Last time we looked at what’s involved in serving a statutory demand when someone owes you money. As promised, this week we are going to explain the next step in the process should the statutory demand not result in payment.
What Is The Process Of Being Made Bankrupt?
So you’ve served the Statutory Demand, waited the requisite 21 days to allow the debtor the chance to clear (or at least reach an acceptable agreement to pay in installments) the debt with either money or goods to the value of the debt and costs, and you are still owed money. What next?
- Collect your evidence of the debt. You should have evidence (known as a certificate of service) that you served the debtor with the Statutory Demand. You might also have a court order stating that you have a judgement against the debtor, but you will also need to prove that you have tried to collect the debt and the debtor could not pay. If you have used a solicitor they will be able to provide you with a sworn statement to that effect.
- You must provide evidence that you have checked whether the debtor is already going through the bankruptcy process or whether they have been made bankrupt in the last 18 months. The evidence that you have completed a search is usually presented in the form of a Declaration. If they have already been subject to a bankruptcy proceeding you can register as a creditor with the Official Receiver that is dealing with that case.
- Once all this is in place you need to fill in either the 6.7 or 6.9 forms depending whether you have served that Statutory Demand or have a court order and the creditor or creditors agent has failed to recover the debt. You also need to fill in the 6.13 form which is a Statement of Truth confirming that all the details in the petition are true.
- Take all the documents to the court that will deal with the bankruptcy in your area.
- Once the court has received the documents you can then serve the petition on the debtor. Again you will need to have proof that the petition was served.
It’s a tough decision to have to make someone bankrupt and it’s usually only done as a very last resort. Alpha1 Legal Services serve documents with due process using all of the ethical and expedient methods available.
