Scott Schaefer, CA CIRP

When I meet with people in my Kitchener office, I look at their financial situation and discuss the options to best deal with their debts. I always take into consideration the future and the values that matter most for each specific person before we come up with the best plan of action. With every plan of course, there are pros and cons. In order for the pros to outweigh the cons, personal values/objectives need to be met.

The people I meet with never planned to be sitting with a trustee in bankruptcy contemplating filing a consumer proposal or personal bankruptcy. The fact is however, that things happen and debts can become unmanageable sometimes to the point of consuming our lives. This is the time to re-focus and consider what matters most. Both a consumer proposal and a personal bankruptcy negatively impact your credit rating; however both options also allow an individual to look towards the future and start rebuilding their situation on a personal and financial level.

If you would like to sit down and have an honest, non-judgmental meeting to review your situation, then give me a call at 519-747-0660 or send me an e-mail. My office is conveniently located between Kitchener and Waterloo at 607 King Street West.

Scott Schaefer CA CIRP Trustee

Let’s talk about the process and timing to get to the point when the garnishment is stopped. The first thing we need to do is to arrange a free meeting in my Kitchener office to sit down and discuss the situation and options in detail. This meeting can take 30 minutes to 1 hour. From there, if a consumer proposal or personal bankruptcy is decided on, we need to complete an application with basic information. The application information is inputted into our computers and official government documents are printed – ones to be sent to the government and creditors. If there is a garnishment in place, we can complete the paperwork in a timely manner. The final step to make the procedure official is to come back into the office to sign all the paperwork.

Garnishments happen for many different reasons but the fact of the matter is that if someone is having part of their pay taken for an existing debt, it can really affect their ability to pay everyday living expenses. If you have a garnishment or are facing a garnishment and want to discuss your options with me in my Kitchener office, please call me at 519-747-0660 or send me an e-mail.

Please note, that neither a personal bankruptcy nor a consumer proposal can stop or change family law support garnishments.

Scott Schaefer, Trustee

“Effective June 9, 2010, Wells Fargo Financial Corporation Canada discontinued sales of new customer loans, and closed Wells Fargo Financial store locations across Canada. We have shifted our focus to serving existing real estate, auto, and consumer loan accounts. There will be no change to our customers´ existing account terms and conditions.”

Wells Fargo had a store location in both Kitchener and Waterloo. Several local residents used Wells Fargo as a lender for many different reasons. One of the main reasons was that the banks had turned them down. So with this lender now not available in Kitchener Waterloo, individuals may not be able to consolidate their debts or renew their mortgages the same as they could in the past. This is one more example of the fall out of the financial crisis and recession has lead to.

If you feel your debt load is now too large to manage and want understand how a consumer proposal or a personal bankruptcy would work in your case, call me in my Kitchener office at 519-747-0660 or send me an e-mail. We will sit down and have a free meeting to discuss your facts and impact of each option.

Scott Schaefer Bankruptcy Trustee

So how are the Trustees at our firm different?

At Hoyes Michalos and Associates Inc. we think that people make the difference. In our Kitchener Waterloo bankruptcy office, my associate Ian Martin or myself meet with every individual. Ian and I are both Chartered Accountants. We personally work with everyone who sees us in the Kitchener Waterloo to make the process is fully explained and understood.

I was sitting in the Kitchener Bankruptcy Court last week where I noted some major differences between trustee firms. There were 65 individuals being seen by the court for their discharge hearing that day. Not all personal bankruptcies have to appear before the court, only certain cases go to court to get their discharge. I was there to report to the court as the trustee on 5 individual bankruptcies. There was only one other trustee firm represented at the court, even though there were individuals at the court for at least 10 other trustee firms.

How does court work? The judge deals first with clients whose trustee is present. Therefore, the individuals there from Hoyes Michalos were dealt with first and out of the court within minutes. After that it got interesting. I decided to stay in court until all cases were heard. I sat in the court room watching what happened for the individuals whose trustee chose not to appear at court. Each case was heard one by one, with just the individual sitting before the court and having to speak alone – without the support of their trustee. There were some cases where there appears to be some miscommunication between the trustee and the individual and the trustee was not there to sort it out. This left the individual confused and not sure of what had just happened.

For most people, they have never been in a court house. Now if their bankruptcy has to go to court, they are left to go it alone. At Hoyes, Michalos and Associates Inc. we will appear at all discharge hearings because we see it as part of our role as trustees. Further, it is imperative that everyone understands want the process is so that there is no confusion. This is one major difference between us and the other trustee firms in the area.

For a free assessment of your situation, call me at 519-747-0660 or send me an e-mail. The Kitchener Waterloo office is located in the middle of both cities at 607 King Street West in Kitchener – near the intersection of King and Victoria.

The government released the new 2010 limits or threshold yesterday, they are now:

Scott Schaefer CA CIRP

The amount of surplus income received during the bankruptcy impacts if the bankruptcy will last 9 or 21 months (24 or 36 months if it’s a second time bankruptcy). The surplus is averaged and is reviewed prior to making this discharge decision.

If surplus income is expected to be a factor for someone in financial hardship, then a consumer proposal is an alternative to personal bankruptcy. A consumer proposal fixes a monthly amount that someone has to pay each month as compared to a personal bankruptcy were the amount changes each month based on income.

If you are from Kitchener-Waterloo area and want to better understand how a personal bankruptcy with surplus income or a consumer proposal would help deal with your debts, call me at 519-747-0660 or send me an e-mail. We have free consultations in out Kitchener office to sit down and review your situation and gain an understanding of the pros and cons to the options in your situation.

