A garnish has been put on my disabled daughter's bank account. The only deposits which go into this account are AISH (assured income for the severely handicapped) deposits. According to the "Act" "Bank account garnishment does not apply to social allowance paid under the Social Development Act, a handicap benefit paid under the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped Act, or a widow's pension under the Widows' Pension Act, if these payments are kept in a separate account and not mixed with any other money. Joint accounts can be garnisheed." The bank has taken all of her money from her account (her only means of living) and has cut a cheque ready to go to the court which I understand is then sent to the creditor. The bank is holding the cheque presently since we presented this information but they cannot guarantee the creditor's representative (Lagace) that it is AISH and Lagace will not release the garnish. She has now claimed bankruptcy but needs her funds returned. What should we/she do? The bank has stated we can get a laywer's letter to release it, but she cannot afford a lawyer. Any help would be greatly appreciated, especially at this time of year, Christmas! Thank you. response from Ann Clarke (December 23/2002) If an account holder moves from property and partner opens a new account would they have to take on outstanding debts even if they haven't signed for them? response from Ann Clarke (December 18/2002) If an account holder moves from property and partner opens a new account would they have to take on outstanding debts even if they haven't signed for them? response from Ann Clarke (December 17/2002) If a person has a wage assignment with creditors can they still go bankrupt? response from Ann Clarke (December 13/2002) Can you tell me the number of people in the U.S. that filed for bankrupcy due to health care cost? response from Ann Clarke (December 13/2002) My grandfather cosigned a loan for me some time ago. He passed away in July 2001. If I declared bankruptcy now, would the creditor be able to go after my grandmother? response from Ann Clarke (December 12/2002) Is there a statute of limitations on collections? That is, is there a period of time by which if a collector has not collected, they are no longer entitiled to? response from Ann Clarke (December 11/2002) My son's ex-wife just decided to write about 9,000.00 in bad checks on a account that was closed. The account was from when they were married. She wrote about 7,000.00 in two days, then she ran down and filed bankruptcy on the checks she wrote to get out of it. Then she moved out of town. All this has happened in a week. My son is very worried about who is coming after him for the money. And how it is legal to do such a thing? I thought that it was illegal to write bad checks no matter what. response from Ann Clarke (December 11/2002) In Alberta, if I have a vehicle worth, say, $7000 and with no loans on it, how can I arrange to keep it? I haven't driven it for the last two years because it needs repairs I haven't been able to afford so it's been uninsured and unregistered. Also, would the value of the vehicle be reduced by repair bills to get it running? response from Ann Clarke (December 9/2002) I'm having trouble keeping my business afloat. I am considering receivership. I personally have good credit however I was wondering if the receivership to my corporation with no secured debt would effect me personaly. I have given personal guarentees on corporate unsecured debt. response from Ann Clarke (December 9/2002) I owe 6,400 to the bank. I was not able to make my payments for a few months due to some personal issues that came up and now they are coming after me. How can I deal with this? response from Ann Clarke (December 9/2002) I filed for bankruptcy over three years ago and I never followed through with it. I have had no contact since signing the papers. I never went to a counselling session, I never submited any budgets. I was wondering if I have been released or if the bankruptcy has likely been nullified. response from Shane Brenneis (December 6/2002) I was just wondering if a person files bankruptcy if it affects them getting a government grant for schooling due to loss of job. Also, if me and my husband are both on all of our loans do we both have to file or can just one of us? He is always the borrower and I am the co borrower. response from Shane Brenneis (December 5/2002) I declared bankruptcy two years ago and have been discharged from all my debt but a student loan of about $5,500. The student loan is ten years old Sept 2002. I have received a letter from the BC government about repaying the loan and future garnishment of any tax returns. Is there a statute of limitations on the loan even if it wasn't discharged in the bankruptcy? response from Shane Brenneis (December 5/2002) I graduated from university in 92 and then moved to another province and got a second degree in 99. Would I be able to file bankruptcy on loans related to my first degree (it has been 10 years) or would I have to wait till 2009? response from Shane Brenneis (December 5/2002) I have been dealing with creditors in a collection setting. I am dealing with a collection agency that seems to have policies that are not quite right to me. I have room mates whom live with me and they answer the phone obviously when I am not in. Well this said collection agency gave all my pertinate information from the last five years to someone whom I would rather not have know about my financial history. I never gave verbal nor written permission for my information to be discussed with anyone other than myself. I was wondering how I can proceed with this as I feel it is a violation of my rights. Please get back to me as soon as possible as I need to know how to deal with this company. response from Ann Clarke (December 5/2002) I discovered on your website that simply being married to someone who has previous debt does not make me liable for his debt. Taking it one step further though, and assuming that the collection agencies act on their threats of court action, and assume that this action includes seizure of assets. Would these assets include bank accounts that are jointly in our names? Can these be taken or are they only able to take 1/2 since by law half would be mine? What if my husband has no income and I am the sole breadwinner, technically any monies in accounts would be earned by me, are they still up for grabs? response from Ann Clarke (December 2/2002) My husband and I have aquired a lot of debt. We have a house that is worth about 140,000 and owe 107,000. We have a line of credit and credit cards worth 15,000. We have a consolidation loan for 60,000. My husband just lost his job 6 weeks ago and has not received a check or a job. I make 1500 a month. To make it worse I got a letter from the government saying that I was overpayed on maternity leave. They say I owe 7,600.00 dollars. I do not know what to do. I have 2 children. I have a 1995 Honda Civic, and 1991 Daytona, all paid for. What would I lose if I claimed bankruptcy? How does this work? What happens to all the money I owe on loans? response from Shane Brenneis (December 2/2002) My husband and I have been discharged from bankruptcy for one month now -- but we have been wanting to buy a house. Is this possible? What will it take to do so? And will we be waiting for a long time before being able to? response from Shane Brenneis (December 2/2002) I am aware that student loans can't be discharged within 10 years of leaving school. Are there any exceptions to this rule? My wife and I are 27 and 23 and we have a combined debt of $55,000. However $26,000 is student loans. I make 30K and my wife has no income. If I declare bankruptcy, would that dissolve her debt as well? We are not behind on our credit bills but we are on utilities. It won't be long before the rest catches up. response from Shane Brenneis (December 2/2002) I recently lost my job and my new job doesn't start till sometime after Christmas. My roommate lost his job today and is already out looking for a new one, but I'm worried about how I can keep paying bills and my rent more importantly. I have hardly any money coming in and don't know where to turn for help to keep my home. What should I do? response from Shane Brenneis (November 27/2002) My boyfriend was recently unemployeed and expected to recieve his severance pay and vacation pay within 10 days of getting let go. He just found out that his student loan garnished the entire check totaling to about $3,000 dollars. He was having monthly wages garnished already, but do they have a right to take all his money? Now he is broke and has no job, and no money to pay for rent, food, and any other necesity he may need. What are his rights? response from Shane Brenneis (November 25/2002) I am presently being wrongfully sued and would like to fight it. If I do and lose and the judgement is larger than I can afford to pay can I declare bankruptcy and have the dept wiped out? response from Shane Brenneis (November 25/2002) Moving to Central America in February to be with my fiancee, what is the procedure should I declare bankruptcy from there as opposed to here? How would I do it? My fiancee and I share two credit cards, but he has never worked in Canada nor has steady employment. If I get his name off the cards before I declare bankruptcy, will they still go after him? I owe