Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor.
Further education in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It may be at any level in compulsory secondary education, from entry to higher level qualifications such as awards, certificates, diplomas and other vocational, competency-based qualifications through awarding organisations including City and Guilds, Edexcel (BTEC) and OCR. FE colleges may also offer HE qualifications such as HNC, HND, foundation degree or PGCE. The colleges are also a large provider of apprenticeships, where most of the training takes place in the apprentices' workplace with some day release into college.
In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in cases where a company cannot meet financial obligations or enters bankruptcy. The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in the English chancery courts, where receivers were appointed to protect real property. Receiverships are also a remedy of last resort in litigation involving the conduct of executive agencies that fail to comply with constitutional or statutory obligations to populations that rely on those agencies for their basic human rights.
Insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the money owed, by a person or company, on time; those in a state of insolvency are said to be insolvent. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet insolvency.
In the United Kingdom, only an authorised or licensed insolvency practitioner may be appointed in relation to formal insolvency procedures.
Bankruptcy in the United Kingdom is divided into separate local regimes for England and Wales, for Northern Ireland, and for Scotland. There is also a UK insolvency law which applies across the United Kingdom, since bankruptcy refers only to insolvency of individuals and partnerships. Other procedures, for example administration and liquidation, apply to insolvent companies. However, the term 'bankruptcy' is often used when referring to insolvent companies in the general media.
Credit counseling is commonly a process that is used to help individual debtors with debt settlement through education, budgeting and the use of a variety of tools with the goal to reduce and ultimately eliminate debt. Credit counseling is most often done by Credit counseling agencies that are empowered by contract to act on behalf of the debtor to negotiate with creditors to resolve debt that is beyond a debtor's ability to pay. Some of the agencies are non-profits that charge at no or non-fee rates, while others can be for-profit and include high fees. Regulations on credit counseling and Credit counseling agencies varies by country and sometimes within regions of the countries themselves. In the United States, individuals filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy are required to receive counseling.
The Insolvency Service is an executive agency of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy with headquarters in London. It has around 1,700 staff, operating from 22 locations across Great Britain.
In England and Wales, an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) is a formal alternative for individuals wishing to avoid bankruptcy.
The Insolvency Act 1986 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that provides the legal platform for all matters relating to personal and corporate insolvency in the UK.
Debt relief orders (DROs) are a new form of insolvency measure in the United Kingdom. They were introduced under Chapter 4 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. A DRO is a simplified, quicker and cheaper alternative to bankruptcy in the United Kingdom, suitable for debtors who have few or no assets and little disposable income. It is possible to apply for a DRO without attending court and the fee is £90. The fee may be paid by instalments prior to applying for the order.
The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provides for several diverse matters relating to the law, some of them being significant changes to the structure of the courts and fundamental legal procedures. Part 1 provides a scheme for radical overhaul of the tribunal system in the UK, creating a new unified structure with two new tribunals to embrace the former fragmented scheme, along with a Senior President of Tribunals. Part 2 defines new criteria for appointment as a judge, generally reducing the length of experience required with the aim of increasing diversity in the judiciary. Part 3 creates a new system of taking control of goods in order to enforce judgments and abolishes ancient common law writs and remedies such as fieri facias, replevin and distress for rent. It introduces a modern system of 'certified enforcement agents' and 'exempted enforcement agents' which includes civil servants such as court officers and County Court bailiffs, civilian enforcement officers and police officers. Part 4 makes some changes to attachment of earnings and charging orders to make recovery of debts more straightforward. Part 5 makes some changes to insolvency practice in order to provide low-cost protection for people who have previously been excluded owing to their small debts and lack of assets. Part 6 provides protection from seizure for foreign antiquities and artefacts on display in the UK and whose provenance is alleged to be broken by misappropriation. Such artefacts can only be seized on a court order that was compelled by a Community obligation or a treaty obligation.
According to the Office for National Statistics, sole proprietors represented 23.8% of all UK enterprise in 2010. Of that number, more than half a million sole traders were operating via the PAYE or VAT system alone. Sole traders are a distinct legal entity, operating as one type of UK business structure. In the event of financial problems affecting the business, they are subject to different rules to those that govern companies.
Bankruptcy in Irish Law is a legal process, supervised by the High Court whereby the assets of a personal debtor are realised and distributed amongst his or her creditors in cases where the debtor is unable or unwilling to pay his debts.
AdviceUK is a membership body for organisations and services that provide free and independent advice across England, Scotland and Wales and a charity registered with the Charity Commission. Typically its members are charities and community groups that work in a particular geographical location or with a clearly defined client group.
StubbsGazette is a publication that provides details of insolvencies and court actions taken against businesses and individuals in Ireland and Northern Ireland. First published in 1828, Stubbs' Gazette had been published continuously since 1836.
Bankruptcy tourism is the phenomenon whereby residents of one country move to another jurisdiction in order to declare a personal bankruptcy there, before returning to their original country of residence. This is done in order facilitate bankruptcy in a new jurisdiction where the insolvency laws are deemed to be more favourable. It is most prevalent in Europe where EU laws allow the free movement of residents to other Eurozone countries. Once in the new jurisdiction a person seeking bankruptcy must establish their Centre of Main Interests there in order to qualify as a resident and, therefore, petition for a successful bankruptcy.
A Personal Insolvency Arrangement (PIA) is a statutory mechanism in Ireland for individuals who cannot repay their debts as they come due but who wish to avoid bankruptcy. The arrangement is one of the three alternatives authorized under Ireland's Personal Insolvency Act 2012; Debt Settlement Arrangements (DSA) and Debt Relief Notices (DRN) are the other two arrangements. A PIA is a legal agreement between a debtor and their creditors that is mediated and administered by a Personal Insolvency Practitioner (PIP). A PIA usually lasts for a term of six years and must include both unsecured debt and secured debts.
The Insolvency Service of Ireland was established under the Personal Insolvency Act 2012. The service aims to provide mutually agreed debt solution to debtors and creditors in a fair, transparent and equitable manner. The service was established in Mar 2013. The service provides three solutions to avoid bankruptcy through "Personal Insolvency Practitioner" or "Approved Intermediaries". The service started accepted applications from debtors from 9 September 2013. Mr Lorcan O’Connor is the Director of the Insolvency Service of Ireland.
British Virgin Islands bankruptcy law is principally codified in the Insolvency Act, 2003, and to a lesser degree in the Insolvency Rules, 2005. Most of the emphasis of bankruptcy law in the British Virgin Islands relates to corporate insolvency rather than personal bankruptcy. As an offshore financial centre, the British Virgin Islands has many times more resident companies than citizens, and accordingly the courts spend more time dealing with corporate insolvency and reorganisation.
