with the information you need to make an informed decision to get your finances back on track.
Your Counsellor will:
- Explain all of your bankruptcy alternatives and debt relief options
- Show you how to budget effectively for all of your household expenses
- Recommend bankruptcy trustees in Simcoe if it looks like declaring bankruptcy is the right option
- Provide answers and information so that you can choose the best way of dealing with your debts
Each year we help thousands of people just like you successfully deal with their debts. Looking forward to a debt-free financial future really is possible. To learn more or to schedule a free, confidential, no-obligation appointment with one of our professionally trained Credit Counsellors who serves Simcoe, contact us today at 1-888-527-8999, email us or chat with us online.
Putting Your Interests First
Our goal is to always put consumers first and look out for their best interests in everything we do. One way we do this is through transparency and accountability. We are held accountable to the most rigorous standards in our industry.
The Credit Counselling Society also provides help to those who are struggling with payday loans – including online loans – in Simcoe.