my parents $17000 and they cannot know about my bankruptcy. I wanted to pay them from abroad monthly through a third party. Will this be a problem? response from Shane Brenneis (November 25/2002) Can I still declare bankruptcy if I am not late on any payments? I am borrowing from one to pay off the other and my debts keep increasing. I have just been kicked out of my house and will now have to start paying rent. Also, I have a lot of cash withdrawals on my credit cards...will they ask me where the cash went? response from Shane Brenneis (November 25/2002) I have been contacted by a collection agency this past July regarding an account that may/or may not be mine. It was for a vehicle that was leased or bought and there was an outstanding balance of over $7000. This debt appears to be from 1995 that's seven years ago!? It is also from another Province than where I live. Is there any statute of limitaions on this type of matter and/or how can this be resolved? . response from Shane Brenneis (November 25/2002) I claimed personal bankruptcy in '97 & haven't been discharged(but am in the process of). I now own a vehicle that is free and clear of any money owing. Should I be concerned of this being taken away from me? P.S. - I purchased it about 3 years ago. response from Shane Brenneis (November 21/2002) I am a Canadian citizen living in the USA and recently lost my job. I have no debt in Canada but unfortunately have accumulated too much debt in the USA. I am about to file for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. When I move back to Canada I will have a SIN# instead of my SS# down here in the USA. Will my new SIN# give me a new credit history in Canada or will banks, etc. have access to my credit history from the USA? Thanks. response from Shane Brenneis (November 21/2002) I was a joint applicant on a mortgage with my ex boyfriend. We broke up and we verbally decided I would keep the car and he would keep the house. I kept my name on the mortgage because I knew my ex wouldn't be able to get another mortgage just in his name. Now, almost three years after I moved out, he has filed bankruptcy which showed up on my credit report. I was never contacted by anyone, my ex or any creditor. What can I do? response from Shane Brenneis (November 19/2002) My ex-boyfriend and I are on title to a home together. He is going to buy out my portion of the equity (less than $5000) which doesn't even begin to make a dent in my debt. Will my filing bankruptcy be affected if it shows I was recently taken off of title? response from Shane Brenneis (November 19/2002) I have a friend who financed a jeep and couldn't keep up the payments, so I agreed to take over the payments and keep the car. No paperwork was ever singed, I just registered it and made payments. I went away and left a check to some one to make a paymet for the car and I never got paid. Now the car has been reposessed and all my persanol property was in the car. How do I go about getting my property back? response from Shane Brenneis (November 19/2002) My dad bought a business in (1999). He had the Business for 6 months. He borrowed a loan from bank (200,000), he then lost (200,000) due to bankruptcy. The reason why he claimed bankruptcy: Previous owner gave false statements saying buisness was making money, but wasn't. He claimed bankruptcy because the business wasn't what it seemed. He wants to buy a home. What can we do now? How much will the interest rate be? He is willing to pay down 50,000 on home. Willing to spend on home 200,000 and up. response from Shane Brenneis (November 18/2002) I've seen several questions outlining the difficulty in obtaining a chequing account following bankruptcy. I'm wondering why this is so. What happened to these people's original bank accounts? Are they siezed or closed as part of the bankruptcy? response from Shane Brenneis (November 18/2002) Hi! Just wanted to know what would be some banks in Calgary that would open a bank account without checking my bankruptcy status since I am in bankruptcy right now. response from Shane Brenneis (November 18/2002) My former boyfriend and I (when together) took out a business loan for a mechanic's truck and tools so he could work as a mechanic. We both have personal guarantees on the loan, but I am the sole shareholder and director of the company. I have since found out he wanted the business set up this way because he had recently filed for bankruptcy and could not hold office in the corporation for this reason. response from Shane Brenneis (November 18/2002) Apparently there is some legislation that says cash value/ cash surrender value of Life insurance can not be attached in a bankruptcy if the wife is the beneficiary. Can you advise what this legislation is? response from Shane Brenneis (November 15/2002) We currently have a home based business much like Amway. If we declare bankruptcy do we have to dissovle our business or can we continue it? response from Shane Brenneis (November 15/2002) I am engaged to be married in 9 months to a man who has nearly 20 k in debt. We have been bouncing credit card balances from one to the other, but still can't keep up. We even settled some of the debt for 70% by extending an existing consolidation loan. I have no credit whatsoever. I have never had a credit card. If he declares bankrupcy before the wedding, how will it affect me once I am his wife? Will we be able to buy a home? response from Ann Clarke (November 15/2002) I just need to know what's going to happen to me if my 2002 Dodge Dakota is reposessed. Is DaimlerChrysler Going to sue me, any repo fees, any buy out fees -- basically any penalties all together? Your help in this matter would be greatly appretiated as none of the lawyers or law firms I have contacted are willing to help me with the situation. response from Ann Clarke (November 14/2002) I understand a bank/financial institution has a right of offset which is not stopped by bankruptcy proceedings. Is this right of offset nullified (?) at time of discharge? If not, looks like one should never ever again open an account with that particular bank? response from Ann Clarke (November 7/2002) My husband and I are considering bankruptcy as a possible financial solution. We are currently looking at doing the Orderly payment of debt program. If we are unable to do this (may not meet criteria) and have to claim bankruptcy, will we lose our vehicle? We currently have a loan on it, and have another three years to pay for it, an approximate value of $22,428.00 left to pay. We have already paid (in the two years we have had it) approximately $14,952.00. My husband needs the vehicle, on a daily basis, to go back and forth to work in the city. Also...how long after you claim bankruptcy does it remain on your credit rating? response from Ann Clarke (November 7/2002) I filed for bankruptcy with my husband. It has been over 1 month since we did. What do I need to do if we split up before the 9 months are up? response from Ann Clarke (November 4/2002) I am presently living in Alberta. I have been contacted by a collection agency in New Brunswick stating that the payments that I make each month are not enough to cover my $10,000 student loan, (I am sending $50 a month until I can provide more). I have explained to them that I can't send any more than that and they said that they will transfer my collection loan in Alberta, serve me with papers, bring me to court so that way they will be able to garnish my pay. I am pretty much in the hole and was thinking of filing bankruptcy on everything...I started university in 92-94 and then college 95-97. If I file bankruptcy, can they be included? response from Ann Clarke (November 4/2002) I am leasing a car. Will I lose the car if I declare bankruptcy or will the lease be unaffected? response from Ann Clarke (November 4/2002) Apparently there is some legislation that says cash value/ cash surrender value of Life insurance can not be attached in a bankruptcy if the wife is the beneficiary. Can you advise what this legislation is? response from Ann Clarke (November 4/2002) I have a credit card in my name. I added my boyfriend to the account and he had his own credit card. We broke up and I am considering bankruptcy. He never signed anything, I just got him the extra card (in his name) on my account. Will he be held responsible? response from Ann Clarke (November 4/2002) My husband and I filed a joint bankruptcy. I was being garnished and it didn't stop. The trustee said the I would be able to recover all amounts paid 180 days prior to the filing. He said he would abandon this and let us have it back but he will go after our income tax refund. It will be a sizeable amount this year. How long can he go after that? Are there any legal means we can keep him from seizing it? What if we delayed our filing until the last minute? Our bankruptcy was filed 8/2002. response from Ann Clarke (October 29/2002) I have been bankrupt. Can a person (my ex wife) sue me for a car loan that she had to pay, that was in both of our names, but was my car? The car was repo'd but the remaining balance after it was sold was $6,000.00, my ex paid it. Since she is a person and not a company, can she do that and win?. response from Ann Clarke (October 28/2002) I paid an automobile lease for 4 yrs, then decided to buy it. I sent the leasing company the payoff amount as designated in contract. Leasing company goes