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Are you associated with a business that is experiencing financial difficulties? Are you concerned about how this will affect your personal position? There are a number of options available to individuals who find they cannot meet all of their debts. BDO Stoy Hayward is able to offer advice and support in the following areas:
- bankruptcy
- individual voluntary arrangements
- partnership voluntary arrangements.
Bankruptcy
This is one of the options available to an individual who cannot pay all debts, and ensures that the assets involved are fairly distributed among creditors. proceedings can be started by an individual, a creditor, the supervisor of a voluntary arrangement or the official receiver acting in criminal cases. Anyone can petition for their own bankruptcy, including individual members of a partnership.
Individual voluntary arrangements
An alternative to bankruptcy, this process allows a debtor to offer creditors a financial proposal for the settlement of debts over a period of time and under agreed terms and conditions.
Unlike bankruptcy, individual voluntary arrangements are not made public. This is a confidential, legally binding arrangement between the individual and his/her creditors.
Partnership voluntary arrangements
Most appropriate for partnerships with a large number of partners, this procedure allows a partnership which cannot pay its debt to enter into agreement with the partnership creditors to repay the debt, either in whole or part, over a fixed period of time.
It can prevent the bankruptcy of individual partners - their personal assets are usually excluded and if repayment terms are acceptable to creditors, partners could avoid having to realise personal assets. It may however be wise for partners to initiate interlocking individual voluntary arrangements to fully protect themselves.
For further information about our personal insolvency services, please contact Brian Murphy or Michael Jennings
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