When people are facing bankruptcy, the most important asset unsurprisingly, is the family home. Now the forced sale of a family home can

At the most recent instalment of the de Jonge Read Seminar Series we discussed the Bankruptcy Amendment (Enterprise Incentives) Bill 2017. The bill proposed that the term of bankruptcy be reduced from three years to one year. It would be fair to say that the main driving force behind this bill was former Prime Minister, Mr Malcolm Turnbull. At our seminar we discussed the possible lack of support for the bill given leadership changes within the Government. While the proposed

This month’s case study looks at a recent situation where the director had already put the company into liquidation on his former accountant’s advice prior to talking to de Jonge Read. The client engaged a new accountant for a new venture he was considering. When the new accountant heard what had happened, he contacted de Jonge Read and arranged a meeting to review the client’s position with the liquidation. BACKGROUND Our client ran a building company focusing on top-end res

I don’t know how many times I hear “it’s a very simple situation, I don’t own anything so I don’t really need advice, I can do this myself”, only to have the same people come back later when issues arise. One thing I have learnt in my time whilst dealing with clients in financial trouble is that there are no standard, vanilla type jobs, ever! Most good advisors have a general idea of how they expect things will run, identify risks areas, identify key stakeholders, set up good

BACKGROUND Our client had established an auto trim business in a regional location in 2004. Over the past few years however, the business had suffered poor sales which caused cash flow issues ultimately having a negative effect on the mental health of our client. The operation was conducted through a discretionary trust. When we were approached the business had just been advised that a formal payment arrangement proposal with a trade creditor was declined. This event, cou

Often one of our client’s biggest fears is losing the family home in a bankruptcy scenario. This situation is exacerbated when one partner in a relationship is going bankrupt and the other not, especially where children are involved. Thankfully in the first instance, whilst a bankrupt’s share in a property vests in their bankruptcy trustee upon appointment, the trustee would only look to sell the property in the event equity exists. In most cases where there are joint tenants

Vic and Richard are two brothers who were directors of what became a rather large (100+ employees) company. Due to changes in the industry, the business model changed, became unprofitable and ultimately the company was put into liquidation. On the advice from the accountant Vic and his wife met with de Jonge Read and engaged our services for strategic insolvency planning. At this time, they had a home, a holiday home, both with mortgages (and minimal equity), and a young fam

Deed of Covenants (DOC) can be easily missed and forgotten. Therefore, Company directors may unknowingly and unnecessarily be placing their

Bankruptcy can be an extremely emotional and stressful time, it weighs heavily on the individual as well as on their family. Though entering bankruptcy may release the creditor pressure valve, other issues may rear their ugly heads. One of these issues is risk to family assets. The bankrupt’s spouse may wonder what will become of their beloved family home. In certain circumstances there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. This light comes in the form of the Doctrine of E

Nothing! According to Australia’s Bankruptcy Act 1966 (“the Act”). Transfers of property for less than market value, including transfers where no consideration at all is paid, may be challenged by a trustee in bankruptcy if the person transferring the property later becomes bankrupt. Under the Act, “love and affection” has no value as consideration. Although in a family business it may be a desirable strategy to have one partner hold the personal family assets (such as the fa

Getting specialist insolvency advice prior to entering into bankruptcy can have an enormous impact on the process and outcomes. This month’s case study depicts a situation where our client entered into bankruptcy without specialist advice and how de Jonge Read assisted in dealing with issues that were subsequently faced by our client. BACKGROUND Earlier this year we were approached by a client who previously operated a retail outlet as a sole trader. Due to insurmount