A helpful webpage to bookmark for accountants

After two and a half years of record low personal insolvency activity, we are now seeing an increase in inquiries from individual facing financial distress.

Those professional advisors out there who have dealt with us over the years know that we are more than happy to assist people understand their personal financial circumstances and how bankruptcy may apply to their situation.

There are a number of questions that consistently arise during those discussions that centre on what assets can be retained by a bankrupt and thresholds that relate to certain assets and income.

In readiness for likely increase in insolvency related queries that may come from your personal clients, I thought I would share this simple piece of information with you so you can look out for them if they run into a rough patch financially.

In personal bankruptcy, there are lots of numbers and allowances to keep in mind. These thresholds relate to:

1. Protected property in bankruptcy
   – Motor vehicle
   – Tools of trade
2. Credit limits whilst bankrupt
3. Income contribution thresholds

To make things a bit trickier, these thresholds change periodically.

So what I have done is bookmarked this page on the Australian Financial Security Authority website. This page is updated by AFSA as the figures change and comes in handy when I talk to someone about their options (something that I do a lot of). We can then work through their specific situation and I can give the options available.

I suggest you bookmark the page in your browser – you never know when it will come in handy.

And if anything comes up within the realm of bankruptcy that is a bit complex, you can call me anytime to bounce issues off me.