I was declared insolvent about 4 years ago and would like to be rehabilitated. Can you please send me information on how this is done?
As an unrehabilitated insolvent, it is unlawful to incur credit (without your trustee’s written consent) and you are obliged to advise all your intended creditors that you are an unrehabilitated insolvent. It is, of course, not a bad idea to pay for all your purchases in cash, but often this is not practical especially when you have been accustomed to using credit cards and a cheque book. That will no longer be possible.
After the sequestration of your estate, you may, subject to certain conditions, apply for rehabilitation. If your application is successful (the court grants a rehabilitation order), the court will declare that you are no longer an insolvent and that you are once more free to trade and contract.
You cannot apply for your rehabilitation (as a general rule) until the lapse of 4 years unless the Master of the Supreme Court has recommended such earlier rehabilitation. If you take no steps to apply for your rehabilitation, you will be rehabilitated automatically 10 years after your sequestration.
Before the process begins your attorney will have to write to your trustee to obtain certain information (such as the dates of your provisional and final sequestration). Armed with that information he must then give six week’s written notice to the Master of the High Court and to your trustee of your intention to apply for your rehabilitation. Simultaneously, he must notify your creditors of such intention by advertising in the Government Gazette.
In the meantime, he will prepare a substantive application supported by an affidavit signed by you to persuade the court why you are eligible for your rehabilitation.
The fees for the application will be approximately R 16,000. The only other possible expense you may have is if there was a contribution levied in your estate. What this means is that there may have been insufficient assets in your estate and your trustee may have called upon creditors that proved claims to contribute towards the costs of winding up your estate. If that is the case you will have to pay that contribution back.
This is a
checklist of what we would need from you (or your trustee) to see if you are eligible to apply for your rehabilitation.
If you want our help, please email
Roy Bregman so that we can set up an obligation-free appointment to discuss the next steps and to agree on fees and payment terms
.
