Bankruptcy Sydney

BANKRUPTCY AND EMPLOYMENT

Will my employer be advised?

No.

Who will know about my bankruptcy?

There are 4 groups of people that will learn that you are bankrupt. 1. Individuals you tell. 2. Your creditors or people you owe money to. 3. Individuals that see your credit file while your bankrupt. The only way that will happen is if you sign a privacy form for them to access your credit history. You only ever do this we you apply for a loan. 4. You will be listed on the National Insolvency Index it on the net somewhere, its hard to find and you need to pay to see if someone is bankrupt on it.

At Bankruptcy Experts Sydney we are perfectly conscious that there is still a stigma about bankruptcy we understand this concern as a matter of fact we can help ensure that if you declare yourself bankrupt you don’t need to go to court or get your name in the newspapers or be publicly made out to be a criminal. We can help ensure bankruptcy is easy and quick. In fact the whole process will only take a handful of days. It makes it possible for the average punter to get out of debt and on with their lives. For more detailed information about your job download “The Big 5” e-Book.

If you think you employment may be impacted by your possible bankruptcy call us here at Bankruptcy Experts Sydney on 1300 795 575.

Will my earnings be impacted if I go bankrupt?

The answer to the question is possibly. The first thing you need to know about going bankrupt is there is no restriction on how much you can earn. However, I will point out that your income is a significant consideration when working through whether you need to declare bankruptcy.

The very first thing you have to know is just how much you can earn before you start paying back money to your creditors via your trustee (see summary below).

Will my income be affected if I go bankrupt?

The answer to the question is maybe. The first thing you need to know about going bankrupt is there is no restriction on how much you can earn. However, I will point out that your income is a serious consideration when working through whether you need to go bankrupt. The first thing you need to know is how much you can earn before you start paying back money to your creditors via your trustee (see table below).

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You can obtain a hardship variation that raises the threshold amount, if you have expenses such as medical, child care, substantial travel to and from work, or a circumstance where your spouse used to work but is no longer able to add to the household income.

Child support is always considered in bankruptcy, if you receive child support that is not factored in as income. If you pay child support this will be also taken into consideration, for example if you pay $5,000 child support annually and you have no dependants living with you then your revised net income limit would be $55,332.10.

If you need more details about your income thresholds go ahead and download “The Big 5″ E-book. there are some cases as a result of income that it is not an economically viable option to declare bankruptcy because you earn too much in comparison to the debt you have.

What can my partner earn if I go bankrupt?

There is no limit to what your spouse can earn. Your other half can earn a million dollars and they will not be required to contribute to your debts.

What if my spouse/partner and I both need to go bankrupt?

If a husband and wife each go bankrupt, and say that they’ve got no dependants, then they can each earn $1,010.45 net. A practical way to understand it is the same income rules apply for each person in the home.

Who is considered a dependent?

In the case of bankruptcy a dependent is anyone you support who earns less that $3,343 per year.

What is your money worth in 2016?

Updates are coming to the world of bankruptcy, if you need to know what is happening, then pay attention here. Since March 2016 there has actually been updates to the Income Threshold Amounts. This shows that there are changes to how much money you can keep when bankrupt, this is primarily your net income following tax and child support (if applicable) is deducted. If you’re in business whilst bankrupt, then of course it’s also after net (after tax) business spendings, which is generally calculated on a yearly basis.

Your net income could be adjusted to take into account things like salary sacrifice and high superannuation payments etc. Your net income could possibly also allow for extra unusual costs incurred as a result of being employed, for instance if you are subjected to an unusually high amount of travel expenses to get to and from your job this can sometimes also be taken into consideration. Your bankruptcy trustee needs to ascertain your real net income according to the bankruptcy rules.

The income threshold totals are also per person, and are calibrated by the Government every March and September to allow the movements in the cost of living.

As of March 2016 the income thresholds are as follows;

With no dependents your net income can be $54,518.10 net per annum, i.e. that’s about $1,048.25 net weekly take home pay. This is your spending money. It’s all yours. It’s what you can always keep, and so anything over that amount is split 50/50 with your bankruptcy trustee to be settled to your creditors.

With 1 dependent your net income can be $64,331.36 net per annum, i.e. about $1,237.14 net each week take home pay.

With 2 dependents your net income can be $69,237.99 net per annum, i.e. around $1,331.49 net each week take home pay.

With 3 dependents your net income can be $71,963.89 net per annum, i.e. about $1,383.92 net each week take home pay.

With 4 dependents your net income can be $73,054.25 net per annum, i.e. approximately $1,404.88 net weekly take home pay.

With over 4 dependents your net income can be $74,144.62 net per annum, i.e. an average of $1,425.85 net weekly take home pay.

If you believe your circumstance is more complex, then please get specialist advice. If you have a particular income question just contact us here at Bankruptcy Experts Sydney on 1300 795 575.

Will I lose my small business if I go bankrupt?

The simple answer is you don’t have to but you do need to get the right guidance. Company insolvency laws are very involved and you need to tread carefully if you wish to continue to be self-employed.

You may already recognize that you can no longer be the director of a Pty Ltd Company if you are bankrupt, even so that doesn’t inevitably mean you can’t run your very own business and employ staff etc.

What if my business has serious debts?

As a part of your bankruptcy we can help you wipe out your business debts so you can get a fresh start.

Should I put my company into liquidation?

Among the main reasons you may wish to consider liquidation as opposed to bankruptcy is because if you liquidate your company, it doesn’t inevitably mean you have to go bankrupt. In Australia, businesses that become insolvent have a few options, such as liquidation, voluntary administration and so forth. If you need to know more about liquidation and company re-structuring, go to the next page of this website, as there is a lot more about it there and or download “The Big 5″ e-Book. Don’t forget, it’s the individuals who go bankrupt, not businesses.

This is a difficult area, so get some expert advice on this if you have an enterprise. Commonly speaking, the debts in a business and personal debts go hand in hand when a company owner goes bankrupt.

What impact will bankruptcy have on my business?

A restriction that applies when you are bankrupt as a business owner is that you can be in your own business as a sole trader only. For some business owners, bankruptcy influences their ability to run the business because of the licensing issues discussed in chapter two. For example, if you run a building company, your license will be suspend once you’re bankrupt and as a consequence you can no longer trade without that license.

Isn’t it illegal to run a similar business after bankruptcy?

It could be. There are considerations when and if you declare bankruptcy as a business owner: you can not run up heaps of debt in your business, then go bankrupt and then open the doors the next day like nothing has happened. There are laws in place to prevent what is called “phoenix companies” rising up out of the ashes of an old company.

Don’t get overly stressed about what you can and can’t do as a company owner; just get the correct advice and call Bankruptcy Experts Sydney today 1300 795 575.