Iformatio about Bakruptcy Isolvecy Service of Irelad Seirbhís Dócmhaieachta a héirea
Isolvecy Service of Irelad Seirbhís Dócmhaieachta a héirea What is the? The Isolvecy Service of Irelad () is a idepedet govermet body set up to help tackle persoal debt problems. The has a rage of solutios available to help you tackle your problem debt, oe of which is bakruptcy.
Isolvecy Service of Irelad Seirbhís Dócmhaieachta a héirea Seirbhís Dócmhaieachta a héirea Isolvecy Service of Irelad Isolvecy Service of Irelad C5401K02604 DSA_AL_V8.idd 1 23/10/2014 14:42 Seirbhís Dócmhaieachta a héirea I am i debt but how do I kow if I am isolvet? The word isolvecy is ofte associated with compaies but isolvecy is really just aother term that describes serious fiacial problems. You might ot realise it but you could be isolvet if: You are ot able to pay your bills i full whe they are due. You are payig a little off each bill tryig to keep creditors (the people you owe moey to) at bay. You are reluctat to set up direct debits to pay bills i case your moey caot stretch to meet them. You are receivig calls ad letters from creditors about missed paymets ad threats of repossessio. You have made persoal sacrifices to pay your debts. How do I kow if bakruptcy is the right debt solutio for me? Bakruptcy is a formal, High Court process for people i debt over 20,000. Before you cosider applyig for bakruptcy you must first have explored the alterative solutios to bakruptcy, which are cotaied i the Persoal Isolvecy Act 2012. The alteratives to bakruptcy are: 1 Debt Relief Notice (DRN) Debt Relief Notice (DRN) A solutio for people with problem debt uder 20,000 Debt Settlemet Arragemet (DSA) A solutio for people with umaageable usecured debt Persoal Isolvecy Arragemet (PIA) A solutio for people with umaageable debts icludig mortgages 2 Debt Settlemet Arragemet (DSA) 3 Persoal Isolvecy Arragemet (PIA) More details o those solutios are available o the s website www.backotrack.ie If these alterative solutios are ot suitable the bakruptcy could be the right solutio for you. A Persoal Isolvecy Practitioer (PIP) ca help you idetify the most appropriate optio for you. PIPs are part of a etwork of qualified professioal advisors regulated by the. A list of PIPs is available o the Registers page of backotrack.ie or from the iformatio lie. All of the debt solutios oversee by the, icludig bakruptcy are desiged to get you back o track fiacially ad if you eter ito ay of them, you will be solvet at the ed of the process. C5401K02604 DRN_AL_V8.idd 1 23/10/2014 14:45 C5401K02604 PIA_AL_V8.idd 1 23/10/2014 14:40
What does it mea to be declared bakrupt? Whe you are declared bakrupt, your property ad possessios are trasferred to a perso called the Official Assigee, who is based i the Bakruptcy Divisio of the. The Official Assigee the arrages for those items to be sold ad the moey geerated from the sale is distributed to the people you owe moey to your creditors. The Official Assigee will also deal with your creditors for you, so this will put a ed to ay demads from your creditors for upaid debt o more calls, letters or visits. Whe you are made bakrupt you are etitled to have a reasoable stadard of livig. This icludes food, clothig, educatio, healthcare ad a modest allowace for savigs. Uder the model, this meas a higher stadard tha merely livig at a subsistece level, which people ofte exist o whe i debt. If you have moey left over after what is defied as a reasoable stadard of livig, you will have to cotribute that remaiig moey to the Official Assigee for a period of up to 5 years ad they will trasfer it to your creditors. This is kow as a Icome Paymet Order. Usually, after three years you will be discharged from bakruptcy ad all of your debts will be writte off. You will the be solvet ad able to regai some fiacial idepedece. BILL What type of debt could be icluded i a bakruptcy? Usecured ad secured debt such as mortgages for family homes or buy-to-let properties, busiess loas ad credit card loas ca be icluded i your bakruptcy. Examples of debt that caot be icluded would be court fies i respect of crimial offeces, or ay ew debts you accumulate after the date you are made bakrupt. Ca I apply for bakruptcy o my ow or do I eed the help of a solicitor? You are ot required to use the services of a solicitor i applyig for your bakruptcy; however, it is advisable to seek some professioal advice i advace of declarig yourself bakrupt. PIP PIP If you decide to hire a professioal advisor to assist you through the bakruptcy process, you should carry out the same checks as you would whe egagig the services of ay other professioal e.g. are they suitably qualified; regulated by ayoe; what are their fees ad charges; ad are they likely to act i your best iterests as opposed to for their ow fiacial gai.
