There are many people throughout Northern Ireland who may need to go Bankrupt. Bankruptcy is one way of dealing with debts you cannot pay. Here are the bankruptcy proceedings:
- Free you from overwhelming debts so you can make a fresh start, subject to some restrictions
- Make sure your assets are shared out fairly among your creditors.
Anyone can go bankrupt, including individual members of a partnership. There are different insolvency procedures for dealing with companies and for partnerships themselves.
A court makes a bankruptcy order only after a bankruptcy petition has been presented. It is usually presented either:
- by yourself (debtor’s petition); or
- by one or more creditors who are owed at least £750 by you and that amount is unsecured (creditor’s petition).
A bankruptcy order can still be made even if you refuse to acknowledge the proceedings or refuse to agree to them. You should therefore co-operate fully once the bankruptcy proceedings have begun. If you dispute the creditor’s claim, you should try and reach a settlement before the bankruptcy petition is due to be heard. Trying to do so after the bankruptcy order has been made is both difficult and expensive.
Bankruptcy petitions are usually presented at the High Court in London or at a county court near to where you trade or live. A petition can be presented against you even if you are not present in theUK at that time. This can happen when you normally live in, or within the previous 3 years have had residential or business connections within theUK.
If you now normally live or work in another EU country (apart from Denmark) it is unlikely that you can be made bankrupt in England or Wales, even if you have had residential or business connections here within the previous 3 years. If this applies to you, you may wish to seek separate legal advice. Sometimes government departments start bankruptcy proceedings in the High Court in London or in one of the District Registries. If you did not trade or do not live in the London area, your case will usually be transferred to the appropriate local county court and, if a bankruptcy order is made, it will be dealt with by the local official receiver.
Once the bankruptcy order has been made the official receiver will give notice of the order in the ‘London Gazette’, which is an official publication that contains legal notices. In addition, the official receiver has discretion to advertise the order in any other way, if he or she thinks it is appropriate to do so.
