When you go bankrupt in Canada, you have to make a payment into your estate, for your creditors. This is called a surplus income payment. But are surplus income limits out of touch with today’s cost of living realities? How can it be fair that someone living in a major city like Toronto or Vancouver must pay the same amount into a bankruptcy as someone living in a small town, with lower living costs? On today’s podcast Doug Hoyes and Ted Michalos discuss the issues of surplus income payments, how debtors can make informed financial decisions before filing an insolvency, and when it may be better to file a consumer proposal instead of a bankruptcy. Tune in!

Resources Mentioned in the Show:

Hoyes Michalos Joe Debtor Bankruptcy Study  https://www.hoyes.com/press/joe-debtor/            

Superintendent of Bankruptcy Directive No. 11R2-2022 Surplus Income osb.nsf/eng/br03249.html">https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/bsf-osb.nsf/eng/br03249.html

Hoyes Michalos What is Surplus Income? https://www.hoyes.com/personal-bankruptcy/cost-of-bankruptcy-fees/surplus-income-payments/

Hoyes Michalos Surplus Income Calculator: https://www.hoyes.com/personal-bankruptcy/cost-of-bankruptcy-fees/surplus-income-calculator/

Inflation Statistics, Statistics Canada eng.htm"> https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220316/dq220316a-eng.htm

Average rents in Toronto: https://www.torontorentals.com/blog/toronto-gta-december-rent-report-2021