DEALING WITH ISSUES ON HOW TO SEQUESTRATE YOURSELF
If you are unable to pay your debts, and you have substantial debts, you might want to find out how to sequestrate yourself in South Africa. The good news is that you do not have to wait for creditors to bring a compulsory sequestration application against you. Indeed, if you know how to sequestrate yourself, it is better to take the proactive step, as creditors can take legal action against you, and you can lose all your assets if you cannot pay your debt.
To understand how to sequestrate yourself, you need to understand the process of voluntary sequestration. Since it is a legal process, you will need professional assistance from attorneys. They will help you determine whether you qualify as insolvent, and handle the application to court on your behalf.
Basically, you will surrender your financial estate to be managed by a court-appointed trustee. The trustee will sell the assets in the estate, and distribute the proceeds among the creditors according to the requirements of the Insolvency Act. You will no longer be in control of your financial estate. Once rehabilitated, you will again resume control over your financial estate.
However, let us get back to the issue of how to sequestrate yourself. You will be required to list your income and expenses, provide a reason for your debt situation, and provide a list of creditors, debt owed to them, and whether secured or unsecured debt. If you do not have immovable property, you will need enough other assets, cash, or income to ensure that the costs of sequestration can be paid, and that the creditors can receive their minimum benefit from the sequestration.
HOW TO DEAL WITH THE CREDITORS
After your intention to sequestrate yourself has been published, you must seize all payments to the creditors. Indeed, do not even speak to a creditor. It is illegal to benefit one creditor over another, as with sequestration, the creditors are dealt with as a collective. Should one of them try to persuade you to pay them or harass you, simply refer them to the attorneys.
HOW TO DEAL WITH MISCONCEPTIONS
Do not take the word of a friend or family member about the state of your assets during and after sequestration. Rather ask our attorneys for legal guidance. You may very well make it impossible to sequestrate yourself through actions taken upon the advice of friends and family members. For one, do not attempt to hide your assets, or to sell one asset to pay off a creditor to the disadvantage of another creditor. Be honest about your financial situation with the attorneys, as they are on your side. Do not lie about the extent of your assets, and exclude any of the creditors in the list of creditors.
Ask our attorneys about issues, such as your furniture, tools of trade, retirement fund, salary, mobile phone contracts, vehicles, firearms, and more. We will explain which assets form part of the estate, and what buyback means. If you want to know how to sequestrate yourself, get professional legal guidance. Call on us for friendly and discreet assistance.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Call on our attorneys for legal advice, rather than relying on the information herein to make any decisions. The information is relevant to the date of publishing.