Licensed Administrator of Consumer Proposals in Belleville, Kingston and Surrounding Areas
Are you facing overbearing debt? The licensed administrators at F. J. Zielski & Associates Inc can help you file a consumer proposal for debt relief in Belleville, Kingston, Trenton, Cobourg, and throughout Ontario. We will assess your financial situation and work with you to devise a payment plan that offers a satisfactory solution to you and your creditors. Book a consultation today to learn more about your options for a consumer proposal to secure your financial future.
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, 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 payments each month, 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.
In such a situation, our Licensed Insolvency Trustee can help you file a consumer proposal. 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:
- Accounts in collection
- Bank/personal loans
- Certain student loans
- Credit card debt
- Outstanding bills
- Overdrafts
- Payday loans
- Tax debts
- 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 a 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 of their money, they are getting more than they would get in a bankruptcy.
A consumer proposal is a great alternative to bankruptcy, particularly for people with student loans and a bankruptcy will not discharge the debt. So if you are having troubles meeting your 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?
There are a number of requirements you must meet 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 source of income to ensure that you will be able to make the proposal payments each month.
What Is the Consumer Proposal Process?
The process starts by contacting a proposal administrator (who is 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 that 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 fate of the proposal. 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 the proposal has been accepted by your creditors 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 where by you begin making your monthly payments.
Once in force the proposal becomes like a contract where you must make your payment each month, if any payment falls in arrears by 3 months the proposal is automatically annulled.
Benefits of Filing a Consumer Proposal
We have helped several clients with debt settlement by administering consumer proposals. Some of the benefits of filing a consumer proposal are:
- Reduces the amount you owe to your creditors to a certain portion of the full amount
- Allows you to repay the debt in fixed installments
- Protects your assets and allows you to take control of them
- Offers protection against your creditors and collection calls
- Provides you with the opportunity to negotiate the terms and create a payment plan that works for both the parties
- Is a legally binding agreement
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 from each other:
- Filing a consumer proposal does not affect the ownership of your assets, whereas when you file for bankruptcy, you have to surrender your assets.
- 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.
- 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 have an obligation to report to your administrator any adverse changes with 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 current financial situation.
Consider Your Options
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Refinance your home or apply for a loan to cover ALL of your debt.
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Set up a monthly payment at a fixed interest rate.
Your debt stays the same and you may risk running up your credit card balances again.
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Debt management plan consolidates unsecured debt into one monthly payment. All your creditors must agree as each card gets paid off and the account is closed. Once all your debts are paid in full, you complete the program.
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R7 rating for 2 years after completion.
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Get out of debt in 9-21 months. Government-regulated administered through the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. Creditors have no control over your decision to file. Non-exempt assets are surrendered.
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R9 rating for 6 years (14 years if it is your second bankruptcy).
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Pay back a portion of your debt over 5 years and keep your assets. All of your unsecured debt in one monthly payment you CAN afford. Binding all creditors if the majority of debt approves.
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R7 rating for 3 years after your last payment.
“The most common means of undoing debt.”
