Lawyers say your $5,000 debt doesn’t disappear when the company you owe goes out of business — here’s why
westend61/Envato Around 57% of households have some type of unsecured debt, including credit cards and personal loans. This debt can be a financial burden because borrowers must make monthly payments and cover interest. Once you’ve taken on debt, you’re committed to paying it back. Otherwise, you could hurt your credit score and face collection activity.…
Around 57% of households have some type of unsecured debt, including credit cards and personal loans. This debt can be a financial burden because borrowers must make monthly payments and cover interest.
Once you’ve taken on debt, you’re committed to paying it back. Otherwise, you could hurt your credit score and face collection activity. But what happens if the company you borrowed from runs into financial trouble and goes out of business? Does that mean your debt disappears?
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Let’s say, for example, that Ronald financed $10,000 in home repairs with a local construction company, but the company is now shutting its doors. Ronald still owes $5,000, so he’s wondering if he still has to pay back this money or if the closure of the business he owes money to wipes his slate clean.
Unfortunately for Ronald, experts agree that he’s likely not just going to be able to walk away from the debt, despite the company he owes money to shutting down.
Your duty to pay doesn’t disappear
While Ronald may have hoped he’d be off the hook once the construction company closed, that won’t necessarily happen.
“Generally, if you owe $5,000 to a company that goes out of business, you still have to pay it,” Romy Jurado, a Florida business attorney, told Moneywise. “The debt doesn’t simply disappear because the company closes. This is a common misconception.”
Jurado explained that your unpaid bill is an asset of the company, so the company could still try to collect as it goes through the shutdown process. If the business isn’t in a position to collect the unpaid amount itself, it could transfer or sell the debt to someone else, like a collection agency. And if it’s going through bankruptcy, the trustee could try to collect.
And other experts agree. “You absolutely still have to pay back that $5,000,” Stacy Kemp Ferrari, founder and managing partner at Kemp Law Group in Florida, told Moneywise. “The only question is who you’re going to pay it back to.”
Unfortunately, Kemp explained that “filing for bankruptcy actually gives them more reason to aggressively hound you for payments, since those debts are valuable corporate assets they can use to make payments for their own debts.”
There’s a simple reason why the debt doesn’t just disappear. As Michael Ziegler, an attorney and founding partner of Ziegler Diamond Law, explained, “A debt from a customer to a business creates a receivable. The receivable — the business’s right to payment — is considered an asset, just like any other asset.”
Ziegler compared the unpaid account to things like equipment the company owns or the money the company has in the bank. “Those things don’t just disappear into thin air the moment the business closes. Similarly, a business’s receivables don’t simply cease to exist when the business closes.”
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How should you handle your unpaid debt in this situation?
Since the debt doesn’t just disappear, the big question is, what should Ronald do next?
“The best thing to do would be to set aside the payment still and wait for the official written instructions — the notice of assignment — on who to pay it to and how,” Ferrari said.
However, Ziegler also explained that while the debt won’t vanish, there are times when Ronald may be able to find a way around paying it. One of those situations is if the company simply shuts its doors without going bankrupt or bothering to sell its accounts receivable.
“With a smaller, closely held business, the owner may simply close the business and retire without transferring the business assets, and potentially never collect on the receivables. In this case, it isn’t that the obligation no longer exists. It’s just that no one is seeking to collect,” Ziegler said.
If the company does transfer the right to collect to someone else, Ziegler said Ronald still may want to consult with a lawyer before paying, as “many legal issues could arise that may partially or fully excuse payment.” For example, he said that “if the debt was transferred, the transferee may need to prove they have the right to collect, particularly if the debt has gone to court.”
While these outcomes are possible, ultimately, the odds are good that the company, a bankruptcy trustee, or those who buy the accounts receivable are going to try to get money from Ronald. And he’ll likely have to pay it as long as they can prove it’s a valid debt. So Ronald can’t assume he’s off the hook and must be ready to pay the $5,000 when the time comes.
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This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: Lawyers say your $5,000 debt doesn’t disappear when the company you owe goes out of business — here’s why
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
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