What are the cosequeces of bakruptcy? What happes to... My family home? I bakruptcy, your iterest or share i the family home will trasfer to the Official Assigee. While it is a possibility, you should ot assume you will lose your family home i bakruptcy. You may be able to agree a schedule of mortgage paymets with your bak ad the Official Assigee. These paymets would have to be factored ito calculatio of your Reasoable Livig Expeses as approved by the Official Assigee. If the market value of the property is i egative equity which meas its value is less tha ay outstadig mortgage o the family home there is o immediate reaso for the Official Assigee to sell. If the market value of the property is i positive equity which meas its value is more tha ay outstadig mortgage o the family home the Official Assigee will first seek to sell what has become their share i the family home to your spouse or civil parter (where there is oe). The Official Assigee caot sell the family home without firstly obtaiig permissio from the High Court. My vehicle? You are etitled to keep a vehicle of a reasoable value, if it is a ecessity. I bakruptcy, all of your assets are trasferred to the Official Assigee, with the exceptio of essetial assets up to a value of 6,000 this icludes a vehicle. My employmet? Usually, you ca cotiue i curret employmet or seek a ew job while you are bakrupt. However, there are some professios that do ot allow employees to cotiue i their employmet oce bakrupt, so it is advisable to make equiries to your professioal/regulatory body i this regard. My icome? Durig bakruptcy you are still etitled to ear a icome. However, as metioed earlier, the Official Assigee may seek a cotributio from your icome for the beefit of your creditors. These icome paymet orders ca last up to 5 years ad are usually put i place as soo as your bakruptcy begis. My pesio? If your pesio is a relevat pesio arragemet as defied by the Bakruptcy Act 1988 the it will remai yours. Most pesio arragemets will ot be trasferred to the Official Assigee, but if you have a Approved Retiremet Fud (ARF) it ca be claimed by the Official Assigee. Cotiued overleaf.
My bak accout? Moey held i your bak accouts becomes the property of the Official Assigee o the day you are made bakrupt. However, you will be permitted to retai up to 1,000 i oe workig curret accout, to allow for Reasoable Livig Expeses. Ay joit debts that I have? If two or more parties have joit ad several liabilities for a loa, they are each liable for the full amout of the loa. For example, if a couple takes a loa from a bak, the loa agreemet will ormally state that they are to be joitly liable for the full amout. If oe party is declared bakrupt, the other remais fully liable for the full amout of the loa. What impact could goig bakrupt have o other people i my life such as... My spouse/civil parter? Your bakruptcy could have cosequeces for your spouse/civil parter but it will deped o your particular circumstaces. For example, if there is equity i the family home (i.e. surplus i the value of your property above the amout of mortgage owed), the Official Assigee will firstly seek to sell what has become their half share to your spouse or civil parter. My busiess parter? Whe a parter is declared bakrupt, the partership is automatically dissolved uless the partership agreemet provides otherwise. Partership assets are first used to pay partership debts ad ay remaiig surplus would be used to pay your persoal debts. My teats? The Official Assigee effectively takes over as ladlord of ay reted property you may ow ad there is o break i the lease agreemet for the teat. The will write to the teat ad provide them with ew bak accout details ito which they will pay their ret. My employees? If you are i busiess ad stop tradig due to bakruptcy, your employee(s) are etitled to claim statutory redudacy from the Departmet of Social Protectio. The Departmet of Social Protectio is also resposible for the Isolvecy Paymets Scheme which provides for the paymet of certai outstadig etitlemets i relatio to their pay (icludig holiday pay). More details are available o the Departmet of Social Protectio s website www.welfare.ie
How log will the process last? Bakruptcy will ormally last for 3 years. This term could be shorter if you ca come to a settlemet with your creditors; you ca fid out more about this o the bakruptcy sectio of the website. The term of your bakruptcy could be loger if you do ot fully cooperate or if you fail to disclose all ecessary details. After discharge from bakruptcy all your assets that existed at the time of your bakruptcy cotiue to be owed by the Official Assigee util sold. What if my circumstaces chage durig my bakruptcy? If your fiacial circumstaces chage you must tell the Official Assigee ad the terms of your Icome Paymet Order may be altered accordigly. Your fiacial circumstaces will be reviewed every 6 moths throughout your bakruptcy. Remember, the is here to help you to get back o track fiacially. If you eed more iformatio or are uclear about the steps ivolved i the bakruptcy process, do t hesitate to cotact the o 076 106 4200 or visit www.backotrack.ie This booklet is iteded to provide you with geeral iformatio about bakruptcy. There are additioal guides available i this series, which also gives a brief overview of the bakruptcy process itself. There are also more i-depth guides to bakruptcy available o the website. GET BACK ON TRACK FINANCIALLY WITH Call o 076 106 4200 Visit www.backotrack.ie Fid out more about bakruptcy o www.isi.gov.ie A detailed guide to bakruptcy is available o the publicatios sectio of the s website www.isi.gov.ie
Isolvecy Service of Irelad Seirbhís Dócmhaieachta a héirea Publicatios available i this series are: Dealig with Problem Debt Debt Relief Notice (DRN) Debt Settlemet Arragemet (DSA) Persoal Isolvecy Arragemet (PIA) Iformatio about Bakruptcy A Debtor s Guide to the role of a PIP This guide has bee produced by the Isolvecy Service of Irelad () ad is iteded as a geeral, itroductory, o-techical guide for iterested debtors i relatio to the availability of, ad the process ivolved i seekig bakruptcy. If you require further iformatio of a geeral ature, please cosult the website, www.isi.gov.ie, or cotact the s office by the various meas detailed i this guide. The has o role i providig legal advice or iterpretig the law ad this guide is ot a iterpretatio of, or advice o the law. I additio, the has o role i providig fiacial advice. If you are i doubt i relatio to your legal or fiacial positio, please take appropriate professioal advice or cotact a Approved Itermediary/Persoal Isolvecy Practitioer, as appropriate.