About Bankruptcy

What is bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy is one way of dealing with debts you cannot pay. The bankruptcy proceedings
Can free you from overwhelming debts so you can make a fresh start, subject to some
restrictions and 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. Separate
leaflets about these insolvency procedures are available.

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
England or Wales at that time. This can happen when:
you normally live in, or within the previous 3 years have had residential or
business connections with, England or Wales.

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, it is advertised in "The London Gazette" (an official
publication which contains legal notices) and in a local or national newspaper (or both). In
addition the Official Receiver will give written notice of the order to a number of organisations.

There are alternatives to going bankrupt, to find out more information please see the see the link on this page, and call an experienced Advisor.