As a Windsor trustee, I receive many questions from people in person or via email. I thought I would share the 4 most common questions I am asked about bankruptcy.

1. Will I lose my house?
How much is it worth, and how much is the outstanding mortgage balance? As long as the house is worth around the same as the mortgage, you won’t lose your house in a bankruptcy.
There are a couple of things to keep in mind though. If you are behind on your mortgage payments, it is likely that the mortgagor will start the legal process to take you house back, bankruptcy doesn’t stop that process. There have been a few cases of lenders not renewing mortgages if you have filed for bankruptcy. We always recommend that you speak with your lender about their policy before you file.

2. Will I lose my car?
Are you making payments on the car, and how much is it worth? If you have car payments, and as long as you continue to make those payments you don’t lose you car. If you don’t have car payments and your car is worth less than $5,650 you can keep you car.

3. How much does it cost?
That depends on your income, if you filed before and how many dependants you have. The more you take home, the more bankruptcy costs. If you have filed bankruptcy before that also increases the cost of bankruptcy.

4. I don’t want to file bankruptcy, what else can I do?
A consumer proposal can be a better option for many people. When you meet with me in person we review all of your options and review the pros and cons of each them.

The first step is often the hardest. You can meet with me for no charge and we can review your situation in detail to give you the information you need to make the plan that is right for you. Call me at 310-PLAN or 519-250-8060.