Free from bankruptcy
The good news is that you're not chained to the nasty 'b' word for ever.
How long does bankruptcy last?
Generally you will be automatically freed from bankruptcy (known as "discharged") after three years. If your bankruptcy order refers to a "certificate of summary administration", you will be discharged after two years. You will also become free from bankruptcy immediately if the court annuls the bankruptcy order; this would normally be where your debts and the fees and expenses of the bankruptcy proceedings have been paid in full, or the bankruptcy order should not have been made.
If you have not carried out your duties under the bankruptcy proceedings, the Official Receiver may apply to the court for your discharge to be postponed.
You will not get an automatic discharge from bankruptcy if you have been an undischarged bankrupt at any time during the 15 years before the current bankruptcy (except where the previous bankruptcy has been annulled). If this applies to you and you wish to obtain your discharge, you must ask the court. You may do this at any time after five years from the date of your current bankruptcy order. Even then, the court may refuse or delay your discharge, or grant it conditionally on terms requiring you to make some payments out of your income.
Debts
Discharge releases you from most of the debts you owed at the date of the bankruptcy order. Exceptions include fines, debts arising from fraud and certain other crimes, and any claims which cannot be made in the bankruptcy itself. You will only be released from a liability to pay damages for personal injuries to any person if the court thinks fit.
When you are discharged you can borrow money or carry on business. You can act as a company director unless you are disqualified from doing so as a result of a separate order arising out of your involvement with a company.
Assets you owned or obtained before your discharge
When you are discharged there may still be assets that you owned, either when your bankruptcy began, or which you obtained before your discharge, which the trustee has not yet dealt with. Examples of these may be your home, a pension or assurance policy or an interest in a will or trust fund.
These assets are still controlled by the trustee, who can deal with them at any time in the future. This may not be for a number of years after your discharge.
With some assets - such as your home and some types of assurance policy - your spouse, a partner, a relative or friend may want to buy your interest. He or she should get in touch with the trustee straightaway to find out how much they would have to pay.
You must tell the Official Receiver about assets you obtain after the trustee has finished dealing with your case but before you are discharged. These assets could be claimed to pay your creditors. You have a duty to continue to assist your trustee after you have been discharged.
Assets you obtain after your discharge
Usually you may keep all assets you acquire after your discharge.
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