Every question has an answer. Or answers.

Have questions about consumer proposals, bankruptcy, or managing your debt? Send it to the experts at Grant Thornton, and we’ll do our best to answer it, right here. Of course, there’s no substitute for a one-on-one consultation with a debt professional.

Also, please check out our Frequently Asked Questions section.

This service is not intended for individuals who are already in bankruptcy or who have filed a proposal. Note that if you are in bankruptcy you should contact your Licensed Insolvency Trustee. 

More Questions

• We are considering corporate bankruptcy. As Directors of a corporation, are we legally responsible for debt owing to CRA? We owe HST and Taxes (approx $50,000) and the company has ceased operations and there is no money left. How much does it cost to declare business bankruptcy and what debts are we personally responsible for, if any? Thank you

  New Brunswick November 21, 2019

  Hi Jason,

  Thank you for your email. All directors of a corporation have director’s liability for any debt owed to CRA for source deductions (Payroll) and HST owing; therefore, yes, they are personally liable in the absence of the corporation being able to pay. Directors are also often personally guaranteed on loans and such owed by the corporation.

  I recommend that you call our office toll free at 1 888 455 6060 to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss the options that are available to you in regards to your personal liability and the corporation.

  Sincerely,

  Shannon

  — Private: Shannon Ferguson

• Hello, I filed for bankruptcy back in 2012, but have not been discharged. Wondering if I need to file again to sponsor my wife and child from another country. In need of advice as to how to proceed with the issue. Please help

  Alberta October 29, 2019

  Hello Eduardo,

  You will need to obtain an absolute discharge from the bankruptcy filed in 2012 to sponsor your family from overseas.  Depending on your outstanding duties, you may want to consider a consumer proposal which may allow you to sponsor your family while dealing with your debts.

  Unfortunately, you are not eligible to file another bankruptcy until you are discharged.

  Please contact our office at 310-8888 if you would like to discuss your options in detail.

  Susan

  — Susan Methuen

• If I decide to do a consumer proposal do I need to include my 2 credit cards that are in good standing?

  New Brunswick October 29, 2019

  Hi Amanda,

  If you opt to file either a bankruptcy or a consumer proposal you must include all unsecured debts, even those with zero balance owing or in good standing. We would be happy to discuss this further if you’d like. Our toll-free number is 1 888 455 6060.

  Thank you,

  Shannon

  — Private: Shannon Ferguson

• I was told that if you reside in NB creditors can not garnish your wages other than CRA. Is this true?

  New Brunswick October 10, 2019

  Hi Katie,

  Thank you for your question. That is correct. New Brunswick is the only Canadian province where most creditors cannot garnish a debtor’s wages. The exceptions to this are the Canada Revenue Agency and Maintenance Enforcement (child support payments).

  If you have any further questions, we are happy to answer them. You can call our office toll free at 1 888 455 6060.

  Sincerely,

  Shannon

  — Private: Shannon Ferguson

• Hi,I went through my first bankruptcy a few years ago was was discharged in 2016. Unfortunately due to unforeseeable financial issues I’m in horrible debt again and not sure if I can manage on my own.Is there a set time you have to wait between filling bankruptcy a second time?

  New Brunswick September 30, 2019

  Hi Allison,

  I’m sorry to hear that you are enduring financial difficulties again. So long as you have been discharged from your previous filing, we can explore what options are available to you now. The first step in the process is to have a free, no-obligation consultation. This will allow us to assess your current situation and outline all the available options for you. We will explain what is involved with each and their consequences. You will then be equipped to make a well-informed decision as to how you wish to proceed. Please call our office toll free at 1 888 455 6060 and we will schedule a consult that fits your schedule.

  Sincerely,

  Shannon

  — Private: Shannon Ferguson

• I recently filed a consumer proposal in December 2019 with Grant Thornton. I am looking at trading in my vehicle and I am wondering if because I filed a proposal if I am not able to refinance my vehicle.Are you able to give me any information regarding this?

  Prince Edward Island September 30, 2019

  Hi Jennifer,

  Thank you for your question. You are “allowed” to refinance your vehicle; however, having filed the Consumer Proposal will likely influence the interest rate that you would now pay. I would encourage you to discuss with the lender the effect on your interest rate and payment if you were to trade in your vehicle now and carefully consider the long term impact of that. If you have any questions or concerns at all, you can reach our office directly at 1 888 455 6060 and your administrator will be happy to assist.