Scott Schaefer, BA CA CIRP

In 2009, 151,712 individuals filed a consumer proposal or bankruptcy in Canada. This was an increase of 31.0% over the 2008 number of 115,789. For Kitchener Waterloo, the increase in personal bankruptcies and consumer proposals was 39.2% which was higher than the Canadian increase of 31.0% and the Ontario increase of 32.7%. The numbers with respect to just personal bankruptcies in Kitchener are even more drastic – Kitchener bankruptcies saw a 45.9% increase as compared to Ontario of 28.5% and Canada 28.4%.

For my Kitchener office, we met with many people from Kitchener Waterloo and as such personally understand how hard this year was on them as they saw the impact of the recession on them and their families.

In the past, Kitchener Waterloo may have fared better due to our diverse economy with the high tech sector, universities and college, hospitals, insurance, and manufacturing sectors, but 2009 had a deeper impact that spread to all areas and sectors.

Kitchener Waterloo is rebounding, but individuals are still feeling the long lasting impacts that 2009 brought to their situation and with increased debt levels, individuals still will need the assistance to get a fresh start through a consumer proposal or bankruptcy.

If you would like a free review your situation to make a plan to deal with your debts, call our Kitchener office at 519-747-0660 or send me an e-mail.

Scott Schaefer

A consumer proposal or a personal bankruptcy both have a provision in the law that provides a “stay of proceeding” which stops a garnishment. There is an exception in the law for child or spousal support payments – neither of these forms of garnishment can be stopped in a consumer proposal or personal bankruptcy. Once the garnishment is stopped and the other debts are dealt with in a consumer proposal or personal bankruptcy, then the individual can focus on their fresh financial start. For a garnishment order to be implemented, it is likely that the debt occurred several years prior and something happened (such as a loss or a change in income) to cause the payments to stop or fall in to the hands of collections. These can be stressful years and a fresh start is what most of the individuals need.

The protection from garnishments in a consumer proposal or bankruptcy include that of Canada Revenue Agency for a tax debt or student loan.

If you are in Kitchener Waterloo and have a garnishment order against you or the creditors are threatening one, call me at 519-747-0660 or send me an e-mail. We can arrange a free consultation in my Kitchener office located in Kitchener at 607 King Street West. In this meeting we will discuss your situation in detail and make a plan for you to deal with your debts.

Scott Schaefer on Ask the Expert on 570 News

While preparing for the show, I looked at various statistics. Here is what I found; the current debt to income ratio is now at 145%. When we did a similar show in February 2006, the ratio was only 118%. That is a significant increase of 27%, but the fact that this number has increased to over 100% is of concern. This could be one of the leading causes that for the 12 months ending November 2009, there were more than 150,000 personal bankruptcy and consumer proposals filed in Canada. Further, when I compared previous data, I found that 2005 was the first time more than 100,000 people filed personal bankruptcy or consumer proposals. Seeing an increase on this scale is of concern because it can cause people to fall into financial hardship when they experience something unexpected in their life.

Kitchener Waterloo has been affected by the recession as well as unemployment rates which are now at 9.9%. This is above the current national average of 8.3%. Many people have gone back to work to be retrained, taken lower paying jobs, or have had over-time slashed. When you compare that to the demands for debt payments, people are overwhelmed.

As Trustees in Bankruptcy, we are available to help people obtain fresh financial starts through consumer proposals and personal bankruptcies. Ian and I meet with many people from Kitchener Waterloo who have faced tough times and were thankful for the options available. While a consumer proposal or personal bankruptcy is not the option people plan for, it does provide a safety net and allows these individuals to take control of their financial future.

If you are from Kitchener Waterloo and want to sit down and discuss your situation in detail so that we can make a plan to deal with your debts, call us at 519-747-0660 or send us an e-mail. There is no cost in meeting with us.

Scott Schaefer, CA CIRP

The first step is to take inventory. To take inventory we have to figure out where you are. You need to make lists of your:
a) debts, and
b) major assets (house, vehicles, investments)

Second, make a realistic personal budget. Making a personal budget can be overwhelming, but is very important. Simplify the budget to calculating what income you receive and where you spend money. Review old bank statements to see where money was spent. For assistance on making a budget, here is additional information.

Third, set goals. Think about what is important to you and your family, and consider where you want to be in the future. It is sometimes easy to be wrapped up in our day-to-day lives and not think about the future. News Years is a good time to reassess and think about the future, by setting your goals.

In order to deal with you debts, you need to understand the inventory of your debt load and assets, the personal budget, and what your goals are. Then you can evaluate the pros and cons of each option in your situation.

Options to deal with debts include:
a) Use your assets – house equity and investments,
b) Consolidation loan with a bank,
c) Credit Counselling/Debt Management Plan through a not-for-profit agency,
d) Consumer Proposal, and
e) Personal Bankruptcy

For a debt option calculator see this link.

If you are in the Kitchener-Waterloo area and want to sit down for a free consultation to discuss your situation and options in greater detail, call me at 310-PLAN or send an e-mail.

These are staggering increases. Working in the Kitchener office, I have met with many people that were facing the decision of how to deal with their debts. There is a variety of reasons that someone has to file, here are a few key factors; the economy downturn has caught up with the Waterloo Region, the debt levels of the average person has increased, as well as a result of the new bankruptcy rules that came into effect on September 18, 2009. These are average people who fell under tough financial times and needed to obtain a fresh financial start.

To discuss actual numbers, in the 12 month period ending September 2009, total consumer bankruptcies and proposals in Canada totaled 148,378. This is a 36% increase over the same 12 month period ending September 2008.

If you are experiencing financial difficult in 2009, you are not alone. Call us at 519-747-0660 and we will discuss your situation in detail to help make PLAN for the future.