Archives for September, 2008

People who are considering filing for bankruptcy in Toronto are always concerned about what will happen to their assets, in particular, to their home and their car. If you file for bankruptcy in Toronto you will probably not lose your car, but the specific answer depends on your situation.

When you file a bankruptcy in Ontario and you own your vehicle, you are allowed to keep it if it is worth less than or equal to $5, 650. If you are unsure what the current market value of your car is, you will need to have it appraised. The bankruptcy trustee will accept an appraisal done by someone who is qualified to sell or value cars and is not a friend or relative of yours. The fair market value is defined as what someone not related to you would pay for it. If it turns out that your car is worth more than $5,650, you will need to pay the difference between $5,650 and the value to compensate your creditors.

If your car is leased or financed and so you do not own it, make sure that your payments are current with the leasing company. It will be up to them whether you are allowed to keep the car or not if you go bankrupt. Typically, they will allow you to keep it because they really don’t want your car; they would rather continue to receive monthly payments from you then to have the car back on their lot.

I have described in general terms what will happen to your car if you go bankrupt. To find out specifically what will happen to your car if you go bankrupt, call us today in Toronto at 310-PLAN (no area code required) or e-mail us to arrange a meeting with one of our professionals, and let’s get started.

We all know that gas prices are soaring to record heights today and the answer to this question is yes, the rising costs of fuel will lead to more personal bankruptcies in Toronto. Transportation is one of those basic needs that we need to cover the costs for each month along with housing and food. When the price of transportation goes up, but our salaries do not, we have little choice but to pay more for transportation and have less money to put toward other things.

Without making the appropriate adjustments to their personal monthly budgets, many people out there will soon find themselves in financial trouble. Debts due to gas prices are even more probable because convenient ‘Pay at the Pump’ services encourage people to charge their gas on credit cards. They may be surprised at the end of the month to see how high their bill is and that they are not able to pay.

There are also many people who work in Toronto but choose to live outside of the city and commute in because real estate prices are so high. These people may find that they actually are not saving any money by doing this because the cost to commute has increased so much since they bought their home. It might be more beneficial for these people to move to a smaller property closer to the city where they can use public transit to commute.

Besides the cost of travelling, the higher fuel prices are spilling over into absolutely everything we need to buy. The price of everything from cheese, to vegetables, to diapers and cosmetics are increasing. So, even if you choose to take public transit to cut-back on travelling costs, these savings will be soaked up by having to spend more money on other things!

This situation may seem hopeless, but it is not. The best thing that you can do to avoid landing yourself in debt due to rising gas prices is to keep a close eye on your personal budget. Be prepared to make some cut backs on things that you do not really need and you will be okay. If you are already in serious financial trouble, call us today in Toronto at 310-PLAN (no area code required) or e-mail us to talk to a bankruptcy trustee about your options.