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Bankruptcy Law

Our commercial lawyers specialise in court litigation. We deal with conflicts in business and will initially attempt to settle commercial disputes by agreement failing which we will not hesitate to issue legal proceedings in a court of law. We do not allow these matters to drag on and prefer to let a judge decide any contentious issues in early course. If you need urgent advice on a potentially litigious matter just call us on our helpline for instant free advice from a specialist company/commercial solicitor with absolutely no further obligation.

A debt collection solicitor is a specialised lawyer who uses an armoury of dedicated computer programs to initiate and progress claims from the first letter through to judgment and subsequent enforcement of that judgment . Our debt collection lawyers are situated throughout Australia and also deal with the recovery of money throughout the world using foreign agents. If you believe that you have a case for recovery we are able to deal with most legal matters including :-

• letters before action
• court proceedings
• enforcement of judgment
• statutory demands
• tracing debtors
• winding up limited companies
• bankruptcy of individuals
• personal insolvency agreements
• debt agreements

A debt collection solicitor will generally consider personal bankruptcy as a last resort due to the fact that a creditor will be more likely to get paid if there is no bankruptcy. In a bankruptcy, assets are liquidated and shared between normal unsecured creditors only after fees have been paid to the trustee, taxes have been paid, certain other liabilities have been discharged and secured creditors have had their debts satisfied. It is often the case that there is nothing left to pay normal unsecured creditors. It should also be noted that the party that initiates the legal action for bankruptcy has substantial legal and court fees to pay, with no guarantee that they will be able to collect the money owed or any expenses that follow. An application for bankruptcy can be made to the court after a creditor obtains a judgment that remains unsatisfied by the debtor. If an order is granted, a ‘trustee in bankruptcy’ will be appointed to take control of matters and collect and liquidate assets and subsequently distribute proceeds. At the conclusion the trustee will pay himself and the remaining assets will thereafter be distributed among the creditors. The order of payment distribution is as follows :-

• liquidator's or trustee's costs
• tax
• GST
• Government contributions
• occupational pension contributions
• wages arrears
• secured creditors
• unsecured creditors

An alternative to bankruptcy which may be more favorable for both debtor and creditor are Debt Agreements & Personal Insolvency Agreements. A debt collection solicitor will often recommend a Debt Agreement or Personal Insolvency Agreement rather than bankruptcy because there is more likelihood of a creditor being paid at least part of the debt. This is a legally binding agreement and is generally entered into when debt exceeds the amount that can be comfortably repaid by the creditor. Both Debt Agreements & Personal Insolvency Agreements will result in a reduced monthly payment which will be accepted towards the total amount owed, over the course of several years. The total sum repaid over the period may be substantially less than the total overall debt.

Our experienced lawyers are located across Australia and will give you clear and unequivocal advice. If after talking to us you wish to proceed no further you will be under no obligation to do so and you will not be charged anything for our initial advice.