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Author:		Montreal
Date:		October 21, 1999
Question:		hi--thanks for giving your readers the opportunity to ask legal questions. I have a couple. when you can no longer pay your mortgage -- do they take the property and its contents? or only the physical immovable property? if the property sells for less than the mortgage amount -- how do you protect the registered retirment saving plan -- from being taken over too? is it true that if an r.r.s.p. is lodged with an insurance company it can not be touched? please confirm
From:		Shane Brenneis, Collins Barrow Limited
Date:		October 22, 1999
Answer:		First of all, I am not a lawyer so I cannot answer legal questions. I am a Trustee in Bankruptcy and the intention behind this question and answer forum is to give people information about their insolvency concerns, but I am not giving any legal advice. When a mortgage holder foreclosures, they can only take what they have mortgaged. This is normally the land and building but not any contents. I'm not sure if I understand your question re the mortgage and RRSP's. If the mortgage holder is pursuing you for a deficiency on a mortgage, they could have all sorts of remedies. If an RRSP is held by an insurance company and a parent, child, grandchild or spouse are the beneficiaries, then it is normally protected form seizure. However, this can differ form province to province and I do not know the Quebec rules. To obtain a free assessment of your financial situation, you should contact a Trustee in your area by looking in the yellow pages under "Bankruptcy". Shane Brenneis phone: (403) 298-1575 sbrenneis@collinsbarrow.com