When it comes to debt solution professionals in Canada almost everyone has heard of Credit Counselors and Credit Counseling Agencies and Debt Consultants; but what about Canada bankruptcy trustees?  Why aren’t we saturated with Television commercials about them?  And just who are these guys anyway?

Canadian bankruptcy laws come under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) which stipulates that personal and business bankruptcies and proposals be administered by a licensed bankruptcy trustee.

A Canada bankruptcy trustee is a skilled professional in the field of debt solution management who undergoes a rigorous training and licensing procedure overseen by the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy.  The training involves five different levels of complexity and takes years to complete.  In short, these men and women are simply the best resources available when it comes to all debt solutions – not just bankruptcy.

So the very first thing a Canada bankruptcy trustee can do for you is guide you in the right direction.  If you talk to a Credit Counselor or Debt Consultant that specializes in debt settlement plans but doesn’t offer consolidation loans, guess what they are likely to suggest for you?  And they rarely know the details of bankruptcy filings, let alone the other legally binding solution offered by a Canada bankruptcy trustee – the consumer proposal.

The second thing they can do for you is assess your financial condition.  The vast majority of Canada bankruptcy trustees have deep backgrounds in accounting, which cannot be said for most of the Credit Counselors out there in today’s crowded debt solution marketplace.

Working with a bankruptcy trustee on a financial assessment goes much deeper than the simple form completion you go through with most Credit Counseling services.  Canada bankruptcy trustees know what numbers to look for and know what they mean.

The third thing they can do for you is explain, in great detail, the advantages and disadvantages of all available debt solution options.  You would expect them to be experts in what is involved in filing for bankruptcy in Canada, but they also are fully aware of how debt management plans and debt settlement plans work as well. 

As part of the bankruptcy process filers are required to attend credit counseling sessions arranged by the trustee.  They know the reputable credit counselors in the area and will direct you to one if a credit counseling solution is right for you.

Finally, if you decide to go ahead with filing for bankruptcy they will manage the filing process for you as well as administer the bankruptcy until you are discharged from bankruptcy, at their request to the courts.

There is occasionally some confusion as to the role a Canada bankruptcy trustee plays in the process, since it is the filer who pays their government regulated fee.  Despite this, a trustee does not represent the debtor in the same way a bankruptcy lawyer would.  The BIA is intended to be fair to both debtor and creditor.  Therefore, the Canada bankruptcy trustee is required to be a fair and impartial “middle person” in the process, not a representative of one side or the other.