A good Bankruptcy lawyer and experienced Bankruptcy attorneys can make the task of filing for insolvency a lot easier. Turbulence in the economy is forcing many people to think about filing for insolvency. In fact, over a million and a half Americans have been doing this in the year 2009. Not all these cases arose because of overspending because factors such as huge medical bills and loss of employment as well as divorce and emergency expenses have all contributed to the problem.

Types of insolvency

Insolvency implies that a person or company is unable to pay their debts after the debts fall due. In most cases, insolvency refers to businesses and more particularly to the inability of the company to repay its debts. There are two types of business insolvencies; cash flow insolvency and balance sheet insolvency. The former implies that the company is not able to pay off its debts after the latter become due. The latter type implies that the company has negative assets or in plain words, its liabilities exceed its assets. It is possible for a business to experience cash-flow insolvency but at the same time it could also be balance-sheet solvent. This situation occurs when the business has non-liquid assets.

Negative assets

It is also possible for the business to have negative assets on its balance sheet but it could still be in a cash-flow solvent position. This situation often arises when the business has ongoing revenues that are sufficient to pay off debts. Once a person or company declares itself as being insolvent it will have to face the consequences. Some jurisdictions consider insolvency to be an offense, especially when it is a company that is declaring insolvency. Other states may not have such restrictions and these states may even allow the company to continue under special arrangements till such time as alternative options to achieve recovery can be found. The trend is for legislation to favor alternative methods to help the insolvent company wind up for good.

Civil action

A company that declares itself insolvent can face civil action. The best course of action for them would be to enter into debt restructuring which allows private as well as public companies and even sovereign entities to reduce as well as renegotiate its bad debts so as to improve and even restore its liquidity. Different countries around the world have worked out their own insolvency regimes and will encourage companies to use different strategies with which to overcome their condition. South Africa, for example, treats owners of the insolvent company to be held personally liable for the debts of their businesses.

The United Kingdom treats insolvent companies differently and will normally put the company into liquidation. There is also provision that allows the directors and the shareholders of the company to initiate liquidation process without involving the courts of law. In the US, there is the Uniform Commercial Code which considers a person to be insolvent when they have ceased to pay their debts in the ordinary course of business or who are unable to pay off their debts that become due.

Author Bio: Stewart Wrighter recently spent time researching bankruptcy with the help of a Columbus Bankruptcy lawyer. His son had an opportunity to work for a group of Columbus Bankruptcy attorneys as a legal intern.

Category: Finances
Keywords: Columbus Bankruptcy Lawyer,Columbus Bankruptcy Attorneys