In The News

WHAT ARE DEBT SOLUTION OPTIONS? CLIENT SPOTLIGHT: HOWARD LANDAU

 

What is the current state of consumer debt in Canada?
In December, it was reported that Canadians carried record debt last year. According to Statistics Canada, household credit-market debt (mortgages, consumer credit and non-mortgage loans) rose to 162.6 percent of disposable income in the third quarter of 2014. The debt continues to rise as the rate at which consumers borrow for home purchases outweigh the tepid growth of disposable income.

How does being in deep debt affect someone’s life?
Debt can have a major impact on your life. The uncertainty and stress related to debt can cause depression and lack of focus and can affect your home and work life. The fear of being “found out” also creates avoidance which can also be destructive.

What type of consumer clients does Dodick Landau serve?
Every day we see people struggling with debt issues. These are unfortunate persons who either had no choice but to use credit or persons who underestimated the pitfalls of credit. Recently, we are also seeing a number of individuals who have been hit with large tax assessments or former corporate directors with large tax liability due to directors’ obligations for unpaid HST and payroll deductions.”

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WHAT IS A CORPORATE BANKRUPTCY? CLIENT SPOTLIGHT: RAHN DODICK, TRUSTEE IN BANKRUPTCY

 

WHAT IS A CORPORATE BANKRUPTCY?
Overwhelming debt, overdue bills and relentless calls from creditors and their lawyers are stressful for any business owner. But when the money is not there, and the debts can no longer be serviced, creditor protection is sometimes the only option.

Anyone who’s been through a personal bankruptcy, or has filed a consumer proposal, knows it can be a lengthy process that can impact your credit and finances for a number of years, but eventually most individuals are able to rehabilitate financially. When it’s a business that is in financial distress, the number of lives affected is often greater, and can create a domino effect for owners, employees, suppliers and even customers who rely on that company’s products or services, sometimes catapulting them into financial difficulty as well.

Business Funeral Director or Emergency Surgeon?
Most business owners never want to have to be in the position to call Rahn Dodick. Dodick is President of Dodick Landau Inc., and leads the business restructuring practice of the firm, while Howard Landau leads the firm’s consumer insolvency practice.

But while some may think of a trustee as a business funeral director, in actuality they function more as a financial rescue team. “I’m the financial emergency surgeon,” Dodick explains. “People call 911. I come in and try to rescue the “patient”, i.e. business, and keep him alive to take care of his dependents. If the business is still breathing when we are called in, we try to resuscitate it and help it recover financially. If it’s too late and there is no viable business, we take the “organs”, i.e., the assets, and we sell them and put them in another “body”, i.e., business, so another business can benefit from them. The earlier we get involved, the higher the likelihood we can help save a viable business.”

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