bankrupt, but lender bank holds title from me. Am I now in danger of losing my car to the lender bank? All the money I paid is now lost? What are my options? response from Ann Clarke (October 28/2002) I went bankrupt in October 10, 1997. The main reason was a Canada student loan for $12,000.00. The thing is this, my wife and I are buying a new home and the lien from CSL is still there. How I get that lien removed? The CSL is gone. response from Ann Clarke (October 25/2002) Hi I'm Ms. Mosby. I run a small day care service from my home.I've been in debt since I relocated, and was trying to reastablish new cliental. I tried to work with my bank but they wouldn't give me the time of day. So I slipped further into debt. So I file chapter 13,but they didn't help lower my mortgage monthly payment,they kept it were it was, and then added a trustee payment. I file chapter 13 on March 6 2002. I've manage to keep up the payments but now I'm falling behind as of August. I tried calling but I'm getting now were. How can I get the help I need. The reason I'm falling behind because I have just 3 clients and it's not enough to keep paying over 2,414.17 plus regular bills,and support my family of three. How can I find the right lower that will help me lower my mortgage but have no trustee payments at all. response from Ann Clarke (October 25/2002) I live with my boyfriend and at this time he has a law suit against him when he was in business. I believe he has 3 years left and he should be discharged from it.HE has some other debts as well. My questions are if we get married will my credit rating be damaged?What would happen to me? Am I responisable for it now? And if he goes bankrupt will I be affected? response from Ann Clarke (October 22/2002) I have made a proposal (with the help of a para-legal) for settlement of my debts, which is primarily with HRDC due to to some Canada Student Loans. These loans were taken out in 1980 to 1983. HRDC is refusing to settle not because of the details of my case but rather as they say "there is no provision in the act" that would allow them to accept less than 100% of the principal ($6,000) and the interest ($19,000). Is this so? Does HRDC ever settle? response from Ann Clarke (October 22/2002) I have gone over the 9 month period and not completed all my duties, but can in the next few weeks. How does this affect my bankruptcy discharge, if I was able to complete everything after the 9 months are up? response from Ann Clarke (October 22/2002) I am a Canadian citizen who is living in the US and has recently been laid off and so has to return to Canada. I have about $10,000 in US credit card bills. Can I declare bankruptcy on just these US credit cards and will it effect my credit rating in Canada once I move back? response from Ann Clarke (October 21/2002) My wife and I filed personal bankruptcy this year and forgot to included an old loan from 1997. The debt was for a pre-owned van I bought, which I later gave to my son, in 1998 because he was moving and needed it. He was paying the debt but then the a collector contacted me 2 years ago, for payment. I haven't heard from them since then and that's why we forgot, now we got a letter demanding payment. My son still has the van, the collector said they don't want the van now, just the money. We are 5 months into bankruptcy...what do we do? response from Ann Clarke (October 18/2002) I'm 23 and and work full time, plus I'm married with 2 kids. My annual income is $28,000. I'm making payments on a used Pontiac car and I took out a loan for $5,000 and I have medical bills and credit card bills. I can't afford to pay my bills and can't even pay my rent on time. My mother in-law mentioned bankcruptcy to me and I am unaware of the procedures. I don't want to lose our car. I need it to get to work. I'm about $25,000 in debt or more. I went to a company that puts all your credit cards on one bill and I still can't make the payments. Can you please help me? response from Ann Clarke (October 15/2002) I work for a financial institution and am in the unfortunate position of having to declare personal bankruptcy. I have a $5000 outstanding credit card balance owing to a credit card given to me by the same financial institution I am employed with. Can I be terminated because of this? response from Ann Clarke (October 15/2002) How long after you file bankruptcy do you have to submit something else? I had originally kept this debt, but now I have to return this car. response from Ann Clarke (October 15/2002) In March of 1999 I sold my business. The terms of the sale have payments of $2,000 a month being paid to me until March of 2009 ( the payments are treated as earned income in the year they are received). My current business venture is suffering and I am considering bankruptcy. Will this income stream from my previous business be viewed as an asset available to my creditors or will it be viewed as income? response from Ann Clarke (October 15/2002) Can you please tell me what the statute of limitations is in Alberta pertaining to Bankruptcy and a fraud that may have occurred in regards to non-disclosure of information in a past bankruptcy? response from Ann Clarke (October 15/2002) Could you please tell me if my spouse claims bankruptcy but our house and vehicles are in my name, will they take the house and vehicles when they are in my name? response from Ann Clarke (October 7/2002) I have an old unpaid debt on my credit file and the company I owe the money to is not responding to my telephone calls to pay this debt off. I have called numerous times and keep getting someone's voice mail. I even asked to speak to a manager or supervisor in charge of collections and that person will not return my phone calls either. My question is, how can I pay off an old debt so that it will eventually leave my credit history if no one will take my payment? Any suggestions? Thank you. response from Ann Clarke (October 3/2002) If I declare bankruptcy but I am anticipating receiving an amount of money from a personal injury claim, does that affect my retaining the amount received from the personal injury claim? Thanks. response from Ann Clarke (September 30/2002) My trustee was discharged more than 7 years ago after my my original application was opposed by Canada student loans. I am applying for an absolute discharge now and am completing the financial statement as an exhibit to the affadavit. I am a Canadian citizen but a non-resident (for 5 years) for tax purposes. Do I have to report my income acquired in the last 2 years in the country I reside in or is the financial statement only for Canadian income, assets and liabilities? If I have to report the foreign assets, which currency and exchange rate do I use to report them? response from Ann Clarke (September 30/2002) I have recently recieved notice of a consumer proposal. In reviewing the documents I was sent, under "Information relating to the affaairs of the Debtor", it says the debtor has two prior bankruptcies. The first one was discharged in 91-06-07 and the second is a suspended discharge on 97-12-05. Is this why this individual would be filing a consumer proposal and not a bankruptcy? Can he file again? How many times is too many? response from Ann Clarke (September 30/2002) I currently have a small business that is not doing very well. I can manage to pay off all my creditors and my credit card debt if I liquidate all my business inventory, however I will still be responsible for the lease. If I declare bankruptcy can they take my house? I currently have 70k owing on it, and 100,000 in equity, but I also have 5 children to support. And are there any other options other than bankruptcy? response from Ann Clarke (September 30/2002) Hello there, here is my situation. I bought a house less than a year ago and I sold it to this family. They were not able to get a mortgage. I told them that they can assume my mortgage and for a minimum down payment. Couple of months ago, I received a statement from the bank indicating that they took over the house and it will be sold and that I am going to have to pay the difference. Last week CHMC sent me a letter asking for more than $20,000 to be payed to them. Since I don't have that kind of money I am concedering bankruptcy. Any suggestions? Thanks response from Ann Clarke (September 30/2002) If you have a vechile for security and the bank repos it and sells it at a auction and only getting a couple of thousand of a $27,000.00 loan, is the rest of the loan secured or can that be put into bankruptcy? What can they do to collect the rest of the debt? I have offered the collection agency a lower payment and they refuse to take it. The guy there is really rude. He has called me a liar. Also, how can I find out about some law that says seize or sue? response from Ann Clarke (September 26/2002) I'm considering bankruptcy. I have a mortgage on my home, it is appox. $153,859.00. The tax assessment for our home is at $201,000.00 due to a business we have. The bank has put two leins on the house, one for $50,000 and the other for $70,000. If myself and my husband went bankrupt would we lose our home? This is my children's home too. Would we be allowed to keep our home? response from Ann Clarke (September 26/2002) Thanks for your response. But what I would like to know is: How long does an "undischarged bankruptcy" remain on a credit record? response from Ann Clarke (September 