The government has introduced new legislation (“The Insolvency Act 1986 [Amendment] Order 2015”) which has introduced some fundamental changes on 1 October 2015.
The principal changes are: –
- The level of debt for which a Bankruptcy Petition can issue increases from £750 to £5,000;
- Banks will no longer be held accountable if a Bankrupt withdraws funds from an account after being declared bankrupt so long as the banks had not been previously made aware;
- Directors who are disqualified from holding the post of a director as a result of misconduct can now be held personally responsible in certain circumstances for losses incurred by a creditor as a result of the director’s misconduct. Furthermore, there is provision for the director to be required to pay compensation in addition to the losses;
- Debt Relief Orders have been amended so that the maximum level of debt a debtor can have is increased from £15,000 to £20,000, and the level assets the debtor can have has increased from £300 to £1,000 (excluding the debtor’s vehicle which should have a maximum value of £1,000).
There are other changes that have been introduced and should you have any queries on these or require any information about any bankruptcy or corporate insolvency issue, please do not hesitate to contact Mark Hirst (email: mhirst@bromleys.co.uk / tel: 0161 330 6821).