Archive for June 27th, 2009

The Fear of Bankruptcy Is it Misplaced
In UK, declaring bankruptcy was considered to be something that was done by irresponsible people It was like a stigma that one had to carry throughout their lives However, in today’s world, with rising food and fuel costs and reduced buying power of the British Pound, at times bankruptcy may be the logical solution . .If it was a perfect world, you could enter into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement and pay your debts in five years However, we don’t live in a perfect world and creditors don’t want to let you off the hook They may agree on monthly payments that may take decades to pay and yet the loan may not be fully repaid One way of working off debts is by declaring bankruptcy Once bankruptcy is declared, the creditors cannot harass you Alternatively, make you enter an agreement that will leave you stuck paying of loans forever . .A creditor whom you owe more than seven hundred and fifty pounds can or you yourself can file for bankruptcy in a local court There is a hundred and twenty pound court fee However, if you are on an income support program the court can waive the fee You will have to pay two hundred and fifty pounds to the court for administrating your bankruptcy You will need your own lawyer to plead your case . .After the hearing, the court may issue a stay order This means the court needs more time to examine the case The court may dismiss the petition because an administration order will be more appropriate The court may appoint an insolvency practitioner This can happen if your assets are more than two thousand pounds and unsecured debts less than twenty thousand pounds The court can issue a bankruptcy order . .You are declared bankrupt as soon as the court declares it The court may also issue a certificate of administration if your debts are less than twenty thousand pounds and you have not been bankrupt or filed individual voluntary arrangement in the last 5 years This makes the administration of your bankruptcy quicker and simpler . .The official receiver becomes your trustee, and you are discharged from the bankruptcy after two years of the date of the order In case a summary of administration is not made, the bankruptcy order will be discharged after three years . .After bankruptcy, all your assets are handed over to the trustee You cannot deal with your bank or take any loan without informing the trustee You cannot make any direct payments to your creditors You cannot form, own or manage a company without informing the court You cannot hold certain public offices . .After you are discharged from your bankruptcy, you can resume your financial activities without informing the trustee Your credit rating will be rebuilt after six years You will go through this process after bankruptcy However, it may be a more suitable option as you can start with a clean slate The court can also discharge your bankruptcy after a year .
Source: www.rsstnx.com

Donald Trump and Bankruptcy
Historically in the United States, bankruptcy is a term that has carried an extremely negative connotation Those who file for bankruptcy protection are seen, mostly by themselves, as failures who could not meet their monthly obligations Unfortunately, this is almost always an inaccurate way to think about and approach bankruptcy, as you’ll see below . .Donald Trump . .When people think of successful businessmen in the United States, many will either immediately or quickly think of Donald Trump He’s long been famous for his aggressive business tactics and his willingness to make the ‘big deal’ that makes a huge splash with the media Most of Trump’s success has been within the real estate field, but as anyone who’s been paying attention in recent months understands, the real estate market is in dire straits . .When a market-wide crash occurs as it is right now, no one is exempt from its effects That includes Donald Trump, whose real estate company has also fallen on hard times given the dropping values of land and property, the extreme difficulty with obtaining competitive financing and the lack of ability to sell property at a price that presents a profit to the seller . .As a result, Trump’s real estate company recently filed for bankruptcy Since it was technically a corporate bankruptcy petition, filed under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, Trump’s individual assets are not at risk However, his company must now be reorganized under the tenets of bankruptcy law and it must meet all the criteria set out by the court in order for the reorganization to be accepted and to ultimately be successful in getting the company back on its feet . .Not the First Time . .Additionally, this latest filing for bankruptcy protection is not the first time one of Trump’s development companies has sought bankruptcy protection Trump’s company also filed for bankruptcy protection in 1991 during the previous American recession and for many of the same reasons - his company owed too much money and his assets could not be sold to the point where the company could meet its obligations . .Lessons Learned . .What anyone should take from this brief bit of history is that anyone can fall into hard times financially and because of circumstances beyond his or her control Those who may be struggling should also understand that bankruptcy is not an end, but rather a beginning anew, as Trump has already proven .
Source: www.rsstnx.com