  Sincerely,

  Shannon

  — Private: Shannon Ferguson

• I have a loan with scotiabank and have a co-signer on it. If I file for bankruptcy will the co-signer have to pay the loan ?

  New Brunswick September 24, 2019

  Hi Rachelle,

  Thank you for your question. If you file a bankruptcy or a consumer proposal or stop paying the loan at Scotiabank, then the co-signer will be responsible for the debt. Their credit will be negatively affected unless payments are made as agreed. If you care to discuss further, we are happy to do so. We can be reached toll-free at 1 888 455 6060.

  Kindest regards,

  Shannon

  — Private: Shannon Ferguson

• I am looking for options and I am running out of them. Tried for a consolidated loan at my local credit union and it was refused because of low credit score. I dont wanna loose my house but I need a solution.

  New Brunswick September 4, 2019

  Hi Roxanne,

  Thank you for your question. Without knowing much about your financial situation, you’ve told me enough to know that we can likely help. The first step in the process is to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with someone from our office. This will provide us with the opportunity to gather all relevant information on your financial situation so that we can assess your situation and outline all available options. We will explain what is involved with each so that you can make a well-informed decision as to how you’d like to proceed. If you do decide to proceed with either a Bankruptcy or a Consumer Proposal, your house does not need to be impacted. So long as your mortgage payments are up to date when you file and you can afford to continue paying them, you can keep your house.

  You can contact our office toll-free at 1 888 455 6060 and one of our team will schedule you a consultation at your convenience. It can be done in person at the office nearest you on the next available appointment day or by telephone as early as the next business day. We look forward to speaking with you soon.

  Sincerely,

  Shannon

  — Private: Shannon Ferguson

• My father is 77 years old and is having difficulties paying a home equity line of credit, which he has been paying since 2006. His monthly payments and monthly interest are about the same amount as his payment rate is the lowest possible. If his Monthly payment is $216.00 almost half of that goes to interest. His current debt with this bank is a little over $21000.00. Is there anything that can be done?

  New Brunswick August 26, 2019

  Hi Dale,

  Your father’s line of credit is considered a secured debt and is attached to his home, the same as a mortgage would be. There are limited options as to what can be done with this debt as such. His best hope would be to speak with an account manager at the bank to see if there are any options that they can provide. If your father has any unsecured debts – not attached to any of his assets, he may wish to look at a bankruptcy or consumer proposal to clear those debts, possibly making the line of credit payment easier to maintain. 

  If you wish to discuss further or have any other questions, please reach out to us toll-free at 1 888 455 6060 and we’d be happy to provide any help we can. 

  Sincerely,

  Shannon

  — Private: Shannon Ferguson

• I have declared Bankruptcy twice, unfortunately, an ex-husband was ill and not working. We are divorced and once I was out on my own and divorced I cosigned for a partner that would not pay bills we accumulated while we were together and had to declare bankruptcy again. I am 62 years old and not in good health. What will happen if I declare bankruptcy once again? I am struggling to keep everything paid.

  New Brunswick August 26, 2019

  Hi Laurie,

  Thank you for your question. You can file a third bankruptcy; however, the consequences are more severe than with a first or second filing. There are other options that we can explore with you and perhaps find a more favourable alternative. The first step in the process is to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with someone from our office. We will gather all relevant information from you regarding your current financial situation. From there we can outline all available options and the consequences of each so that you can make a well-informed decision as to how you might wish to proceed. We can definitely help; it is just a matter of figuring out the best way to do so. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

  Sincerely,

  Shannon

  — Private: Shannon Ferguson

• Hello. I had your company help me with a bankruptcy years back, I got discharged on may 2013, my credit score is now close to 700 and my wife’s is close to 800. My wife and I want to buy a house. If I apply as the secondary applicant on the mortgage can we still apply for a mortgage or do I have to wait a total of 7 years ?

  New Brunswick August 22, 2019

  Hi Mario,

  You can absolutely apply for a mortgage. It is up to the individual lenders whether or not they will approve it. Sometimes the fact that the bankruptcy is still showing on your credit report may affect the approval and/or the interest rate.

