"Insolvent debtors" refers to individuals or companies who owe more money than they have and are unable to pay their debts. Essentially, it means they are financially bankrupt and cannot meet their financial obligations.
Full definition
An extension of our Joe Debtor bankruptcy study, this monthly index measures the percentage
of insolvent debtors in our study who owned a home at the time they filed a bankruptcy or consumer proposal.
What makes Joe Debtor different is that he is less likely to own a home (only 17 % of
insolvent debtors in our 2017 study were homeowners) and if he does he likely does not have enough equity to deal with his outstanding credit card and other debts.
Hoyes Michalos has pre-released our 2017 Joe Debtor study results as they relate to payday loan usage
by insolvent debtors in time for the Standing Committee on Social Policy to conduct a review of Bill... Read more»
The average income
for insolvent debtors aged 60 and older is only $ 2,141; 10 % below Joe Debtor, while his average unsecured debt is 22 % higher.
Insolvent debtors aged 50 - 59 had an average of only $ 21,000 in RRSP savings (median $ 3,000) while those aged 60 and over had just under $ 24,000 in RRSP assets (median $ 900).
All Congress needs to do to reform the private student - loan industry is repeal the 2005 law and
allow insolvent debtors with private student loans to discharge those loans in bankruptcy.
While insolvent debtors are highly likely to borrow from multiple payday loan lenders, they are taking out fewer, but larger loans according to our updated research.
More than one in four (28 %)
insolvent debtors over the age of 50 owned a home still encumbered by an average mortgage of more than $ 190,000 with less than 10 % equity in their home.
Almost 1 in 8
insolvent debtors use payday loans before they end up filing bankruptcy or a consumer proposal.
This is clearly exhibited on our female debtor study page, which compares the debt portfolio of the average male versus
female insolvent debtor.
As this large legion of
insolvent debtors continue to age, those that don't restructure their debts before retirement will find it increasingly difficult to maintain their debt payments after they retire.
Young people are also making up a higher percentage
on insolvent debtors overall — 14 % in 2017 up from 12 % in our last two studies.
But not only is this beneath the salary of the average
Canadian insolvent debtor, it is also generally insufficient to cover a sizeable student debt payment, thus pushing a student debtor towards insolvency.
That means that the average
insolvent debtor still owes almost $ 14,000 after more than seven years of struggling with debt repayment.
Based on a study of our clients from 2013 - 2014, almost one in five (18 %)
insolvent debtors listed a payday loan as an unsecured debt.
From our study, we learned that 13 percent of
insolvent debtors possessed a student loan at the time of their insolvency, with the average loan amount standing at just below $ 14,000.
Our study of
insolvent debtors confirms that middle - and higher - income earners are much more likely to use payday loans to excess.
We wanted to know if there was a trend in the mortgage lending products used
by insolvent debtors and if certain mortgage products were more likely to lead to a higher degree of risk for consumers.
Graduates are increasingly unable to find a stable job with an income level sufficient to support both student loan repayment and living expenses, leading to an increase in the percentage of
insolvent debtors with student debt.
A Consumer Proposal
allows insolvent debtors to settle their debts for less than they actually owe, while avoiding bankruptcy.
An extraordinary range of clients trust our professional approach to restructuring and insolvency matters, including banks, credit unions, financing companies, trustees, receivers, unsecured creditors, suppliers, debtors, real property owners, and parties interested in acquiring property
from insolvent debtors.
While only 17 % of
insolvent debtors own a home, a separate analysis of our 2017 incoming call data shows that roughly 30 % of people contacting our office for debt relief are homeowners with a reported unsecured debt average of $ 47,000.
The average student loan balance
for insolvent debtors is actually highest during a person's 30's and 40's.
One in ten
insolvent debtors aged 50 — 59 were on disability and 19 % listed health reasons as a primary cause of their insolvency.
The percentage
of insolvent debtors filing consumer proposals instead of filing for bankruptcy is on the rise in Canada.
This is where
the insolvent debtor restructures the debts it owes to creditors, according to a rehabilitation plan, while the company continues its operations.
Our 2017 study shows that 15 % of
all insolvent debtors had a student loan, that's up from 13 % in our 2015 study.
From our most recent Joe Debtor study just over 7 % of
insolvent debtors were retired.
Insolvent debtors can rot.
More than 13 % of
all insolvent debtors in Canada had a student loan at the time they filed for bankruptcy or a consumer proposal.
In more precise terms, it is a payment or transfer by
an insolvent debtor, made to a creditor on a preexisting debt which allows the preferred creditor to receive more than they would in a Chapter 7.
Also, we found that of
all insolvent debtors who filed, 81 % were working at the time of their filing.
Insolvent debtors are taking out fewer, but larger loans according to the updated research.
So while
all insolvent debtors had high ratio mortgages, those who went through a broker had the highest risk ratio.
Consumer proposals are the debt relief of choice for
insolvent debtors.
Insolvent debtors with a household income above the government mandated thresholds limits are more likely to choose a consumer proposal as an alternative to bankruptcy in order to spread potential surplus income payments over a period of up to five years.
Bankruptcy: In this federal court proceeding, the assets of
an insolvent debtor are sold and the proceeds distributed to lenders.
Bankruptcy is a proceeding in a federal court in which
an insolvent debtor's assets are liquidated and the debtor is relieved of further liability.