How to file a bankruptcy petition?
A person or company can declare bankruptcy when it is unable to pay off its debts. Keep in mind that filing for bankruptcy is not the only way out when you are faced with financial difficulty and are unable to pay off your debt. You can opt for an Individual Voluntary Plan or even a debt management plan to see you out of the situation. But when all fail, you can file for bankruptcy and submit a petition in court.
You can file a bankruptcy petition in the High Court in London or at a county court near where you live or trade. Some people can find filling various forms for bankruptcy petition complicated and daunting. Basically, you need to provide a lot of information that apart from your personal details also includes the details of the property you own, value of equity, creditors information, credit amounts, dates, repayment details, rates of interest, balances, income, expenditure and much more. There are multiple forms that you need to fill. So before you go about filling the forms, it is best you have all your documents in order.
Remember that these forms will be scrutinized by the court of law and so you must ensure that the information you provide is accurate. The information should clearly highlight the actual picture of your financial condition. The official receiver, appointed by the court, may at any time ask for documentation to verify your income and expenditure statement. A slight error, says, in stating your income and expenditure may send a wrong signal to the court and adversely impact your financial future.
When you fill the forms, you must mention your creditor/s in your bankruptcy petition and also clarify if the debt has been transferred or sold onto another collection agency. All your debts, secured and unsecured should be clearly mentioned. Filing bankruptcy will immediately stop all creditors from approaching you to pay the debts. It is important you mention all your creditors. In case you forget to mention a creditor, his debt will not be wiped off.
If you are not comfortable with filling your bankruptcy petition forms, you can seek expert assistance. There are many firms that partner with insolvency practitioners who understand the intricacies of the case much better and advise accordingly.