26/2002) I claimed personal bankruptcy in 1997 and have not been discharged. According to Equifax, this will remain on my credit record for seven years after date of assignment. Could you kindly confirm this for me? Thanks for your help . response from Ann Clarke (September 25/2002) I am 23 years old and in trouble with collectors and creditors. I roughly owe about $6,000 dollars in credit card debts. I've gone to several banks in need of possible help. Each time I was told that I could not get a consolidation loan because I had no collateral. I bought a car which I have no problem paying for. It's just it takes up a good percentage of my salary. What can you suggest I can do about my current situation? response from Ann Clarke (September 24/2002) I presently live in Alberta. In March 2002, I had $25,000 in a locked in pension, that money now has shrunk to less than $19,000. Because I have not been working, I would like to access some or all of my locked-in pension in order to pay off my debts (car payments, etc). Provincial laws do not allow me to do that, but I have found a company in Ontario that will give me 30% in cash if I transfer my money to them. I have been told there are many companies like this in Ontario that are scams. Without access to my pension money, I will soon be thinking about bankruptcy myself. I would like to know of any way to access my pension funds. I am even prepared to relocate to Quebec or Ontario in order to access those funds. Those two provinces do allow you access to your funds when in financial distress. response from Ann Clarke (September 23/2002) I have received several pay day loans (6 now, I believe) which add up to over 400 a month in interest charges alone. I simply can't live with this kind of payment - I know I have done something terribly wrong by doing this, but I felt desperate. Do you think I could talk to these people and see if they would settle for regular payments with no more interest charges? At least this way I could pay them off. response from Ann Clarke (September 19/2002) I am currently living in the US. I have been unable to repay any of my student loans that currently are held by a Canadian collection agency. What legal action can be taken against me, aside from the negative effect the bad debt has on my credit report? I have read that there is a statute of limitations(4 years in my state) with regard to the amount of time the agency has to file a civil suit. response from Ann Clarke (September 17/2002) I have been trying to find out how many years a bill can no longer be collected for and what are the laws on bill collectors. response from Ann Clarke (September 12/2002) I have recently satisifed the terms of a consumer proposal I filed a few years ago. My understanding is that the public record information in my credit report will be cleared 3 years from the date of full performance (i.e. the actual note in the credit report saying "Mr X has filed a consumer proposal and was given a record of full completion on XXXX"). However, will the debts (which are currently showing as R7 and 0 balance) also be cleared at this time, or will they be cleared 6 years from the date of last activity? response from Ann Clarke (September 10/2002) At present I am in the middle of a divorce 2 years in length. I was hoping the divorce to be over with a judge ordering 1) the sale of the home with the debts paid (which all happen to be in my name)or 2) me given the home with debts so that I may consolitate or obtain 2nd mortage to pay said creditors. My husband and I own house jointly; he has not made any payments for over 2 years nor has he made any payments financially. I am left with all bills of the marriage and house payments, I have tried a second job, used all vacation monies and bonus to stay ahead, but now find that I am falling behind. My question is, is it wise to file bankruptcy before the divorce is concluded, or should I just wait it out? I would very much like to save my credit, but I'm scared that the credit card companies will start taking action against me before this divorce is completed. Household bills are approx $2,800/mo and I only take home 1800/mo with 2000 overdraft on my bank account. I am a family of three. response from Ann Clarke (September 9/2002) My wife and I financed a car 18 months ago, and in January of last year we consolidated 2 other loans onto the same debt because we found we could not make the payments. The loan remains at 18000 to date, although the car is worth 10000. In February due to health reasons we were went on the OPD program with the unsecured debt we had, about 7000 dollars. My wife is expecting in a month, and we have to trim our expenses. Our credit counsellor suggested selling the car and adding the deficiency (10000) onto the opd program. Our bank is not willing to do this and point blank told me that we have no other options but to keep paying the loan. We have not missed any payments in 8 months. Is there anything we can do to convince them to allow us to put it onto the OPD program? The bank told me that because we did not opt to sell the car when we originally went on the OPD program, that now it is to late. Our only other options is working an extra job full time, or bankruptcy. What can we do? response from Ann Clarke (September 9/2002) My husband served me with divorce papers last August. He makes $90,000/year and I make $50,000. We are still not divorced as he has dragged out the process by refusing to pay child support, refusing to provide financial documents etc. Needless to say, I now have over $10,000 of lawyer's bills on my credit card as well as a $25,000 personal loan that I gave him to help him buy a house (I know - stupid). I also make mortgage payments on the matrimonial home. Both the credit card and the loan are under my name only. If I declare bankruptcy, will he be responsible for the loan/mortgage debt? The divorce is still not finalized and probably won't be for a long time. response from Ann Clarke (September 6/2002) My husband moved down to the states where I lived. We are finding it hard to keep his bills paid up there. Is it possible to file personal bankruptcy from the States or does he have to return to Canada to file? response from Ann Clarke (September 6/2002) What are the hours that a collection agency can call? What time in the morning and how late in the evening? There is one agency that will call at 6:30am and will call at 9:00pm. This debt is money oweing on a credit card. response from Ann Clarke (August 27/2002) If you have a secured loan using two vechiles and you are behind on payments and they have sent it to collections and collections is saying they will come get the vechiles and they will not do a payment arrangment on the remaining balance, what happens if i sold one of the vechiles? what can they do? response from Ann Clarke (August 27/2002) I went through a consumer proposal in August of 1998. It was a 40 month deal starting in August 1998 until September 2001. It included a student loan from CIBC in Nfld. I repaid the proposal in 30 months 10 months early,and have been discharged since Jan of 2001. Just this past week I have been getting phone calls from a collection agency to collect the balance of the student loan. If CIBC has accepted the proposal back in 1998, why is there a collection agency trying to collect this discharged loan now? I would understand if CIBC was trying to collect it. Will I have to pay a collection agency since CIBC has accepted the proposal back in 1998? response from Ann Clarke (August 26/2002) I am Canadian but have recently relocated to the U.S. with my American wife. We are starting over and it looks very bleak for paying off about $20,000 worth of credit in Canada. My questions are these: If we file bankrupcy, can they take a vehicle that has a lien on it (it's worth $8000 US but we have less than $1000 equity on it)? Can U.S. institutions find out I'm filing bankrupcy in Canada (is it going to affect our credit rating here)? If we didn't file bankrupcy and failed to pay our debt what would the legal ramifications be - could they arrest us at the border when we come to visit? (This is assuming we didn't go the bankrupcy route). response from Ann Clarke (August 21/2002) Been dealing with WCB for over 5 years, due to a work related accident. Over this period of time, I have buried myself in debt to the point of no return. What are the laws involving claiming bankruptcy, while receiving WCB benefits? Would I lose these benefits? response from Ann Clarke (August 21/2002) My student loan is said to be written off on my credit report in 1999, does that mean that this loan will not be pursued? Will it survive the bankruptcy? response from Ann Clarke (August 15/2002) I am currently in debt to a number of people, and I am wondering how I go about getting ALL of my credit information? I know there is a company in the East that has me on a list, however I cannot recall the name, and I want to make sure I include all my information when making a propor filing for bankruptcy. What chareges will getting these reports incur? response from Ann Clarke (August 13/2002) I have been making regular payments on my car, how does a person go about not having this put into the banruptcy, and no it's not with the Royal Bank. response from Ann Clarke (August 9/2002) I know on the forms they ask what you have and the price that it might get if you were to