In 2014, the Federal Law on Bankruptcy entered into force. Based on it, individuals and legal entities can declare themselves bankrupt. However, like any law, this one has its pitfalls. Yes, and not everyone can count on debt relief to creditors. How to declare yourself bankrupt today? How easy and profitable is it?
What does the letter of the law say?
Referring to the Law on Bankruptcy, you need to know some details. Firstly, both the borrowers and the lenders themselves can declare their insolvency followed by the termination of their business. The following citizens may play this role:
- individuals
- legal entities;
- individual entrepreneurs;
- enterprises, etc.
Secondly, only a court can assign bankruptcy status (if an insolvent person can justify and prove it).
Thirdly, the fact of bankruptcy can be recognized if there is a debt from an individual in the amount of more than 500,000 rubles that are not paid over one quarter. The minimum debt for an individual entrepreneur is 50,000 rubles, and for legal entities this amount can start from 100,000 rubles.
Fourth, if you are interested in information on how to declare yourself bankrupt, consider the following: bankruptcy proceedings can be initiated even after the death of the debtor. This can be done either by creditors or relatives of the deceased debtor. Recall: if the debtor is not able to repay his debt within the framework established by the loan agreement, he is declared bankrupt.
In this case, the court temporarily seizes his property, evaluates and sells it in order to pay off the debt. Accordingly, in this case, the debtor loses his rights to the property and does not have the right to sell it independently without the permission of the court. But is it possible to declare yourself bankrupt and, instead of confiscating property, postpone the payment of debt?
If an individual or legal entity is declared bankrupt, there is a chance to receive installments for full payment of a debt for up to 5 years (this decision is made by the arbitration court). However, you can get it only if you have regular income from a potential bankrupt. Otherwise, deferred payment is not provided.
Is it easy for an individual to declare bankruptcy?
There is a lot of useful information on how to declare an individual bankrupt. Another thing is that not all of it is suitable as a guide to action. So suppose you are an individual; the amount of your debt has exceeded 500,000 rubles; payment delay reached over six months. How will the procedure of declaring yourself insolvent occur?
First, an individual must initially apply to a court of general jurisdiction with a statement on the recognition of the fact of insolvency. Consideration of the application in this situation will occur on a common basis and in order of priority.
Attention! Before filing an application with the court, consult with experts on how to declare yourself bankrupt, observing the letter of the law.
Secondly, when considering your application in court, representatives of Themis will analyze in detail all the grounds for recognizing the fact of bankruptcy. At the same time, they will certainly bring to court your creditors and other persons who can shed light on the real picture of events (creditors have no more than two months to decide whether or not to go to court).
During the trial, creditors may make debt claims against the non-payer. In this case, the court will consider the justification for recovery. It can be debt receipts the borrower, credit agreements, invoices, invoices and other documents.
In what cases can an individual be declared bankrupt?
An individual may be declared insolvent under the following conditions:
- if it has ceased to fulfill its obligations to creditors and already has certain debts;
- if the amount of the debt exceeds the amount of income and the borrower simply physically cannot repay it immediately;
- if he does not have property and valuables that could be used to pay the debt.
What measures can a court apply to a debtor?
When considering your case, the court will certainly offer you one of the options for resolving the situation. The first is the restructuring of credit debt, and the second is the repayment of debt through the sale of property of the debtor. In the first case, the court will negotiate with the creditors and the debtor the debt payment plan, which indicates:
- deadlines for its implementation;
- amount for monthly debt repayment;
- the amount needed by an individual and his family members to satisfy their own needs).
In the second case, the valuation of the debtor's property will be carried out by the interim manager.
In addition, after recognition of its insolvency, the debtor may be limited in travel abroad. He may be denied new loans, and the bankrupt status will be assigned to him for a long five years. Therefore, before you declare yourself bankrupt, think carefully whether you need it!
What to do in case of bankruptcy of an individual entrepreneur?
The Law on Bankruptcy or Financial Insolvency can be applied to individual entrepreneurs in the following cases:
- if the borrower does not have the financial ability to pay the bills (for example, most of the crop in which the funds were invested died due to excessive rainfall);
- if payment of certain debts inevitably leads to the appearance of new non-payments;
- if the borrower does not pay his bills for three months or more, etc.
What are the main points in the bankruptcy procedure of individuals?
Earlier, we talked about how to recognize IP as bankrupt, now we recall the most basic points. So, an individual entrepreneur, first of all, must apply to the arbitration court. To do this, he will need the following documents:
- original certificate of registration of individual entrepreneurs;
- originals of documents providing ownership of real estate and movable property of IP;
- a list of banks and other creditors (here it is necessary to indicate their addresses, full name of organizations and attach a justification to meet their needs);
- list of IP non-payers (with indication of their addresses, names of organizations and positions);
- originals of other documents evidencing the insolvency of the individual entrepreneur.
As you can see, before declaring yourself (IP) bankrupt, you need to collect relevant data about your creditors and debtors (if any). Next is the trial itself, at which a verdict is issued in favor of or against the borrower. Then, everything happens by analogy with an individual: an individual entrepreneur either agrees (by court order) to pay off the debt within the specified time, or his property and property are confiscated for the purpose of their further sale on account of the debt.
We will talk about how to declare a company bankrupt a little later.
When can a bankruptcy case be suspended?
Despite certain difficulties in the trial, the case of payment insolvency of an individual entrepreneur can be stopped. This is possible in the following cases:
- if during the trial the individual entrepreneur somehow restores his solvency (for example, receives an unexpected inheritance or other unaccounted income);
- if all creditors for any reason refused to collect their debts from the individual entrepreneur;
- if the petitions of the creditors were executed before the court decision;
- if the individual entrepreneur does not have funds to compensate for legal expenses, etc.
How to declare an LLC bankrupt?
The situation with the enterprise is much more complicated. In this case, the term liquidation of an organization as a result of its financial insolvency, it will take at least eight months. At the same time, all documentary red tape with filing an application with the court and execution of other related documents can be entrusted to qualified lawyers. The only negative is that the cost of the services of good specialists will cost a pretty penny. The company has two options for recognizing bankruptcy: complex and simplified. If we talk about the complex, then it consists of the following steps:
- observation;
- financial recovery;
- external management;
- bankruptcy proceedings.
For example, the “observation” stage includes a kind of full financial audit of the enterprise. It is carried out by state authorities, and its goal is to get a real idea of the financial condition of the organization.
Financial recovery is a set of measures designed to prevent a company from financial collapse. It involves the restructuring of the debt, as well as a schedule for its repayment. All these actions are carried out by the interim manager, who is elected by the arbitration court. However, this period may not last a month or two, but 2-3 years.
In the case of external management, an external manager is also selected who will manage the company for no more than 18 months. And, of course, the stage of “bankruptcy proceedings” begins after the final court hearing and the organization is officially declared bankrupt. Consequently, the property of the enterprise at this stage is confiscated and goes under the hammer.
What is the difference between simplified bankruptcy proceedings from full?
With a simplified registration procedure, the company first officially ceases its activities (it closes, and the legal entity is documented to be liquidated from the register). Two months later, the fact of closure is published in print media and the application is filed with the court. Information about the interim is also attached to it. liquidation balance sheet organization. After that, the court will consider all evidence of insolvency and, with their real benefits, declares the company bankrupt.
Judging by the above explanations, before declaring a company bankrupt, you need to choose the first or second option of liquidation. The money spent by you and the time period for considering the application in court will depend on this.
