DEBT RECOVERY

If so, you can take legal action to recover it with our debt recovery lawyers. In certain situations, you can also recover your legal costs related to recovery proceedings.

Steven M Clark Lawyers can also assist you with:

• Preparing a Statement of Claim – used to demand payment;
• Preparing a Defence of the matter within 21 days (after the Statement of Claim is served); and
• Entering Judgement against the debtor (when no action is taken within 21 days)

Once Judgement is entered, a number of procedures are available to enforce it. At Steven M Clark Lawyers, our debt recovery lawyers can assist you with:

• Warrants (seizure of goods to sell in order to repay the debt),
• Examination Summons (requiring the debtor to attend Court to display how they will satisfy the Judgement),
• Garnishees Orders (whereby the Court can order a third party to pay money to a creditor instead of a debtor)
• Bankruptcy/Insolvency.

If an individual is declared bankrupt by the Courts, a Trustee is appointed to take control of the insolvent person’s estate, in order to turn the assets into cash to distribute equally among unsecured creditors (those who do not hold security for payment of the debt). Secured creditors may commence debt recovery by disposing of the asset securing the loan (e.g. a bank would do this if mortgage payments are not made on a house). Bankruptcy proceedings are handled in either the Federal Court or the Federal Circuit Court, depending on complexity.

When a company is declared insolvent, the Court has the power to ‘wind it up’ and appoint a Liquidator, whose responsibility it is to turn the company’s assets into cash and distribute it in the order set out in the Corporations Act. The creditor and the liquidator firstly recover their costs, followed by certain entitlements to employees. The balance is distributed among unsecured creditors. Winding up proceedings are handled in either the Supreme Court or the Federal Court. Steven M Clark Lawyers can assist you by filing an Originating Process. If the Court is satisfied that the company is trading insolvent, it can then appoint a liquidator.