Joint or separate filings?
Hello, my wife and I are separating but planning on filing bankruptcy. I was wondering because we will not be in the same household do we have to file separate bankruptcies?
Posted from: Ontario
Hello, my wife and I are separating but planning on filing bankruptcy. I was wondering because we will not be in the same household do we have to file separate bankruptcies?
Posted from: Ontario
You may file jointly if all, or substantially all, of your debts are similar. The Courts in Ontario have taken that to mean at least 90% of your debts are the same. You don’t have to liv together or even be related to file jointly, but you must pass the similar debt test.
In my opinion, you may be better off filing separately. If you file jointly and for some reason one of you doesn’t complete all of the required duties properly, you might both end up in Court.
I’ve seen many cases where something has gone wrong with what is left of the relationship after people file and one party deliberately decides not to perform their duties just to drag the other person through the mud… I am not suggesting it will happen in your case, but it’s safer for each of you to file by yourself.