sell. What happens, does someone come down and check to see exactly what you have for property? response from Ann Clarke (August 9/2002) If I enter into a consumer proposal and all the terms are accepted by my creditors, will it appear on my Equifax credit report that I have paid these bills once I have met all my requirements? response from Ann Clarke (August 7/2002) I am thinking about claiming bankruptcy. I have life insurance through my employer - I pay the premiums every month. If I was to claim bankruptcy are the insurance providers contacted and in turn the employer is contacted? Is there any way that the employer can be left out of the loop? response from Ann Clarke (August 7/2002) My wife and I are struggling financially. She works for a bank. What are our options for a Proposal or for filling for bankruptcy? We owe about $50.000. We have a baby on the way. In march my wife will become a full-time mom at home. I really don't think that I could financially support all of us. Please advise. Thank you. response from Ann Clarke (August 6/2002) I bought a $4,000 car in Oklahoma in 1996. After a couple months the tranmission went out on the car and I returned it to the dealer. They would not fix the car so I left it there. I am now being sued for $13,000 for the car that I do not have and have not had. I know live in Kansas. What is the statue of limitations? Am I responsible for this? What can I do? response from Ann Clarke (August 6/2002) I am a director, part shareholder and General Manager of a small company that is presently bankrupt. All of the bill of ladings and invoices from a certain creditor are in the company's name and my personal name.(for example: Sold To: ABC Inc. and John Dow) Althout there were no credit application made, nor where there any distinctive agreement of co-purchasor(i.e. co-deptor), this creditor is bringing me to court. He is asking full payment of the amount to the court, by way of judgement against me personally, can he do that? I have signed some bill of lading, but not all. Some bill of lading where signed by my employees, but the name of the company and my name are on them. Does this make a difference? All the invoices were sent to the adress of the company not my home adress. Does this make a difference? In the past, I never paid this creditor with my personal money. What is the difference between signing in Personal Capacity or signing as a director? response from Ann Clarke (August 1/2002) I owe over 10K to the Income tax man as well as 2.5k on 2 other credit cards. I am making the monthly payments on these cards and it's not hardship. As well I am leasing a car which I do make the payments on and am up to date on them. The problem is that I have child support to pay and can't get a loan to pay off the income tax debt. I also have about 25K in a LIRA (locked in retirement account. If I was to file for bankruptcy what would I potentially lose? response from Ann Clarke (July 29/2002) If I have a pension or lease a car do I lose these in a bankruptcy? response from Ann Clarke (July 29/2002) I am not still finished with my university, I married in USA, I still can't work because of immigration purposes and I want to announce bankruptcy, because I don't have any money to pay my loan. response from Ann Clarke (July 29/2002) My company is bankrupt, but on most of the bill of ladings and invoices from a certain creditor, the companies name and my personal name are indicated as the debtor. I have never signed any distinctive agreement of co-debtor. Am I subject to pay these bill's to the creditor? response from Ann Clarke (July 29/2002) If a person Files for Bankruptcy, can he move out of the country? Also what happens to a person Paycheck after filing bankruptcy, does a person still get to keep it?. response from Ann Clarke (July 29/2002) My husband and I may have to consider bankruptcy. I understand a certain amount of home equity is exempt, but what about money put into a new home under construction? We sold our house several months ago and are currently renting while we await the completion of our new home. Would we get to keep any of the money we have already paid to the builder for our new home? response from Ann Clarke (July 29/2002) A related party living in Alberta, whom I advanced sustantial funds to, turns out to be in serious financial difficulties. His assets are his farm, worth some 160-180000, and $40,000 in an investment account. These $40,000 are a balance of some 102,000 I advanced him during this past year in order to meet obligations. His debts are some 95,000 in credit cards, some 102,000 owing to myself, (all in his name only) and some 95,000 in a secured line of credit, in joint name with his wife. His income is some 12-15,000 farm income (160 acre cow/calf operation) (gross) and old age security. Barely enough to meet his living expenses. I will not make any further contributions but am looking at drawing out the remaining 40,000 in the investment account (Controlled by myself only). I have blank signed cheques to enable me to draw out any funds as I wish to without prior consultation. The related party only has access to monies from these funds as I may transfer them to his bank account. However, I would be prepared to make these funds available for a consumer proposal with intended settlement and full discharge of all unsecured debts. Please advise if you see this proposal -settlement on a % basis - may/will be successfull. The related party is unaware I am making this enquiry. response from Ann Clarke (July 26/2002) How long after filing, meeting w/ trustee and being discharged for bankruptcy can you apply for new credit? response from Ann Clarke (July 22/2002) If I entered into a proposal with my creditors to pay a portion of what I owe and the creditors agree to all the terms, would I get some kind of document afterwards to prove that I paid the debts and the creditors agreed to it? Thank you. response from Ann Clarke (July 18/2002) How long does a discharged bankruptcy stay on one's record? response from Ann Clarke (July 18/2002) What legal action can be taken on someone who is on AISH Disability of $855/month and has roughly $2000 in personal assets in furniture ... and who owes $2300 in credit card debt? monthly payments are $100/month. response from Ann Clarke (July 17/2002) Can someone file even if the things owned is joint, can you file even if the other person doesn't want to? response from Ann Clarke (July 15/2002) My legal divorce said my x-wife will pay half of the credit card dedt. She has now claimed bankruptcy. Do I have to pay the rest? response from Ann Clarke (July 15/2002) My husband and I declared bankruptcy in the summer 1999 and were granted an absolute discharge in 2000. Is it still a 7 year wait for it to come off our credit bureau report and if so, does the 7 year time start when we declared bankruptcy in 1999 or discharged in 2000? At that time do I have to provide Equifax with a copy of the absolute discharge or should I have done that already? Thank you for your time. response from Ann Clarke (July 12/2002) I declared bankruptcy in 1997, but I didn't know about having to get my discharge papers until this year. What do I need to do to get those papers? I would like to get those papers so I can send them into Equifax so that when it is time I can get my credit back on track. Is that all I have to do with my discharge papers? response from Ann Clarke (July 10/2002) I have graduated from college however, I have not found enough work to make my student loan payments. Rent in Calgary is too high for me to make ends meet. I am considering bankruptcy but I know that it cannot be discharged for 10 years after completing studies. Nevertheless I am simply not able to make payments, it just isn't going to happen for a long time. I guess I am asking if the interpretive nature of the new student loan legislation leaves room for somone that is not going to make payments due to low income. Assuming that things do not change drastically for me: Do I file bankruptcy now or in ten years? Or, in what conditions is there room for interpretive action in the student loan legislation. response from Ann Clarke (July 9/2002) Can a person claim bankrupt if he or she is married. If Credit cards are in my name but so is the mortgage. Can I be taken of the mortgage and off my husbands business, or is he responsible for me? response from Ann Clarke (July 4/2002) My son and his wife filed and it was declared in October 1993 on 2 student loans! My question is this, they have had to be turned down for new homes and money was taken out of their checks weekly. Why, when they paid to have bankrupcy on the student loans? response from Ann Clarke (June 21/2002) If both my husband & I file for bankruptcy are we both allowed a vehicle under $5000 (total of 10000) and both allowed personal articles such as funiture under $4000 (for a total of $8000)? response from Ann Clarke (June 6/2002) My husband and I have been trying, unsuccessfully, to consolidate our credit card debt of $35,000. We are still trying but we are considering bankruptcy. The first question I have is will we lose our house - the house is worth approximatly $170,000 and the balance owing on the house is $120,000. The other question is my husband is self-employed. We started the business approximately a year ago and we are still struggling a little to get on track with the business