What is Bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy is a state nobody wants to be drawn into, though it may sound easy option to take.  Bankruptcy refers to the process which helps consumers and business enterprises to write off or repay some or all of their debts as stipulated in the laws of a country.  In the case of bankruptcy, the creditor may voluntarily file a petition.  This is what he/she will do after looking at all other options available.  The person filing for bankruptcy will seek for an expert advice from either a lawyer or a finance consultant to discuss all the issues that pertain to bankruptcy before filing for the proceedings.  The pros and cons must be understood by the debtor clearly.

Bankruptcy can prove to be costly and takes much time.  Once a creditor files for Chapter 13 bankruptcy, there is usually an automatic stay.  Chapter 13 type of bankruptcy secured debts cannot cause the debtor to sell his assets.  A new arrangement of payment is made which can last for 3 to 5 years. Once this petition is filed, all previous activities of the creditor are halted.  All issues regarding the debtor are handled by his lawyer who will be responsible for all queries directed to the debtor.  Bankruptcy enables the debtor to make a fresh and new beginning financially.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy is suitable for debtors with no assets or very little property mostly unsecured debts.  It is possible for a debtor to decide on which debts can be filed.  Secured debts include home, car and other assets while unsecured debts in Chapter 7 bankruptcies are school loans.  In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the creditor will be required to pay or the creditor seizes and sells some of the debtor’s property if the payment is not made.  A thorough evaluation of a debtor is required to enable him to decide wisely.  Though bankruptcy smears the financial record of a debtor, the debtor cannot be discontinued form employment.  This state of affairs may affect future employment of the debtor.

It would be wise for anybody or business to avoid bankruptcy if there is an option.  Bankruptcy is not a situation that is palatable because it will rob one of his/her peace, and cause severe untold pain that will linger on for a period of time.  On one hand, bankruptcy relieves the debtor the nagging burden of debt and gives him a new slate to start a fresh.  For those creditors with a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, they have an option of choosing which debts to file and which ones to leave out. On the other hand, Chapter 7 bankruptcy may not offer a perfect way out since some unsecured debts do not qualify under this arrangement.

It is not be wise to give up after a stint in the circles of bankruptcy, but it should serve as a learning ground where the debtor should refocus and find out what went wrong and where.  The debtor should be able to chart a way forward finding a solution for better debt management.  He can still make good his financial record if he can continue to service his debts and credit cards.  With proper counseling bankruptcy can be avoided.

Dealing with Bankruptcy

People and companies take loans from banks all the time. If someone takes a loan from a bank, they have to return the loan amount plus some interest to the bank within a certain period of time. Normally, a person pays their dues to the bank through EMI scheme, where the loan taker has to pay the bank some pre determined amount every month for a certain period of time. It may so happen that some people’s financial condition may decline and they are not able to pay back the loan. Then, that person has to go to the court and prove that they are unable to pay back the loan and declare that they are bankrupt.

If convinced, the court will declare him or her bankrupt and the creditors will be able to confiscate his or her assets like house, cars, property, etc. The financial organization will then sell the person’s belongings in an auction and will take the money generated during the auction. This action is taken by the creditors when the court declares the person bankrupt under liquidation.

It is illegal for someone to declare them self bankrupt even though they have the money to pay to their creditors. Initially, this law was created for the creditors who used to confiscate the assets of the debtor and also imprisoned them. But now a day, both creditor and debtor have equal benefits. Sometimes, it happens that even by selling the entire debtor’s assets the loan amount can not be gathered; in that case, the creditor has no other option but to give the debtor a rebate.

The process by which a person who is bankrupt repays their debt by giving up all the assets to the creditor is known as liquidation. There is another way by which a bankrupt can repay his or her loan to his or her creditor. In this case, if a person is declared bankrupt then they can repay back the loan by giving a certain percentage of his or her future earnings. The financial organization may confiscate some of the property, but the person has some of his or her property left and he or she can use this property to gather the due amount that still needs to be repaid. If a person returns his or her loan in this fashion, then the court has to declare him or her bankrupt under reorganization.

The bankruptcy law is favorable to both the creditors and the debtors. It may so happen that sometimes the creditor gets the benefit and sometimes it may also happen that the debtors have the upper hand. The law regarding bankruptcy is different in different countries. But, in order to deal with bankruptcy, legal help is a must. There are a lot of problems that need to be handled in order to survive bankruptcy. There are several law firms that specialize in dealing with these sorts of problems.

The Early Beginning of Bankruptcy

The term bankruptcy refers to a legal pronouncement of the inability of an organization or a borrower to pay off their debts. The creditor normally takes the case to court for pronouncement of bankruptcy. This is known as involuntary bankruptcy. When the petition for bankruptcy is filed by a borrower it is called voluntary bankruptcy. The understanding of bankruptcy today and the way it is practiced is quite different from the way it has been practiced in the ancient society. Bankruptcy has passed through centuries. Many cultures and traditions have their different ways of applying the rule of bankruptcy.

In ancient civilizations and cultures like the ancient Roman, debt has negative implication. The punishment for a debtor who could not redeem his debt could be terrible. In some situation the debtor was sold to slavery. The money realized would be used to redeem the debt. There were people who were not valuable. Such individuals were killed before their creditors in order to make them happy.

In ancient American and European world, the debtors were imprisoned or forced to work until they pay up their debt.

As time went on this crude means of bankruptcy began to be refined. The name bankruptcy was derived from an Italian phrase “banca rotta” referring to the breaking of the deadbeat merchant’s bench. Under this practice, debtors were no longer killed.

As civilization is improving more modernized ways of doing things were being invented. The ancient ways of doing things were replaced by these new means of achieving them. Efficient system of government that respect the dignity of every human person replaced the ancient system of government that tended to objectifies man. Consequently, chopping of debtors and breaking of bench were set aside. There were laws that were made to protect the interest of both the creditor and the debtor.

In the world today the understanding of bankruptcy has taken a new dimension. There are laws guiding bankruptcy in many countries of the world today. It is possible to settle for bankruptcy in the court.

There are two types of bankruptcy. Voluntary bankruptcy, as the name suggests, is where the debtors file for bankruptcy on their own. Though a debtor may voluntarily file for bankruptcy, he or she will not totally go free. Unlike before bankruptcy in the world today offers some liberation to the debtors. Involuntary bankruptcy is the opposite of voluntary bankruptcy.
The above does not mean that all the countries in the world practice the same system of bankruptcy. Some countries have regulations that are still strict and little bit dehumanizing. Countries like the United States of American and the United Kingdom have more flexible regulations with regard to bankruptcy. Flexibility does not mean that people should go about borrowing money beyond their pocket.

It is also good to note that bankruptcy in the United Kingdom from which the US derived its system of bankruptcy was initiated under King Henry VIII with the intention of protecting the interest of creditors.