Our Personal Insolvency and Bankruptcy seminars are well underway at this stage and for any of you who have not had the opportunity to attend yet our seminar will be taking place in the Portlaoise Heritage Hotel tomorrow (26th June) at 5.30pm, we’ll be in the Tower Hotel Waterford on Wednesday, 3rd July at 5.30pm; the Cork International Airport Hotel on 10th July and the Castletroy Park Hotel, Limerick, on 17th July. With this in mind today I will discuss the Personal Insolvency Practitioner (PIP) and the Prescribed Financial Statement (PFS) and how they will benefit your Personal Insolvency application.
Personal Insolvency Practitioner (PIP)
Under the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 Personal Insolvency Practitioners will be appointed, licensed and regulated to help people entering into a Debt Settlement Arrangement or a Personal Insolvency Arrangement. These people
will be qualified solicitors, barristers, accountants or financial advisers and will be supervised by the Insolvency Service of Ireland in carrying out their duties under the new legislation. We, at Lynch Solicitors, will be applying for registration as PIPs.
One of the first things a PIP will do is get a Protective Certificate for those who are struggling financially. This would stop any creditors pursuing them for a limited amount of time to allow time for proposals and negotiations.
Personal Insolvency Practitioners will:
- Help those who are looking for relief under the Act in preparing a detailed financial statement;
- Use this information to advise on what debts can be included and put together proposals based on the individual circumstances ;
- Submit proposals to their creditors once the various options and consequences are discussed ;
- Negotiate with the creditors to find a solution which both parties can agree on;
- Organise a meeting of creditors to vote on the proposals;
- Organise the approval of any agreed arrangements with the courts and the registration with the Insolvency Service of Ireland.
A detailed plan will be given to those availing of relief under the Act setting out their obligations and specifying the time frame within which these obligations are to be met. The practitioner will also be responsible for monitoring the payment arrangements for their duration.
Prescribed Financial Statement (PFS)
For those wishing to avail of the new provisions one of the preliminary steps in doing so will be the completion of a Prescribed Financial Statement.
If you are entering into a Debt Settlement Arrangement or a Personal Insolvency Arrangement the PFS will be completed with the help of your Personal Insolvency Practitioner and will form the cornerstone of any application made.
The purpose of the PFS is to give an accurate written account of all assets, debts, income and expenditure so that a true reflection of the financial position of the person seeking relief is outlined. This will enable the PIP to recommend different options for dealing with outstanding debts and to recommend which arrangement, if any, would be suitable.
The PFS would form the basis of calculating what repayments will be made to creditors and what portion of monies can be kept to maintain a reasonable standard of living.
The statement will contain a Statutory Declaration which must be signed by the applicant and witnessed by a Notary public, Commissioner for Oaths, Peace Commissioner or a practicing Solicitor. It will be an offence to sign this declaration without full disclosure or if any of the details in the Prescribed Financial Statement are incorrect or misleading.
A considerable amount of work can be involved in preparing the PFS and vouchers or receipts for all of the details provided will be required.
