Belleville: 613-966-8060 | Cobourg: 905-372-2237 | Kingston: 613-548-7070 | Trenton: 613-394-0707
Licensed Administrator of Consumer Proposals in Belleville, Kingston and Surrounding Areas
The Canadian Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act supports a consumer proposal as a viable debt settlement option. A consumer proposal is a customized agreement between you and your creditors, reducing your debt by up to 70%. F. J. Zielski & Associates Inc, the trusted experts in debt relief, can help you with a consumer proposal in Belleville, Kingston, Trenton, Cobourg, and Ontario to alleviate your overwhelming debt. Our licensed administrators assess your financial situation, considering your income, expenses, and responsibilities to devise a tailored payment plan. Book a consultation today with F. J. Zielski & Associates Inc to secure your financial future and explore the benefits of a consumer proposal.
How a Consumer Proposal Can Help You Avoid Bankruptcy
A consumer proposal is an alternative to bankruptcy that, once accepted, becomes a legally binding settlement of your unsecured debts. At F. J. Zielski & Associates Inc, our licensed administrator can help you prepare a personalized consumer proposal that suits your financial situation. Here’s an example of a situation where a consumer proposal can be the solution:
You owe money on three credit cards and a bank loan. In total, you owe $25,000. You have a job and can afford to make some monthly payments, but you cannot afford to repay everyone in full with interest each month. You have tried to get a consolidation loan, but were rejected because your debts are too high.
Our Licensed Insolvency Trustee can help you file a consumer proposal in such a situation. This will allow you to make regular fixed payments equalling the agreed-upon amount instead of paying the whole sum at once or risk going bankrupt or losing your fixed assets.
What Debts Does a Consumer Proposal Cover?
A consumer proposal covers nearly all types of unsecured debt, like:
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Accounts in collection
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Bank/personal loans
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Certain student loans
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Credit card debt
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Outstanding bills
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Overdrafts
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Payday loans
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Tax debts
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Unsecured lines of credit
What Makes F. J. Zielski & Associates Inc. Different?
Perhaps you have tried to make similar offers to your creditors and they didn’t accept them. What makes a proposal from F. J. Zielski & Associates Inc any different? F. J. Zielski & Associates Inc is a licensed administrator of consumer proposals and your creditors recognize that. If they do not accept the consumer proposal, bankruptcy may be the next thing coming their way, and they don’t want that! A proposal is better for your creditors because even though they may not get all their money, they are getting more than they would get in bankruptcy.
A consumer proposal is an excellent alternative to bankruptcy, particularly for people with student loans and bankruptcy will not discharge the debt. So if you are having trouble meeting your monthly bills each month but have a good steady income, contact F. J. Zielski & Associates Inc for a free consultation to discuss your options.
Who Is Eligible to File a Consumer Proposal?
You must meet several requirements to be eligible to file a consumer proposal.
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You must be insolvent, meaning you are unable to pay your debts; a bankrupt can file a proposal.
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You must be an individual in Canada; corporations are not eligible to file a consumer proposal.
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Your total debts, excluding the mortgage on your principal residence, must be less than $250,000. If you owe more than $250,000, you can only file a proposal under Division 1 of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. The debt limit increases if you file a joint proposal with your partner to $500,000. All unsecured debts are included in the proposal. You cannot “pick and choose” the debts you include: all unsecured debts of $250 or more must be included in your consumer proposal.
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Secured debts are not generally included in a consumer proposal, such as the mortgage on your house or a car lease that you intend to keep paying. You would continue to pay these debts outside of your proposal. (Note that if you want to get out of a car lease or mortgage, you could surrender the car or the house to the lender at the start of the proposal. Once they have seized your asset, they become an unsecured creditor and can be included in the proposal).
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You must have a stable income source to make monthly proposal payments.
What Is the Consumer Proposal Process?
The process starts with contacting a proposal administrator (technically, a Licensed Insolvency Trustee). Your administrator will review your circumstances and work with you to prepare a proposal.
Once you sign the proposal, your administrator will file it with the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, which starts the “45-day clock.” Your administrator mails or faxes the proposal to each of your creditors, and your creditors then have 45 days to vote to accept or reject the proposal.
On the 45th day, your administrator counts all the votes received from your creditors. Each unsecured creditor gets one vote for every dollar they can prove you owe. A majority of votes (50% + 1) is required for your proposal to be accepted. If 25% or more of creditors vote against the proposal, a creditors meeting will be held to determine the proposal's fate. At the meeting, you could increase the amount you are offering to pay your creditors so that they accept the proposal, or you could allow the proposal to be rejected, which may mean you end up declaring bankruptcy.
Once your creditors have accepted the proposal, there is a “15-day court approval” period which allows any disgruntled creditor to apply to the court for the court to review and formally accept the proposal. In an ideal situation, the proposal will be in full force 45+15=60 days after filing, whereby you begin making your monthly payments.
Once in force, the proposal becomes like a contract where you must pay each month. The proposal is automatically annulled if any payment falls in arrears by 3 months.
Check our additional info section for more details, or simply give us a call. We’ll address all your concerns professionally and patiently.
Benefits of Filing a Consumer Proposal
We have helped several clients with debt settlement by administering consumer proposals in Belleville, Kingston, and neighbouring areas. Some benefits of filing a consumer proposal are:
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Reduced debt: A consumer proposal reduces the amount you owe to your creditors to a certain portion of the full amount.
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Fixed installments: With a consumer proposal, you can repay your reduced debt through fixed monthly installments. These affordable payments will always remain the same, providing a clear roadmap toward debt repayment.
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Asset protection and control: One of the significant advantages of a consumer proposal is the protection it offers for your assets. You retain control over your possessions, ensuring they are not at risk during the debt settlement.
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Creditor protection: Once your consumer proposal is accepted, you gain protection against creditors. This means an end to harassing collection calls and legal actions taken against you by your creditors.
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Customized payment plan: Our team will work closely with you to negotiate favourable terms and create a payment plan that suits your financial situation. This enables a win-win situation for both parties involved.
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Legally binding agreement: A consumer proposal is a legally binding agreement between you and your creditors. This ensures all parties are committed to the agreed-upon terms, providing peace of mind.
Contact us to book a consultation for a personalized consumer proposal plan in Belleville, Kingston, Trenton, Cobourg and surrounding areas.
Differences Between a Consumer Proposal vs. Filing for Bankruptcy
While both a consumer proposal and bankruptcy allow you to get rid of overwhelming debt, they are different solutions. Here’s how they differ:
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Filing a consumer proposal does not affect the ownership of your assets, whereas when you file for bankruptcy, you have to surrender your assets.
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Bankruptcy can remain on your credit rating for up to 7 years after you are discharged from bankruptcy. A consumer proposal affects it for 3 years, starting from the day you have fulfilled the terms of the proposal.
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You are not legally expected to surrender your credit cards when filing for a consumer proposal, while the same is not true in the case of bankruptcy.
Have more questions? Please feel free to read our blog about filing for a consumer proposal or speak to a member of our team. We will be happy to answer any questions that you may have.
What Happens If My Income Decreases and I Can’t Make the Proposal Payments?
You are obligated to report to your administrator any adverse changes to your finances; if your income decreases you may file an amended proposal. However, filing an amendment runs the risk of your creditors not accepting the changes leaving you with no proposal at all.
Schedule a free consultation with F. J. Zielski & Associates Inc today. You can download and complete the following forms to help your advisor assess your financial situation.
Consider Your Options
Your debt stays the same and you may risk running up your credit card balances again.
“The most common means of undoing debt.”