I Few Questions From My Attorney

ian360

Hey guys,

Well, I have things moving along pretty well with my bankruptcy application. However, I do have a few questions that have come up recently...

I have hired an attorney here in Costa Rica to help me, he is actually a US lawyer but he does have some knowledge of UK law etc. He's been making sure that all of my papers are in order and he will sign the relevant stuff and issue an affidavit or power of attorney to a friend who will take my papers to court etc.

A couple of questions he had were...

a. Does he need to issue a power of attorney to my friend to take care of the initial bankruptcy appointment, or will an affidavit saying that I am unable to be in the UK due to financial constraints therefore a friend as being given the right to do this on my behalf suffice?

b. On the first page of the application, it asks for the name of the claimant, and name of the defendant. He assumes that the claimant is myself, but who is the defendant?

That's all for now, I am sure that I will have some more questions for you guys soon.

Thank you in advance...

Ian

Conor_3

Declaring from abroad has been covered before. You have to be present in person. There is no claimant/defendant as it's not that type of case. If there were any, the people you owe are the claimants and you the defendant.

ian360

Hey Conor,

Thank you for responding.

Ah, so I am the defendant, okay good...

I know that I can still file for bankruptcy without me actually being there and that I can issue a "power of attorney" to a family member, friend, or a solicitor in the UK. However, finding out exactly how to do that has been quite difficult though.

Thank you...

Ian

fermi

What forms have you got?

Debtors Bankruptcy Petition (pdf) and Statement of Affairs - Debtor's Petition (pdf)

Those above don't mention anything about claimants or defendants.

Might be worth asking the people you are going to have the forms submitted to before you go too far along the road.

Royal Courts of Justice: Bankruptcy and Companies Court - Bankruptcy Enquiries - 0207 947 6448

I think you may need to get permission from the court in advance to present the petition in your absence, and that may not be simple or easy to obtain.

ian360

Thanks guys.

I tried calling the High Court as suggested but they must be closed now, so I'll try again in the morning.

To be honest, I am not sure on which form it asked for the claimant and defendant because my attorney has the forms with him, and I don't remember seeing it either. I certainly have the statement of affairs, but I don't recognize the debtors bankruptcy petition, so I will print this one out and fill it in also.

So I will keep moving along with this and I will keep you guys updated as to what happens...

Thanks again...

Ian