Small Bankruptcies in United Kingdom

History

When the official receiver reports, or the court is otherwise satisfied that the debtor’s property is not likely to realize more than £300, the court may make an order for the summary administration of the estate, in which case, if the debtor is adjudged bankrupt, the official receiver in the ordinary course becomes and remains trustee, and certain other modifications are effected with the view of simplifying [v.03 p.0330]and accelerating the procedure.

The chief of these modifications are as follows, viz. the Board of Trade acts as committee of inspection; there is no advertisement of the proceedings in a local paper; in legal proceedings all questions of law and fact are determined by the court without a jury; adjudication may be made on a report by the official receiver before the first meeting of creditors where no composition or scheme is proposed; meetings of creditors may be held in the town where the court sits or the official receiver’s office is situated; notice to creditors of meetings other than the first meeting, or of application by a debtor for his discharge, are dispensed with in the case of creditors for amounts not exceeding £2.

Costs, other than a solicitor’s charges, may be paid without taxation; and the time for declaring the first dividend is extended to six months, but the whole estate must be realized and distributed within this period if practicable. No modification, however, is permitted in the procedure relating to the public examination and discharge of the bankrupt. Notwithstanding that an order has been made for summary administration, the creditors may at any time by a resolution passed by a majority in number and three-fourths in value of those voting at the meeting, appoint a trustee in place of the official receiver, in which case the summary order ceases to be operative.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica (1911)

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