Bankruptcy Solicitors in Hertfordshire

Please contact us for an initial consultation if you require assistance in the areas of bankruptcy and insolvency.

We are very experienced in undertaking this type of work.

We can assist you from our office in Hatfield, Hertfordshire which is opposite Hatfield railway station. (There is a multi-storey car park adjoining the station and opposite to our office).

We can see you on the same day in case of an emergency – but you may need to come to one of our other offices for such a meeting.

Bankruptcy Solicitors in Hatfield, Hertfordshire

In the examples below, we set out the type of work we undertake within this field:

Defending statutory demands and bankruptcy petitions
The insolvency process should only be used for undisputed debts. It is more commonly used where there are bona fide disputes to the monies claim. We make applications for our clients to set aside statutory demands and defend bankruptcy petitions. Where the debt is not disputed, we can assist by introducing financial brokers to raise insolvency finance. This essentially consists of bridging finance which will prevent the making of a bankruptcy order. If a bankruptcy order is made, it is still possible to obtain insolvency finance. Although this process will be more expensive as it will involve payment of the fees to the official receiver and potentially to a trustee in bankruptcy – all the other creditors would need to be paid off as well. Accordingly, it is much better to resolve the matter with just one creditor rather than dealing with all creditors pursuant to an annulment application.
Applying to annul or rescind bankruptcy orders
This process is known as bankruptcy annulment. There are two grounds for annulling bankruptcy orders.
- The first, is upon the grounds that such an order should never have been made. An application upon this ground is normally quite difficult to achieve.
- The second, is a payment of the debts and expenses of the bankruptcy in full – which is the more common application. Again, we can introduce you to financial brokers who are experienced in obtaining finance for an annulment from specialist lenders. If an annulment is granted, the bankruptcy is deemed not to have happened and accordingly the credit status is restored. It is quite common post-annulment for us to remove the bankruptcy entries at the Land Registry and on the Land Charges Register. We also write to the major credit reference agencies for a note that the bankruptcy has been annulled.
Defending the family home.
This is quite common subsequent to the making of a bankruptcy order after a period of one year. The trustee in bankruptcy will make efforts to realise the bankrupt’s interest in the family home where commonly extracted by the spouse to save the family home from being repossessed. Again, insolvency finance is secured, the interest of the trustee in the family home and in some cases to annul the bankruptcy should this be a cheaper option. We provide detailed advice at an initial meeting as to which route to take.
Petition for un-bankruptcy
We provide detailed advice to clients who are considering this option. We discuss other alternative ways forward and offer advice as to the restrictions and practicalities of bankruptcy, such as how to deal with bank accounts and salaries/benefit payments etc. We also offer advice in relation to an attempt by the Official Receiver to extend the period for operation of bankruptcy restrictions.
Defending claims raised by trustees in bankruptcy
Such claims include applications to set aside transactions as a preference or as being made at an undervalue. If you receive a letter before action from a solicitor acting for a trustee in bankruptcy, do not panic about this, please come and see us and we will provide detailed advice and settle the pre-action protocol letter of response. In difficult situations, we will engage insolvency counsel to assist in the preparation of the letter of response.
Challenging the fees of a trustee in bankruptcy
It is not uncommon for some trustees in bankruptcy to incur extremely large fees in relation to the administration of an estate. It is possible to challenge these fees in particular in connection with an annulment application. Please contact us if you wish to annul your bankruptcy but are unable to do so because of very high trustee’s fees and you wish to consider a potential challenge.
Corporate insolvency
We can also help in relation to this, in particular in the defence of winding up petitions and applications for an injunction to restrain advertisement or winder of the petition. If a winding-up petition is advertised, this will result in the company bank account being frozen which may have devastating commercial effects. We also defend claims raised by liquidators against directors and other persons. Claims include wrongful trading, claims for repayment of unlawful dividends or the repayment of monies which have been drawn out of the company by the directors. Where the position is difficult, we enlist the help of specialist insolvency counsel to assist with the defence of the claims. Indeed, we would normally use such counsel to assist in sending a letter of response to a pre-action protocol letter of claim for this type of matter.
Insolvency process by Local Authorities and HMRC)? Revenue
We are very experienced in advising clients who are facing an insolvency process by the Local Authority (for either business rates or council tax or the revenue in respect of unpaid taxes).

For council tax, we would normally seek to adjourn the bankruptcy petition hearings and at the same time raise a complaint with the Local Authority and escalate the complaint by way of appeal to the valuation tribunal. In relation to business rates, the position is more difficult since an appeal to the valuation tribunal is not possible. The only way of defending such a claim is to make an application (very promptly) to the Magistrates Court to set aside the liability order upon which the petition is based. Such an application should be made without any delay, so call us if you have received notice of a liability order – whether it be for council tax or in respect of business rates, please contact us immediately for an appointment, so we can submit the application to the Magistrates Court without any loss of time.

Fixed fee meetings

When you initially telephone us, we will normally discuss your case to a limited extent. If you wish, we can organise an initial fixed fee meeting to discuss the situation in more detail.

Please contact partner Lawrence Rodkin.
Email address: Lawrence.rodkin@sr-law.co.uk.
The telephone number for our Hatfield office is 01707 830244.

Bankruptcy Solicitors in Hertfordshire

Bankruptcy Solicitors in Hatfield, Hertfordshire

Fixed fee meetings

Contact Simons Rodkin Solicitors LLP

Finchley Office

Bloomsbury Office

Hatfield Office