Take Back Control With A Personal Insolvency Agreement

The benefits of a PIA are:

• Avoid bankruptcy,
• Timeframe; can take three to six months compared to a bankruptcy which lasts for at least three years;
• Released from your unsecured debts;
• Certain assets not required to be sold, which would otherwise be sold in bankruptcy;
• Some of the restrictions in bankruptcy does not apply, including restrictions relating to travel, trading businesses and incurring debts;
• Investigations into prior asset dealings not pursued which are likely be pursued in a bankruptcy; and
• There is no requirement to pay income contributions under a PIA, which may be required to be paid in bankruptcy.

The consequences of a PIA are:

• Cannot manage a Company during the PIA process;
• Is an Act of Bankruptcy, therefore, if creditors reject your proposal, you may become bankrupt; and
• Can be more expensive compared to a bankruptcy depending on your situation. Would require an upfront fee.

You will need to complete three sets of forms, A Statement of Affairs, A Controlling Trustee Authority and a Draft Proposal. We will assist you with the completion and lodgement of all of these forms.

You will then receive a proposal which will outline the terms and amounts you are offering your creditors including any assets and income. The proposal would need to be in a form of a Deed which we will have a solicitor to draft to ensure proper compliance.

The Controlling Trustee will look into your financial affairs and report to creditors on the benefits of a PIA compared to a bankruptcy and convene a meeting of creditors to vote on your proposal.

The report will detail your assets, income, liabilities and investigations. The report will provide reasons why creditors should accept your proposal and the estimated return to creditors as compared to a bankruptcy scenario.

At the meeting, the creditors will vote on your proposal. For your proposal to be accepted, it must be approved by a majority in number and more than 75% of the value of creditors voting at the meeting.

If the proposal is accepted then it is binding on all creditors and subject to your compliance under the terms of the proposal to avoid bankruptcy. If the proposal for a PIA is not accepted then whilst you will not automatically become bankrupt, it is common (and may be a condition in your proposal) that you would in the future.