Harris & Partners - Licensed Insolvency Trustee

10/19/2026

Losing a parent is hard enough. Then the credit card statements keep arriving.

If you're wondering whether you now have to pay your mom's or dad's credit card debt, here's the plain answer: in most cases, no.

Debts are paid out of the estate, which means from what your parent owned. If there isn't enough to cover everything, the creditors share what there is. The rest isn't passed on to you.

There are exceptions. If you co-signed, guaranteed the debt or had a joint account, you may be responsible. And if you're the executor, take care of the debts and taxes before handing anything out, or you could end up personally on the hook.

Please don't pay an estate debt out of your own savings because a collector called. Talk to someone first.

1-800-268-8093
harrispartners.ca

10/16/2026

If you've been thinking about bankruptcy, you are far from the only one in Ontario.

In the 12 months to the end of August, 11,696 people in Ontario filed for bankruptcy. The year before, it was 9,533.

Here's the part most people don't know. For a first bankruptcy with no surplus income payments, the discharge is automatic after nine months, as long as no one opposes it and you finish two short counselling sessions. If surplus income payments apply, it's 21 months.

Nine months. Then a fresh start.

It isn't the right answer for everyone, and a consumer proposal may fit you better. A free first conversation with a Licensed Insolvency Trustee will lay out both, side by side.

1-800-268-8093
harrispartners.ca

10/15/2026

New on The Paydown from Kyle, one of our Licensed Insolvency Trustees:

Can the CRA garnish your wages? What the law allows, what the CRA must do first, and what can stop it

The CRA can order your employer to send part of your pay toward tax debt, but there are steps first. Here's how garnishment works and what can stop it.

The CRA can order your employer to send part of your pay toward tax debt, but there are steps first. Here's how garnishment works and what can stop it.

10/15/2026

New on The Paydown from Kyle, one of our Licensed Insolvency Trustees:

Ottawa tables a simpler insolvency track for small businesses. Here's what Bill S-7 actually says.

A Senate bill introduced Oct. 7 aims to give very small corporations a simpler, lower-cost route through bankruptcy or a proposal. The details that matter are still to come by regulation.

A Senate bill introduced Oct. 7 aims to give very small corporations a simpler, lower-cost route through bankruptcy or a proposal. The details that matter are still to come by regulation.

10/14/2026

Worried about the person who co-signed for you? That worry says a lot about you.

Here's how it works. If you file a consumer proposal or a bankruptcy, it protects you. The person who co-signed is still responsible for that debt.

But there are options for them too. When two people's finances are tied together, a joint consumer proposal may be possible. In other cases, the co-signer can get advice of their own and make a plan.

The best time to talk is early, and together, before the lender comes calling.

The first meeting with us is free, and you're welcome to bring them along.

Call us at 1-800-268-8093 or visit harrispartners.ca

10/12/2026

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating today.

Here's a worry we hear a lot: "If I file, won't everyone know?"

In most cases, no.

It doesn't go in the newspaper. For a personal bankruptcy with modest assets, the law says no newspaper notice unless the trustee or a court decides it's needed.

Your employer isn't told, unless they're one of your creditors or your pay is being garnished and the garnishment has to stop.

Your creditors are told, because they're part of the process. And there is a government record, but someone has to sign up and pay to search it.

Privacy matters. It just shouldn't be the thing that keeps you from getting help.

Call us at 1-800-268-8093 or visit harrispartners.ca

10/09/2026

Every consumer proposal and bankruptcy includes two counselling sessions. People are often nervous about them. They don't need to be.

The first is between 10 and 90 days after you file. The second is at least 30 days after that.

We talk about real things: your budget, your goals, your spending, and how to use credit in a way that works for you.

It's one on one. It can be by video if that suits you better. And nobody is there to judge.

For a lot of people, it turns out to be the part that helps the most.

Questions? Call us at 1-800-268-8093 or visit harrispartners.ca

10/07/2026

Thinking about getting help with debt? Do this one quick check first.

Look the person up. The federal government keeps a public list of every Licensed Insolvency Trustee in Canada. Search "Find a Licensed Insolvency Trustee" on the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy website and type in the name.

Why it matters: Licensed Insolvency Trustees are the only professionals licensed and supervised by the federal government to handle consumer proposals and bankruptcies. The rules also say the trustee has to do your assessment personally. A paid middleman is not supposed to be part of it.

If someone who is not on that list is asking for your pay stubs and promising to cut your debt in half, please pause and call a trustee directly.

Our first meeting is free, and you will be talking to the people actually licensed to help.

1-800-268-8093
harrispartners.ca

10/05/2026

Got a letter saying your wages will be garnished? Take a breath. Here is what the rules actually say in Ontario.

For most debts, at least 80 percent of your take home pay is protected. A creditor can take no more than 20 percent, unless a judge orders a different amount. For family support, up to half can be taken.

Most creditors also need a court judgment before they can garnish your pay at all.

And here is the part people do not hear often enough. A garnishment can usually be stopped. When a consumer proposal or bankruptcy is filed, the law puts a hold on most creditor action, including garnishments, once your employer is notified. Family support is the main exception.

You do not have to wait for the next pay stub to find out what happens. Call us and we will walk you through it, free.

1-800-268-8093
harrispartners.ca

10/02/2026

If you are behind on your bills and feel like you are the only one, please read this.

Between April and June this year, 37,523 people in Canada filed a consumer insolvency. That is more than 400 people every single day. In Ontario alone it was 14,642.

That is the most in a three month stretch since 2009.

We share that number for one reason. You are not alone, and you are not a number either. Every one of those people had a story, and many of them waited longer than they had to before talking to someone.

There is a way through this, and it is often gentler than people expect. Sometimes it is not a filing at all.

Talking to us is free, private and comes with no pressure.

1-800-268-8093
harrispartners.ca