Bankruptcy Kitchener Blog by Scott Schaefer

Doug Hoyes and I aired on the hour long Ask the Experts show on 570 News in Kitchener. We discussed the options Personal Bankruptcy and Consumer Proposal for listeners in Kitchener area. We focused our discussion on the impact of the new rules that came into law on September 18th, 2009. Part of our role as Trustees is to inform individuals of their options when they are experiencing financial difficulty. The radio show allows us to share the information with people throughout Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge.

Who are we? We are a licensed Trustee in Bankruptcy firm that focus on solutions for individuals. The firm, Hoyes, Michalos and Associates Inc. started in 1999 in Waterloo Town Square. Since then, we have moved to our Kitchener location at 607 King Street, on the second floor of the strip mall near Zeke’s Restaurant. We have helped thousands of people from the Kitchener-Waterloo region since then. We are the largest firm in Kitchener-Waterloo that only provides solutions for individuals.

My back ground consists of:
1997 – BA Economics and Accounting from Wilfrid Laurier University
1999 – Chartered Accountant (CA)
2002 – Insolvency Credit Counsellor Certification
2007 – Chartered Insolvency and Restructuring Professional (CIRP)
2007 – Licensed Trustee in Bankruptcy

If you are interested in a free consultation to review your situation and discuss your options to make a plan, call me at 519-747-0660 or e-mail me. My approach to our meetings is non-judgmental and my objective is to provide you with the information you need to understand the pros and cons to your options so that you can choose the right one for you.

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Hoyes, Michalos & Associates Inc. has been helping the residents of Kitchener-Waterloo since we opened our doors on January 1, 1999. As a firm, our focus is on individuals and their families. We assist with helping develop a PLAN to deal with individuals or families debts. We are non-judgmental as we understand that there are many different factors for financial difficulty.

When someone calls us, we try to gain an understanding of the situation so we can advise on all options. It is important that people understand how all options work so that they can make the best decision for themselves after evaluating the pros and cons of each.

This coming Saturday, Doug Hoyes and myself will spend the noon hour on the 570 News radio show called Ask the Experts. We are going to discuss the new bankruptcy rules, the economy, and answer caller’s questions. We go on this show to help Kitchener-Waterloo residents understand personal bankruptcy and consumer proposals in more detail.  Please tune in to 570 News at noon on Saturday for our one hour live broadcast, or go to the 570 News web site to listen live.

If you have a question that you would like answers to and do not want to call into the show, send me an e-mail or call me at 519-747-0660 and I will try to answer it on the air.

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After 57 years in the Kitchener-Waterloo community, the local not-for-profit organization, Catholic Family Counselling Services is experiencing a name change – going forward, they will be known as Mosaic Counselling and Family Services. The organization is a member agency of the United Way.

The Mosaic Counselling and Family Services is located at 400 Queen Street South, Kitchener. They offer a wide range of services to residents in Kitchener-Waterloo. When someone is in need, counsellors are there to meet with the person and help in a supportive role.

One key area of focus for the organization is offering credit counselling. They meet with individuals and families to review their situation, work on budgets, and help guide them in the right direction. One aspect of the business is a Debt Management Plan, which is a 100% repayment option through the Ontario Association of Credit Counselling Services. Another service offered is credit counselling in a personal bankruptcy. For individuals filing personal bankruptcy in Kitchener, the system requires 2 one on one credit counselling sessions to assist in obtaining a fresh start. We refer several people Mosaic Counselling and Family Services for these sessions.

If you are in financial stress, call Mosiac Counselling Services at 519-743-6333 or call us at 519-747-0660. We are both located in the Kitchener-Waterloo region to help people in tough financial situations.

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This past weekend was Homecoming at Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU). I attended the School of Business & Economics (SBE) from 1993 – 1997, were I double majored in Economics and Accounting. As an alumni of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, I enjoy going back to take in some of the events.

Friday was the Dean’s Alumni Golf Classic. It was wet, windy, and cold, but we made the best of it and were able to get in a partial round of golf. The tournament was in support of awards for deserving students within SBE. The Kitchener office of Hoyes, Michalos & Associates Inc. sponsored a hole for this event to show our involvement to support local students.

On Sunday, I took part in the 2nd Annual Laurier Loop (a running race). The race is part of the Waterloo Running Series and was a 2.5 KM circuit through beautiful Waterloo Park which started and finished on the track in the Laurier University Stadium. In this event, Ian Martin and myself joined two others in a 4 person relay team to run a 10km relay race, we each ran a 2.5 loop as fast as we could – our final combined time was 43 minutes, 26 seconds. This race was raising funds for Laurier’s Movement Disorders Research & Rehabilitation Centre (MDRC). Once again, thanks to Hoyes, Michalos & Associates Inc. in Kitchener for sponsoring 3 staff members in this event.

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