You can keep a vehicle up to the value of $8000. (Be sure to ask us to find the “Actual” value of your vehicle. The value is often very different to what you think.)

If your vehicle is worth more than $8000.00 and there is no finance on it, you may still be able to keep it by using one of these options

Option 1: you may be able to speak with your Bankruptcy Trustee (the person who looks after you during your bankruptcy) and ask them if you can pay off the difference over the term of your bankruptcy. Here’s an example. Let’s say that your vehicle is worth $15000 and you would like to keep it. You could speak with the trustee and let them know that you realise you can only keep a car up to the value of $8000 but that you would like to keep the car and pay off the difference over the next year or two. Often you will find the Trustee very helpful and accommodating and will be more than happy to work with you on this.(We are happy to negotiate this for you)

Option 2: You could simply hand the vehicle to your trustee. He can then arrange for it to be sold and once it is sold your trustee will give you back $8000 from the sale of the vehicle and pay the rest of the money to your creditors. (People you owed money to.) You can then use this $8000 to go and buy another vehicle.

What if my vehicle is financed

If your vehicle is under secured finance the situation is quite different. Here are the usual scenarios that exist regarding financed vehicles and Bankruptcy.

Scenario 1: Often you will find that you owe more on the vehicle than what it is worth. If this is the case and your finance company agree to let you keep the loan, then you can keep the vehicle so long as you continue to pay the loan. (That’s right, you can choose to keep a loan even if you go bankrupt!)

Scenario 2: If your vehicle is worth up to $8000 more than you have left on your loan and your finance company agree to let you keep the loan, then you can keep it. For example, if you have a vehicle worth $20,000 and your loan is only $12,000 you can keep the vehicle as you only own $8000 worth of the equity in the vehicle. If you are unsure, ask us.

Scenario 3: If the vehicle is worth $8000 or more than the loan, then you will again need to work something out with your Trustee to pay off the difference. (We can negotiate this for you if you want us to.)

Often your house is your castle and to lose it in Bankruptcy can feel like a real blow. There may be ways that you can keep your house but that decision all comes down to your understanding of Bankruptcy and the options available to you, so be sure to involve us in this process.

Firstly you need to work out how much “Equity” there is in your property.

What is equity?

Equity is the difference between how much the property is worth and how much you owe on it. For example, if your property is worth $500,000.00 and you owe $200,000.00 on your mortgage, then there is $300,000.00 worth of equity. This is how much of the property you own.

Whether you own a property yourself or it is owned by 2 or more people doesn’t change the options available to you, but it does change the way work out how much equity you own in the property. For example if your house was owned equally by two people instead of just you, then each person owns half the equity in the property, meaning your portion would be $150,000.00 instead of $300,000.00.

Once you have worked out how much equity there is in the property and how much of this you personally own, then some decisions can be made. Here are the options:

Option 1: If you have NO EQUITY in your property then the trustee would not be interested in trying to sell it. In this situation, you can work with your bank and if they agree that you can keep your mortgage, then you can keep your home. In most cases your Bank usually agrees to this unless you are very behind in mortgage payments.

Option 2: If you have a LITTLE BIT OF EQUITY in your home, usually anywhere between $10k and $50k, then you may be able to work with the trustee to keep your home and pay off any equity you have to them over the next few years. This money is then used to pay off your creditors. Organising this can be quite complicated, but we can take care of this for you.

Option 3: If you have A LOT OF EQUITY then the whole process can become a little tricky but there are still options available to you. To find out what you can do and how to do it, be sure to contact us and give us the full details of your property. We will then work through your options and help you find a solution.

This is a very common question because for some reason people believe that they are banned from overseas travel when they go bankrupt. This is not the case.

Yes, it is true that if you choose to travel overseas you need to complete a form and send it to your Trustee for permission to go, but this is usually just a formality. In the last 11 years we have never had ANY of our clients denied overseas travel.

There are a few circumstances where the trustee may not agree to your going overseas. These include:

• -You have not been helpful through the Bankruptcy process.
• You have not fully disclosed your financial position to the Trustee
• You have money outstanding to your trustee that is overdue for payment
• You are a potential flight risk and it is believed that you may not return if you go overseas.

Permission is at the discretion of the trustee.

So yes, you can travel overseas and as often as you like, you simply need to get permission from your trustee. If you do wish to travel we can assist you in obtaining permission and completing the application to leave Australia.