  Best of luck to you and your wife! Buying a home is a very exciting time.

  Sincerely,

  Shannon

  — Private: Shannon Ferguson

• I have a Scotia credit card and a Scotia line of credit that I am just able to make the minimum payment on each one. Can they be consolidated with a lower interest so I would be able to pay them off?

  New Brunswick August 7, 2019

  Hi Cathy,

  As a Licensed Insolvency Trustee we do not offer consolidations. Your best bet would be to contact your bank to see if they may be able to help you with that. The options available through a Licensed Insolvency Trustee would be a Bankruptcy or a Consumer Proposal. Either of these two options would eliminate both the Credit Card and Line of Credit as well as any other unsecured debt that you owe. You would have one monthly payment payable to the Trustee that would be determined primarily by your income and what you can reasonably afford to pay each month toward your debt. If you are interested in learning more about these options or what they might look like for your situation, you can reach us toll-free at 1 888 455 6060.

  Sincerely,

  Shannon

  — Private: Shannon Ferguson

• My father is 78 years old and currently receiving a private pension, CPP and Old Age Security. My mother has been placed in a home recently and even though he receives good pension earnings he can’t afford to pay the monthly amount the home is charging because of the amount of debt he has. I would like to know if his pension can be garnisheed if he stops paying his debt to a private loan company. From what I have read I understand that the only entity that can garnishee a pension is Canada Revenue Agency for back taxes…is this true? Thank you for your time.

  New Brunswick August 1, 2019

  Hi Maureen,

  Unfortunately, many Canadian seniors are finding themselves in similar situations. You are correct in that the only creditor that can currently garnish income in New Brunswick is Canada Revenue Agency; however, there have been motions to have that changed. We would be happy to meet with your father for a free, no-obligation consultation to see if there are options available to him to reduce his repayments each month without having to deal with calls and such from creditors. If you are interested in discussing this further or proceeding with a consultation, you can reach our office toll-free at 1 888 455 6060 and we would be happy to help.

  Sincerely,

  Shannon

  — Private: Shannon Ferguson

• How much will it cost for my wife and I to go bankrupt? We are on disability pensions and rent a semi detached house. We have one vehicle that will be paid off on the 29th of July. Otherwise, no assets.

  New Brunswick July 24, 2019

  Hi Josh,

  Thank you for your question. It is difficult to provide specific numbers relating to the costs of a bankruptcy until we have completed a consultation with you. The amount that a person is required to pay is determined by several variables – the total household income and each person’s percentage to that total, the value of any assets owned that are not protected under the BIA, and the amount of unsecured debt owed. The payment is based on government guidelines that are structured so that the payment is an amount that a person can reasonably afford. There are also alternatives to Bankruptcy that may be of interest to you and the costs will be different but also dependent on the variables previously mentioned.

  Grant Thornton Limited offers free, no-obligation consultations at which we can discuss all of the available options with you and what each would involve.

  Please call our office toll free at 1 888 455 6060 and we will be happy to schedule one for you or answer any further questions.

  Sincerely,

  Shannon

  — Private: Shannon Ferguson

• Just wondering if Consumer Proposal Calculators are accurate?I owe around 21,000 in debt, can you calculate what my approximate payment would be?I declared bankruptcy a long time ago, will that affect a Consumer Proposal?An is there any difference in Provinces if you file a Consumer Proposal?Hope to hear from you soon

  Alberta July 22, 2019

  Hi Trent,

  Consumer Proposal calculators can be a little tricky as I am not sure what each firm uses to compute the total recovery.

  A consumer proposal is a repayment plan or settlement to your unsecured creditors. What motivates the creditors to accept the repayment plan usually depends on the minimum recovery in a bankruptcy scenario. The process requires a review of assets you own and income you are currently earning or anticipate to earn. Therefore, just knowing what a person owes isn’t enough to compute an estimated amount for you to offer to your creditors.

  The consumer proposal process is regulated by a federal act, therefore, there isn’t a difference with the administration from province to province.

  I suggest that you contact our office at 310-8888 and one of our professionals would be happy to gather a little bit more information and discuss a possible consumer proposal with you. Filing a previous bankruptcy does not affect the ability to file a proposal and we will review the differences with you as well.

  Regards,

  Susan

  — Susan Methuen