financially - we are hoping that by the end of this year the company will be in a good financial position. Our problem is that we are having a hard time keeping up with out credit card debt. Should we declare bankruptcy or should we try another route? The big question is the house and how bankruptcy would affect out business . response from Ann Clarke (May 23/2002) Hello, if I want to declare bankruptcy in Alberta, do I have to let the creditors or others know (on the day of declaring bankruptcy), that I am expecting an inheritance in a few years? . response from Ann Clarke (May 23/2002) I am going to have to declare personal bankruptcy in the extremely near future. I have enrolled in a course for writing. I pay this course monthly. Will I be able to continue paying and therefore taking part in my course after I declare bankruptcy? response from Ann Clarke (May 23/2002) In the process of paying for a holiday I borrowed $4000 from Citifinancial (This totals the debt I owe Citi. to about $11000). I did this about two weeks ago and am considering bankruptcy. I was wondering if there will be any issue claiming all this money in the bankruptcy because I only recently borrowed a portion of this money from Citifinancial. The original $7000 I borrowed in Dec of 2001 . response from Ann Clarke (May 15/2002) Hi, I was inquiring about personal bankruptcy. My ex-husband claimed bankruptcy and left me with all the debt. My question is, my home is the collateral on a consolidation loan wich is a secured debt. If I claim bankruptcy, can the bank take my home? I just want to claim on the loan not anything else. I have excellant credit and I do not want to claim on my credit cards. What would be the way to go with this problem? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Also I am a single mom of two, one of which is dissabled and I am unable to work due to caring for my son at home . response from Ann Clarke (May 13/2002) I am a single mother and have two children, one with ocd who requires to see a psychologist on a weekly basis (125.00). My other daughter has ADHA. I am currently in debt for $72,000 and see no way out. I have a car which I am still paying on and this is not included in the $72,000. Is it possible to make a proposal to my creditors and how much money would I be allowed to keep from my earnings? If I declare Bankruptcy could I lose my job as I work as a cutomer service rep for an insurance company for the past 20 years? I receive no support from my children's father and we were never married and I never lisited him as the parent. Please provide me with some options . response from Ann Clarke (May 10/2002) I have $95,000 dollars in unsecured debt. All the debt is credit cards, and loans from TransCanada Credit and CitiFinancial, and TD line of Credit. If I claim Bankruptcy, will the $95,000 unsecured debt be wiped out? I have a $30,000 mortgage with the Royal Bank, with $1,000 equity, and I have only owned it for two years. Will the Royal Bank let me keep the trailer if I agree to make monthly payments as I always have. I also have a car loan with the Royal Bank that I have 2 and a half years left owing. I can afford to pay the car loan payments. Will the Royal Bank let me keep paying the loan as agreed? response from Ann Clarke (May 9/2002) I have a judgement against myself in another province for about $5000.00. The judgement is for non-payment of bills. Does this also get dissolved in bankruptcy in Alberta? response from Ann Clarke (May 7/2002) I recently received a phone call from a collection agency for a debt that dates back to my divorce 3 to 4 years ago. This is the first time I've heard from them since that time. Isn't there a statute of limitations that prevents creditors from taking legal action after 2 years? response from Ann Clarke (May 7/2002) Are collection agencies allowed by law to contact you at your place of employment? response from Ann Clarke (May 7/2002) I am considering declaring bankruptcy however I have a car that I can still afford to make the payments on. I cannot lose my car as I require it for work. It is worth over the $5000.00 (probably $8000). Is there any way to accomplish this or do I have any other options? response from Ann Clarke (May 3/2002) 1) What benefits comes with being discharged from bankruptcy? 2) What are the drawbacks of late discharge? 3) Can the Trustee receive your GST Tax credit? and Why? 4) How and when the "Automatic Discharge" occurs? response from Ann Clarke (May 2/2002) I wrote to you yesterday about my dilemma with my credit card debts that has a joint name on the card holder agreement - What can I do to insure the creditors do not go after my friend to pay balances that belong to me? response from Ann Clarke (April 30/2002) In 1997 I went through a personal bankruptcy and moved from this province for a period of time. I never received a discharge from the trustee. Does the bankruptcy automatically discharge after a certain period of time? How would I go about getting a discharge? Is there a difference on my credit rating whether the discharge was done or not? response from Ann Clarke (April 26/2002) A friend of mine agreed to get a credit card for me under her name - part of the credit card agreement is that we are both held responsible for the account. All the money owed on the cards is my personal debt. How will this affect her credit rating if I declare bankruptcy? Will she be held responsible for my debts? response from Ann Clarke (April 26/2002) I live in Edmonton and I was wondering what the cost for claming bankruptcy is, or if it depends on the amount that you are claming for. And what alternatives there are for paying the fee, because I am on a very limited income and won't be able to afford the cost or even make that much in monthly payments. What are my options? response from Ann Clarke (April 26/2002) What do I need to do to apply for bankruptcy and how much does it cost? response from Ann Clarke (April 25/2002) My wife and I are both retired now and we need to file for bankruptcy because of our credit card debts. The credit cards are joint so I guess we both would need to file? Also will our company pensions be affected as well as CPP and Old Age Security? We just recently moved to Alberta from Manitoba and are currently living with our son and his family because we can't afford to live on our own now. response from Ann Clarke (April 22/2002) (1) What if I file in Canada, does US creditors have the right to collect. (2) How much is it to file for bankruptcy (3) can I file for Bankruptcy in Calgary or Alberta if I reside in the USA. (Canadian Citizen). response from Ann Clarke (April 19/2002) Does a third bankruptcy stay forever on your credit report or does it fall off at some time in the future? If I file bankruptcy in the US does that include all debts in Canada too. e.g. Revenue Canada? response from Ann Clarke (April 18/2002) Say, I have a bunch of outstanding debts in Canada, and a problem with Revenue Canada, I left. I live elsewhere and have been given a new Tax ID. I notice that it's like being given a new identity. As it is basically impossible at this point for Canadian creditors to chase me down, what happens if I just don't bother to pay them for the next 15 to 20 years... is there a time period after which they could not collect, does it fall off the Credit Report... just dropped off the face of the earth? response from Ann Clarke (April 18/2002) Here is a one for you: I had a couple of companies and had claimed ITC on invoices issued. Revenue Canada stated I over claimed when audited. They threatened to file fraud charges. It has been seven years since that incident occurred, what's the statue of limitations on such a fraud charge? And unfortunately, third times a charm, if I file personal bankruptcy for the 3rd time, does this remove any debt owed to Revenue Canada for any stated over payment of ITC $120,000CA(or Industry Canada now?) - I have been outside the country since... and have no desire to move back. response from Ann Clarke (April 18/2002) What is section 136 of the Act? response from Ann Clarke (April 18/2002) I have a line of credit secured against my home/160 acre farm. Should I need to go bankrupt and the secured creditor exercises his security, what will happen to any proceeds from the sale of the house/farm in excess of the secured amount in Alberta? Will these funds become part of the trustee's "funds" to distribute to unsecured creditors or will they remain untouched, i.e. revert to me? response from Ann Clarke (April 17/2002) Hello, my name is Jasson. I got a judgement aganist me for about 10,000 dollars and it's been about 7 years, and I was wondering if I could if I could file bankruptcy on it. I was told by a friend that I could file a chapter 7 on it. response from Ann Clarke (April 17/2002) My wife is a licensed dayhome provider working thru an agency. One of her clients declared bankruptcy this January. The agency has hired a collection agency to get the money owed to them and to us by the bankrupt person. Can that person add the this debt to her already ongoing bankrupcy? response from Ann Clarke (April 17/2002) Can you go bankrupt on an Alberta Student Loan? response from Ann Clarke (April 11/2002) Newly divorced, working a low paying job, and have a huge amount owing to Revenue Canada. If I claim bankruptcy, can that relieve the debt owing to them? response from Ann Clarke (April 8/2002) I am 22 years old and have dug myself a huge hole of debt, about $35,000. It gets more and more difficult to pay the bills each month and I was wondering what I can do to prepare to file and what I will lose. I have a car and some personal posessions that I do not want to lose and I'm not sure of how I will be affected by filing. response from Ann Clarke (April 8/2002) I currently live in Alberta but am considering moving to the U.S. to work. My current financial situation may require me to claim bankruptcy. While I am in bankruptcy will I be allowed to move or work in the U.S., even temporarily? response from Ann Clarke (April 3/2002) In becoming bankrupt would I still be able to keep my overdraft on my bank account or is this a form of credit and should be mentioned to my trustee? response from Ann Clarke (Mar 28/2002) Is it possible to recieve financing to take over an existing business after being released from personal bankruptcy? response from Ann Clarke (Mar 26/2002) I had a cell phone back in 1996. I discontinued use of it and was sure the amount due went on my Visa. I have not been contacted since and just recently I recieved a notice in the mail from a collection agency stating that I owe $1,175.00. I was wondering if they can do anything, and why haven't they contacted me before? It has been 7 years and I thought it was paid. I have also had credit reports done and there was no mention of this outstanding debt on any of the reports. response from Ann Clarke (Mar 18/2002) My husband and I were objecting creditors for an individual who has filed for bankruptcy for the second time. Unfortunately, we were out of town and could not attend the court hearing. I was advised that the bankrupt has received a six month suspended discharge. Does the trustee have a responsibility to advise all creditors of the hearing outcome? What exactly does this suspension mean? response from Ann Clarke (Mar 13/2002) I recenty declared bankruptcy which included my personal bank account with bank overdraft. I was just wondering if you have any suggestions on any banks in Calgary that would open a bank account for me without checking my credit history? Thanks. response from Ann Clarke (Mar 11/2002) I had a penalty on my Alberta health care, which then was put on a monthly statement. Is it included in a bankruptcy? They also keep requesting payments of $350.00. Would I have to still pay for it if I file for bankruptcy? response from Ann Clarke (Mar 11/2002) Information from canadabanruptcy.com's website has indicated that we have a serious credit problem, though I didn't need them to tell me that ... Would filing a proposal with a payment of only 10-15% of debt-owing paid over time leave us in a better position with future creditors than outright bankruptcy? What would my credit report reflect in such an arrangment? Second, can the lawyer who drew up our wills and handled previous legal issues for us handle our bankruptcy, or must they be registered as a Trustee already? Who is allowed to act in this position? response from Ann Clarke (Mar 7/2002) Are RRSPs held by an insurance company exempt from creditors upon bankruptcy? response from Ann Clarke (Mar 6/2002) Is there an actual piece of legislation stating that once a consumer proposal is completed, credit reports should be updated. Are you familar with Ontario Law and if not would you be able to put me in contact with someone who might be able to help me with this matter. I am assuming Consumer Proposals are governed by provincial law. Where do I go to get the correct information regarding actual written law? response from Ann Clarke (Mar 6/2002) I have a line of credit loan that has a co-signer attached to it. Would it be possibile for me to include that loan if I were to claim personal bankruptcy? I also own a house. Will I lose the house in such a claim, and if so are there any ways around it? Also, I have a leased vechile which is essential to my work. Will I lose that? I would appreciate any information you can provide for me regarding this issue. Is there any cost to and if so what exactly is the cost?. response from Ann Clarke (Mar 4/2002) Is there an offical site I can go to that will tell me how long after a consumer proposal has been filed and commpleted it remain in your credit report? What steps are involved in removing bad credit experience from your report? I think it is erased off your credit report after Bankrupcy but what is it for Consumer Proposals?. response from Ann Clarke (Mar 4/2002) I received a letter for the Bankruptcy Courts. I was listed as a creditor. I do not understand why I received this letter. My divorce has been final for almost two years. The only thing that my name was still connected to at time of divorce was the truck my ex leased. And there were damages to the truck. Could this be the reason? Also, a couple of years back, he was sent a check from the Insurance Company of the person that hit his truck. He chose to spend it elsewhere. Could I prove fraud on this if the truck is the issue here? Also, our divorce decree specifically states he is responsible for all damages to truck or mileage at time lease expires. Is there anything else I may have to pay? He has threatened to get half my 401K. He says he has talked to a lawyer and he can get it. The divorce specially says what he gets and does not get. My 401k is not one the things he can get. I need some advice. response from Ann Clarke (Mar 1/2002) My ex-wife was given the car in the divorce settlement and was to keep paying it off. She stopped paying and filed bankruptcy on this car. The loan company came after me for the money which I paid. I was never notified she was going bankrupt on this loan. The first thing I knew of it was a letter asking for paymeny in full. I called the loan company and they told me she had gone bankrupt on it. It was in both our names. I now have the title and she has the car. How can this be right? response from Ann Clarke (Feb 26/2002) Does bankruptcy also include Alberta Health Care? response from Ann Clarke (Feb 26/2002) If a collection agency is saying that they are going to seize non-exempt items how long does this take? I have offered payment but they want the full amount. The collection person has told me to go borrow the money from family. Is there anything I can do? response from Ann Clarke (Feb 26/2002) I own my on computer business which I have not been actively involved in for the last year. I was unable to get any contracts so I return to working with an employer. However, I have a bank line of credit under the company for $13,000 and I can't pay it through the company anymore due to lack of work. Can I qualify for a Bankruptcy claim and get rid of this company?. response from Ann Clarke (Feb 26/2002) Alberta Health is threatening to garnish my wages for an amount less than 500 dollars. Will they/ are they actually able to do this for such a small amount? My father-in-law is dying of cancer, and I am helping support my fiancee right now, so paying back AB health is just not an option, and a garnishee would just be detrimental to us until my father-in-law passes on. response from Shane Brenneis (Feb 25/2002) I recently tried to claim bankruptcy in BC. I thought it was the first time but after searching the trustee discovered I was an undischarged bankrupt from Alberta (20 years ago). I need to claim bankruptcy because of a very agressive creditor. I have 5 kids and am barely making ends meet. The trustee (in BC) said I should hire a lawyer in Alberta to pursue a discharge on my old bankruptcy but I can't afford it ... response from Ann Clarke (Jan 30/2002) My question is that I bought a car that cost 23k and now I found out that my insurance doubled and I will be scraping to pay my car payment and I'm just wondering would that be bankrupty if I return my car and what would the out come be like? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 30/2002) I have a $3000.00 loan that went into collections 5 years ago and still has not been paid. Would this be cleared off my credit report in 2 years since it will be 7 years since I defaulted? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 30/2002) My spouse is going to declare bankruptcy. I have nearly 20K in unsecured debt in my name (credit cards, etc.) counting the debts which are joint so I assume I would be held responsible after my spouse declares bankruptcy. I am basically being forced into bankruptcy due to this. We have equity in our home which would be within the allowable amount for bankrupts. If we were able to sell the home, would that money be free for us to put into a new home in another province? Also, would a bank approve a mortgage for a bankrupt couple? Also, we have a garden tractor lawn mower. Would this be considered as part of our personal effects or would it be sold as part of the bankruptcies? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 30/2002) If I was to go bankrupt would this affect my husband? This is debt before we were married. We own our house as joint tenancy -- would the house have to sell? We owe $153,000.00 and it's worth approximately $300,000. Also, when going into bankrupty does your furniture and beds things like that have to be sold? What do you keep and what don't you? