When an individual or an organization is not able to repay creditors, they can petition the bankruptcy court to declare insolvency or bankruptcy. Insolvency can be filed in two ways, if a creditor petitions a court to declare a debtor bankrupt, this is called involuntary bankruptcy. On the other hand, if a debtor feels like he or she is not able to pay back what they owe, they can petition the court to declare them bankrupt, this is voluntary bankruptcy. Legally, creditor cannot go after a debtor that has been declared in solvent.

Bankruptcy law is not the same globally, different countries have different restrictions. However, the basic concepts are pretty much the same. There are many types of insolvency debtors or creditors can file but only two of them are commonly used. In the first petition, the court will declare insolvency and appoint a trustee to liquidate all the assets belonging to the debtor and distribute the proceeds to the respective debtors.

In the second application, before the court declares insolvency, the debtor will be required to write a debt consolidation plan which must satisfy the conditions set by the law and agreed upon by the creditors. The court will then declare insolvency and appoint a trustee to accept monthly payments form the debtor and forward them to creditors. Unlike the latter plan, the insolvent debtor is in total control of his or her estate.

Only people with regular monthly income can apply for the second type of insolvency. The trustee will acts as the middleman between the insolvent debtor and their creditors. All payments must pass through the trustee. In some countries, insolvency is usually advertised in a gazette notice.

While filing bankruptcy is the best thing to do when a debtor is unable to repay a debt, it usually comes with a number of disadvantages. First of all, insolvency will be reflected on the credit report of the debtor for more than 6 years. This will make it impossible for them to access any kind of financing.

The process of insolvency is not an easy one as you will be required to declare your wealth or estate. If you forget to disclose something, that will amount to fraud which is a white collar crime which can land you in jail. If you are found guilty of fraud or any other crime, the insolvency will continue for close to 15 years instead of the mandatory 12 months.

The first thing the trustee will do is to freeze all the bank accounts that belong to the debtor and shut down all businesses owned by the debt. All the employees that work for the debtor will be sent packing. Any other income stream will be use by the trustee to repay the debt for 36 months.

Bankruptcy may sound scary, but many people have used this debt settlement technique to get out of serious financial problems. After you have been discharged of your insolvency you can then start rebuilding your credit rating afresh. Even with all disadvantages, bankruptcy should be considered by anyone who is having a rough time paying back their debt.