The Rebecca Martyn Bankruptcy Windsor Blog

Credit counselling was an option for Joyce when she could pay her debts each month. At that time, she just needed help with negotiating a manageable payment plan. With the help of a non profit credit counsellor she proposed a payment plan to each creditor and each creditor then accepted or rejected her plan. Joyce found that some of her creditors agreed to the payment plan and one creditor did not. She had planned to make the agreed payments until it was paid in full. Her concern was that the creditor who rejected the plan is still able to get a court order to garnishee her wages.

We then discussed a consumer proposal. A consumer proposal is a payment plan Joyce can offer her unsecured creditors with my assistance. Once she signs the necessary documents, we mail her consumer proposal to her creditors. The creditors receive 1 vote per dollar owed. At the end of the voting period of 45 days, the votes are tallied.

If the majority of the voting creditors agree to the consumer proposal after another
15 day waiting period to allow for court review if required, the proposal is officially accepted. It is then binding on all unsecured creditors, even the creditors who voted no or who did not vote. The creditor cannot vote no and still try to collect the debt. Once the proposal has been completed in full, certain debts such as student loans that are less than 10 years old will still have to be paid.

Since Joyce’s income has decreased and she is concerned about the possibility of future garnishments, she decided a consumer proposal was a better option for her.

To discuss if a consumer proposal is right for you, call me at 310-PLAN (310-7526, no area code required) or E-mail me to arrange a free initial consultation.

People I meet with often feel like they are the only ones who are experiencing financial hardship. The truth of the matter is bankruptcy is more common than people think, specifically in the Windsor area.

Windsor bankruptcy and consumer proposal rates went up in 2006 by 3.6% and 56.1% respectively. And what seems even more alienating is that this increase happened despite the fact that both the national and provincial rate of filings went down. The national rate fell by 4.3% in 2006, and in Ontario filings went down by 2.1%.

The question is, why are rates rising in Windsor but falling in Canada and in Ontario overall? The answer lies in the unemployment rate. In Windsor, our unemployment rate is at its highest level since 1997 at 9.0%, even though the national and provincial rates have both fallen to 6.3%, a 30-year low.

With this seemingly not great news comes some hope, though. Predictions for the future are looking up. In the short term, the rate of bankruptcies will most probably continue to climb, but how fast the rate will rise will slow down and eventually taper off. This means that Windsor can expect to see healthy growth and a decline of bankruptcies.

I live and work in Windsor. I understand how you must feel, hearing this news and experiencing the high unemployment rate, but at the same time I know that you are not alone and that there are solutions. Come meet with me and we’ll work out a plan to help you with your situation.

If you or someone you know is affected by this trend of high unemployment or you’re having trouble meeting all of your monthly financial commitments, call me at 310-PLAN, or 519-250-8060 for a free consultation. You can also email me your questions. You are not alone – I am here to help.