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 30/2002) If we had a business and we decided to go bankrupt with the business but the bank made us sign $50,000 of debt in our personal name and they put it against our house, what happens with our home? Does the full amount for the bank go into bankrupts or can they still try to take our house? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 30/2002) I am self-employed (proprietorship). If I declare personal bankruptcy what happens to any money in the bank accounts (personal & business). Can you still have/open bank accounts after bankruptcy? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 28/2002) If we declare bankruptcy can they take my furniture, beds and stuff? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 28/2002) We have a bank loan, charge cards and owe $32000 and owe $8000 in income tax. We have $50,000 in rrsps but owe $33000. Our house has less than $40000 equity. We are having a hard time keeping up and concerned losing any more customers. All our payments are still up to date. When we go bankrupt, what happens with our rrsps? Can they be cashed in and applied against the rrsp loan? After we are discharged are there any conditions on selling our house and moving out of province? We have 2 $2000 cars and a $5000 work van which we paid cash for. Do any of our vehicles have to be sold? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 26/2002) Claimed bankruptcy on June 1, 2000. Bankruptcy completed summer 2001. Dishcharge was received. Do I have to do anything different to file my taxes for 2001? Do I just fill out a normal return, indicating nothing about the bankruptcy, and claim the whole T4 slips for the year, etc? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 24/2002) What happens if a person has to go bankrupt for a second time? Can it be refused? Cost? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 24/2002) If you're making less then the required payment on your Visa card and they send you a letter that they will instruct the sheriff to seize any non-exempt assets, What does that mean what type of assets are non-exempt? And can a credit card company do that because it is a non-secured debt? What if any are my options? I live in Alberta. response from Ann Clarke (Jan 22/2002) I have been supporting a relative for some years now. I do this by sending 6 mos. of postdated checques. Recently I also had the party open up a trading account with a bank other than his regular bank -- to take advantage of tax losses -- with myself having power of (trading) authority, and deposited funds into this account, in order to have them separated from regular monthly support cheques. I also have full banking access and blank signed cheques to withdraw funds as I see fit. Our verbal agreement is that only I can have access to/control of these funds. My concern is, since these funds are clearly segregated and under my control: 1)should that party be declaring/be forced into bankruptcy, would these funds in this segregated trading account be saved from the bankruptcy proceedings? and/or 2) if I withdraw these funds, would they be saved from the 1 year retroactive provision in the banktruptcy act? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 21/2002) My Wife and I are considering bankruptcy for the second time. She works for a stockbrokerage firm and holds a credit card from the bank that owns that company. Would she lose her job? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 21/2002) Can you recommend a service like yours that may be available in New Brunswick? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 21/2002) I have a house that is worth about 300,000 and I owe 156,000 on it. Would I have to sell it? Also, if you offer a payment to a creditor and they refuse it is your bill with them paid? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 19/2002) What about filing income tax returns? I am self-employed and have been advised that the Trustee will file for that part of the year before I declare bankruptcy, but as I am self-employed I will be responsible for filing for that part of the year after the bankruptcy is declared. I have also been told that some deductions are pro-rated and some are not, and some carryforwards not used on the pre-bankruptcy return are lost. I am specifically interested in how charitable donation carryforwards and self-employed CPP calculations are treated but am looking for advise as to this whole matter of filing income tax returns - who files what, etc. response from Ann Clarke (Jan 19/2002) I am nearly at the limit of both my credit card limits and a secured line of credit. A private party is willing to give me a loan to help bridge my situation if I use it to pay down my secured loan, and give a second mortgage. Should any of my credit card creditors put me into bankruptcy, would the payment to the secured creditor be safe? Also, would the second mortgage be secure as against unsecured creditors? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 18/2002) My common-law spouse is concerned if I file for bankruptcy that they will take his property as being both of ours. Is this true? We are totally independant financially and have never shared accounts or even property together. The house is in his name as it was bought before we got together. I do not want to put him at risk or under a microscope. Does he have to be involved at all? I do not own very much household property, he has bought numerous things for the house, but we cannot prove that some of the items in the house were bought by him. I do not want him to to be affected by this at all. Will he be affected? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 15/2002) Some years ago, I gave money to a relative to pay of his mortgage so he had the monthly payments instead to cover living expenses and support his young family. The verbal deal was that he would not mortgage the property in any form thereafter. The deal was 'consummated' by a handshake only. He violated our agreement without my prior knowledge. Should bankruptcy occur, would this 'handshake' agreement carry any form of preferred status similar to that of a secured creditor vs. any presently unsecured creditors? Any suggestions? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 12/2002) If one is an unsecured creditor - amounts owing being cash payments going back from present to some 10 years - does one enjoy preferred debt-status over other unsecured creditors if one is the one to initiate bankruptcy proceedings of one's debtor? Does 'age' of debts enter the distribution formula of funds recovered in bankruptcy proceedings? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 11/2002) Started bankruptcy some years ago and didn't complete. What are my options now? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 9/2002) I have been discharged from bankruptcy for approximately 3 years. My financial and business situation has improved significantly, such that now I am in a position to set up my own holding company for certain investment/business activities in which I am involved. I have been searching the net trying to find out what bearing personal bankruptcy has on incorporating a company in Alberta, particularly if I will be the sole shareholder and director;however I have been unable to locate any specifics. Please advise. Thank you for your assistance. response from Ann Clarke (Jan 8/2002) I may have left the wrong impression on my income [see question below]. The figures are annual figures. Does this change your proposed plan of action? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 8/2002) I am a 67 year old Alberta resident. My income consists of $5-8000 from my 160 acre cattle operation, also my home, old age pension and a nominal foreign pension. My wife has no income. There is a credit line of $100,000 with a bank against my home, fully used. The home is owned jointly with my wife. I also have accumulated credit card debts with several credit card companies - kept geeting low interest rate offers and large credit limits - of some $80,000, all in my name. All this debt I accumulated in the hopes of making some money in the stock market to pay off private debts. What if any options are available to me to escape this millstone situation? Also, a relative of mine has been giving me postdated cheques to assist in meeting my living expenses, the money of which is now being eaten up by debt payments. Is this money considered 'income' for debt/ bankruptcy settlement purposes? response from Ann Clarke (Jan 7/2002) My marriage been over for eight years and divorced for seven years here in Calgary. Now the government wants over $5000 GST from me that the ex hasn't paid. He claimed business and I think personal bankruptcy a year or so ago. He owed a lot of money to the government and creditors. When we were married he owned a company and the accountant put myself and two young sons down on paper only as director etc... I never got paid by this company but for a few years I paid $1,100 to $1,300 a year in taxes for this company. The accountant said it was a tax write off. My sons are grown and one had to pay off taxes for this man. Now eight years later after I left the marriage they want more money out of me. Can they do that? I need answers for I do not have that kind of money. Six years ago I had claimed personal bankruptcy and I'm just starting to get my life together. response from Ann Clarke (Jan 2/2002)

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