Insolvency procedures

What is the Consumer Plan?
The consumer plan consists of a proposal to restructure your debts which the debtor then, with the help of a lawyer and a special crisis settlement body (O.C.C.), can file with the assistance of the nearest Court from his residence.
With the consumer plan the debtor can redefine the amounts and deadlines of all its debts, with payouts distributed in a period of maximum ten years. In practice a “balance and excerpt” that does not require the consent of the creditors!
Thanks to the consumer’s plan, the debtor can also benefit from the bankruptcy discharge, which is the release from the debts remaining and not included in the plan.

Who can propose the consumer plan?
Every natural person who has contracted their debts exclusively for purposes other than business or professional activity may accessed the procedure.
In addition, the debtor must be in a state of so called “over-indebtedness”. This means that debts must be overdid and cannot be paid on a regular basis even though the debtor mightcould have a large asset (such as real estate or assets which cannot readily be realized).

What are the conditions for approving the plan?
The judge approves the consumer’s plan only if he considers the debtor “deserving”. The court assesses both the causes of the indebtedness and the reasons for the inability to fulfill the obligations assumed and the plan complies only if it excludes that the consumer has contracted his debts without the reasonable prospect of being able to pay off, or if the consumer has activated fundings not proportionate to their capital assets.
The court’s judgment will therefore also impact the methods of granting credit by banks and financial institutions, which have a specific duty to evaluate the debtor’s actual assets.

What if the judge agrees with the plan?
Once approved, the consumer’s plan becomes mandatory for all creditors who will be able to claim their credit from the debtor within the limits it has redefined – in amounts and deadlines – in the plan itself.
By approving the plan, the consumer will benefit from the bankruptcy discharge of all outstanding debts and amounts!
In addition, if approved, the plan allows for blocking all executable procedures (foreclosure, acceleration and bankruptcy ), both current ones and those that are still to be started.

And if I a’m not a consumer or I am not worthy?
Law no. 3/2012 gives the possibility to propose a settlement agreement for debt repayment also to all debtors who do not meet the Consumer Plan requirements. The assumptions are that they can not be subject to concurrent procedures other than those provided for in Law no. 3/2012 (f.i. failure or prior agreement) and they have to be in a state of over-indebtedness.
However, in this case, approval must be obtained with at least 60% of creditors.

What are the costs for accessing the procedure?
The costs to access the procedure vary accordingly to the officer assigned who usually requires a small fund for expenses. Otherwise, you may request the appointment of an officer filing an appeal with the competent court, paying only a single contribution of € 98.00 and a stamp of € 27.00.
The remunerations of the officer and the lawyer will be paid according to the terms and deadlines defined by the Cconsumer Plan.

Do you need a lawyer to deposit the Consumer Plan?
Although not explicitly provided by L. n. 3/2012, the presence of a lawyer is indeed indispensable. By relying on an experienced lawyer, the consumer will only have to collect the documentation already in his possession. He will then be able to rely on the lawyer to handle relations with the officer and the creditors, as well as to draft the acts required by the procedure, such as the appeal for the appointment of the officer and the consumer’s plan.