Several months ago, I was asked to speak at a lecture series put on by the Law Society of Upper Canada. The subject of the day was Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law for General Practitioners, and my topic was to be Personal Bankruptcy, as that is what we specialize in at Hoyes Michalos. Well, I gave my presentation today, which I think was amazing for a couple of reasons, and let me tell you why.

A week ago, I had a major fall. I banged my head on some rocks, resulting in 3 sets of stitches, 2 black eyes, a broken nose, and a concussion, along with many other aches and pains. While I lay in the hospital emergency room over night, many thoughts went through my head, including how am I going to be able to make my presentation next week. I should have been worrying about a lot of other things, but I guess that is just my nature. Well, as time went by, I started to heal. The swelling went down (not totally yet), the bruising started to fade and the stitches came out. I went so far as calling one of my colleagues to give them the heads up that I might need him to pinch hit for me. He tentatively rearranged his schedule to help me out, but with 2 days to go before the presentation, I felt well enough and strong enough to go it on my own. And that is amazing, Part 1.

So here I am in Toronto, giving a presentation on Personal Bankruptcy to 100 or so lawyers. These are lawyers, trained professionals, who have gone to law school, and I am filling them in on how bankruptcy works. Then I think to myself, if these people need help in figuring out what I do, how does that average guy or girl on the street with financial difficulties, the type of people I meet everyday in my office, figure it out. Amazing, isn’t it? Let’s just call that amazing, Part 2.

And what did I have to say to these lawyers? The same message I try to get across to the average person: identify a problem situation early enough, get expert advice, and come up with a plan. When the creditors are calling, the bills are piling up on the kitchen table, sleep is not easy and family ties are strained, it is time to get some expert advice. My job is to help people review their finances, their income, assets and debts, and come up with a plan. That plan may involve filing a consumer proposal, especially in light of the fact the our bankruptcy rules changed last week to make consumer proposals more attractive than filing for bankruptcy, or, if there is no cash flow to offer a settlement to creditors, than a bankruptcy may be the last resort.

If you would like some expert advice, feel free to call us at 310-PLAN, or your can e-mail us a question.

Simply AMAZING.