How to declare consumer bankruptcy: a short compendium of knowledge for the consumer. Consumer bankruptcy is one of the main tools that the legislator makes available to people in a difficult financial situation. It is worth knowing, however, that although this institution has been in existence for a long time, recently the regulations on consumer bankruptcy have changed significantly. How to file for consumer bankruptcy , who can decide to take such a step and what are the consequences of it?
How to file for consumer bankruptcy: basic information
As mentioned, not so long ago we had to deal with a really significant change in the legal status, which regulates, among other things, how to file for consumer bankruptcy . Knowledgeable people certainly remember very well that previously the conditions that had to be met in order to become an insolvent consumer were really exorbitant. De facto consumer bankruptcy was reserved only for those consumers who:
- They fell into a difficult financial situation without their own fault, i.e. due to illness, random event, natural disaster, etc.
- They did not have “reckless indebtedness for consumption purposes)
- They did not get into debt for the purpose of repaying their obligations, so e.g. they did not take out any further loans in order to be able to pay off the already existing
- They had active or past due debt with two or more creditors
- They were not maintenance debtors
What has actually changed in 2020 and how to declare bankruptcy in the current conditions? First of all, the legislator significantly eased the requirements that a consumer must meet in order to be able to file for consumer bankruptcy at all. While earlier this possibility was de facto reserved for a very small group of people, currently this spectrum has significantly expanded.
- https://www.chrzaszcz.com.pl/ile-kosztuje-nurkowanie/
- https://www.hsn.com.pl/kerasan-na-co-stosowac/
- https://www.ojp.edu.pl/buty-i-ubrania-calvin-klein-jeans-dla-kazdego/
First of all, it should be noted that now also those people who simply have fallen into debt or the so-called a spiral of debt. The law does not regulate whether the debts must have occurred in any particular way. In practice, this means that consumer bankruptcy may also be applied for by, for example, consumers who at some point were no longer able to pay their liabilities, even if these liabilities were incurred for purposes more or less related to consumption.
How to file for consumer bankruptcy: where to start?
First of all, it is necessary, of course, to check whether, in the light of the current regulations, we have a chance at all for a positive consideration of the application. Despite the liberalization of regulations, consumer bankruptcy is still not available for:
- 1. Maintenance debtors
- 2. People running a business
- 3. Persons who are in the company in business
If we do not qualify for any of the above criteria, you can proceed to the next answer to the question entitled how to file for consumer bankruptcy . Of course, it will be necessary to submit an appropriate letter to the Court as well as pay the fee. The latter is PLN 30, so it is rather symbolic.
What is much more important, however, is the correct wording of the application addressed to the Court. Such a letter should contain an accurate description of the consumer’s financial and life situation, his financial history as well as the reasons for his bankruptcy petition. In practice, therefore, most people decide to entrust the task of drafting such a letter to a competent lawyer or a law firm.
The next stage is, of course, referring the application to the Court and waiting for the decision. It should be noted that the legislator does not set any precise time frames in this respect. Purely in theory, this may mean that the proceedings will take place before the Court even for many months. According to specialists, in the overwhelming majority of cases, the case ends no later than 3-4 months after submitting the application.
What else do you need to remember?
It must be remembered that the mere answer to the question of how to declare consumer bankruptcy is not enough. However, the liberalization of the rules governing the conditions for filing a bankruptcy petition also has its other side. It is a certain freedom of judgments. In other words, the Court considers each case individually and then, on the basis of an analysis, issues its decision.
What does this mean for the debtor? First of all, it may happen that only part of the debt is canceled. The remaining obligations will have to be met according to the schedule set by the Court. But that’s not all. At the time of declaration of consumer bankruptcy, a natural person loses the ability to fully freely dispose of his property. What could be the consequences? Well, part of the property owned by a consumer can be sold under a court order.
As you can see, although the possibility of declaring consumer bankruptcy is an interesting option and it is certainly worth knowing how to declare consumer bankruptcy , in some cases this solution may turn out to be inadvisable. Before making a decision, it is necessary to carefully consider all the advantages and disadvantages of declaring consumer bankruptcy in our case.