This is a very broad question and the circumstances can vary tremendously depending upon things such as:

• Your Employment type
• How much you earn
• How much property you own
• How many assets you own
• Whether you are a company director or a sole trader
• Whether you are going through a divorce or separation
• Whether you have been to court and a judgement has been made against you
• Whether you have dependent children
• Whether you are expecting to receive an inheritance

And so much more.

In our experience, we have found that in general, most people who declare bankrupt are affected by the following:

• They cannot be a Company Director for the term of their bankruptcy. This does not mean they cannot run a business as a sole trader, it simply means they cannot manage a company.
• Some debts such as HECS, child Support and some specific Fines are not covered by their bankruptcy
• They must get permission to travel overseas.

We strongly suggest that you complete the FREE Bankruptcy Evaluation so that we can determine if there are any other factors that may cause issues by you declaring bankrupt. This advice is free of charge and is very important.

You can go bankrupt 2 ways.

Forced Bankruptcy: You can be forced into Bankruptcy by one of your creditors. They do this by applying to the courts for a judgement against you and once this is done, if you do not pay, you will be made bankrupt. Forced Bankruptcy is usually a VERY stressful process. You may be required to attend court, involve lawyers, complete documents, provide detailed personal financial reports and much more. If someone has already started this type of action against you, contact us and we can attend to it for you.

Voluntary Bankruptcy: This is where you choose to take control and go bankrupt yourself.

Although the process of Forced Bankruptcy can be very traumatic, the process of Voluntarily Bankruptcy can also be quite complicated and stressful. BUT DON’T PANIC, we take it out of your hands and do it all for you and will guide you through the whole process

To declare yourself voluntarily bankrupt you must:

• Understand how to answer each question on the bankruptcy Application correctly.
• Understand the implications of each answer you give on the application and how these answers will affect you.
• Know how to obtain valuations on your assets including your house and Vehicle (a guess is not sufficient and without assistance you may get this terribly wrong meaning you may lose assets you otherwise would be able to keep, so be sure to talk to us about it)
• Create a Government Personal Insolvency Portal,
• Complete a 25 page application with detailed personal and financial information.
• Provide the necessary documented proof required for each question.
• Ensure the information is accurate and up to date,
• Before you can be approved you must answer any queries your potential Trustee may have regarding your application.
• If your application is rejected (which is common) you must satisfy your trustee with additional, correct information.
• Once your bankruptcy has been approved you must answer any queries your trustee may have.

But don’t panic, we can take care of all of this for you. We have done thousands of Bankruptcy Applications and have a 100% acceptance rate.

This is a good question and a lot of people become confused as they look through their options and find that there is more than just basic bankruptcy available. They discover PIAs or Personal Insolvency Agreements. Here are the plain facts about Personal Insolvency Agreements.

There are a number of Personal Insolvency agreements that are available to you. The most common ones are known as Part IX agreements (Part Nine) and Part X agreements (Part Ten).

These agreements are specialised agreements and are not beneficial to everyone. In fact they are only really beneficial to a very specialised group of people with certain needs. In a nutshell these type of agreements allow you to freeze your debts, freeze the interest and then YOU can make one payment per month to a trustee or administrator and these administrators will then pay your debts off for you. Yes, that is right. When you sign up to one of these agreements you are still required to pay off your debts!

However, to be frank, these Personal Insolvency Agreements are usually “flogged” by many Bankruptcy Agencies as the “better alternative” simply because they are more profitable to them and not because they are the best option for you. Be very careful when deciding what to do and talk to us first.

Our agency will ONLY recommend a Personal Insolvency Agreement to you if it is your best option and that is quite rare. Be very careful to get the right advice from us before you make any choice. We are contacted almost every day from individuals who have agreed to a Personal Insolvency Agreement only to find that they are no better off and wish to cancel it. If you find yourself in this situation, contact us and we can help.

Can these agreements be a good option? Yes they can IF your situation fits, but DON’T JUMP IN IGNORANTLY

To get it right be sure to complete the next step and we will let you know if it is an option you should consider.

Remember, if you choose a Part IX or Part X agreement you will still be treated as a bankrupt but will remain paying off your debts. Alternatively, you can declare bankrupt and have your debts completely wiped. PERSONAL INSOLVENCY AGREEMENTS ARE NOT FOR EVERYONE!