On this page you will find useful information about finances and debt counseling. Are you an entrepreneur and do you want to know more about budgeting, then follow our budget course. If you are looking for further explanation of the legal terms that are often used in debt counseling, please read our glossary.
A reminder is a written message (or e-mail) from your creditor stating that you must keep to the agreement made. This agreement is called the agreement. Debt assistance often involves still having to pay an agreed amount for, for example, a received product or service. If you do not pay within a certain term, your creditor can send you a reminder with a new term and later a reminder with possibly associated costs. There is a possibility that the claim will be transferred to a debt collection agency or directly at a bailiff's office. After a transfer of the claim, the collection agency or bailiff's office will report to you. This often happens via a letter stating how much time you still have to pay.
In short, a reminder is a message (letter) stating that you still have to pay before a certain date.
Your repayment capacity is calculated on the basis of your monthly income. A calculation is made of how much money you need per month to pay your fixed costs and your living expenses. This is what it mentions Release Amount. This is the amount that you can keep from your total income and it cannot be used to pay your creditors. Only what you earn above the Released Amount is used to pay off your debts. The amount of this amount is your repayment capacity.
In short, your repayment capacity is the amount that you can pay monthly to your creditors.
A bank guarantee is an agreement you make with your bank when buying a home. If you want to buy a home, you first sign a purchase agreement. You agree with the seller of the house an amount that you have to pay. Once you have signed, the seller will often want to receive part of the total purchase amount from you. This gives the seller more certainty that you will actually buy the house. If you cannot pay this amount, the bank can do this for you. This is possible on the basis of the agreed bank guarantee. An advantage is that you do not have to use your own savings.
In short, a bank guarantee is a way to buy a home with the help of your bank.
A decision is a government decision addressed to you as a person. For example, if you have applied for a Bbz credit from your municipality, it will reply in writing to your application. The letter containing the answer is called a decision. If the Tax and Customs Administration decides whether or not you receive a health care allowance, you will also receive a decision. If the UWV decides whether or not to grant unemployment benefits, this is also referred to as a decision.
You can object to a government decision. The letter (decision) states how and within what period. If your objection is rejected, you may still be able to go to court.
In short, a decision is a letter that you receive from the government with a decision addressed to you.
The Self-Employed Assistance Decree is a scheme of your municipality and offers you the opportunity as an independent entrepreneur to receive financial assistance. If you are facing financial problems, the municipality can, for example, give you an interest-free loan or a starter loan. It is also possible that you will receive a supplement to your income if you risk falling below the social assistance level.
Getting this financial help depends on your personal situation.
In short, the Decree on assistance for the self-employed is a scheme of your municipality to support you financially, as an independent entrepreneur.
In order to increase the chance of success in solving your debts, there is the possibility to submit an application for a Bbz loan to the municipality (a loan based on the Decree on assistance for the self-employed 2004). This is a loan that you receive at the beginning of the debt restructuring process. This can, for example, be used to repay your current debts or to maintain your income if you risk falling below the minimum subsistence level. This loan can also be used as a temporary benefit if you want to stop your business. If you use the loan to repay your debts, you only have to repay the loan to the municipality after repayment. For the rest, you are free without debt.
You can ask the municipality where you are registered as a person to provide a Bbz credit. If your application is being processed, a business manager within the municipality will assess the viability of your business assess if you plan to continue with the business. The business manager will indicate what the amount of the credit will be and how it should be used to pay the debts. This will process the information in a report that you will receive with the beschikking of the municipality. It describes which amount is paid under which conditions.
In short, a Bbz credit is a loan from your municipality that you can use as an entrepreneur to pay your debts.
What is the social assistance standard?
The social assistance standard determines how much assistance you can get from the government. The assistance is intended for people who do not have enough money to make a living. For example, if you are single and over the age of 21 and have not yet reached the age of retirement, you will receive 70% of the minimum wage as assistance. The 70% of the minimum wage is then the welfare standard in this situation. If you are dealing with a different living situation, the standard can therefore also be different and therefore also the amount of your assistance. For example, if you are married or living together, a different social assistance standard applies. As a single parent, if you do not have a partner but children who live at home, a different standard may apply.
In short, the social assistance standard is the amount you receive depending on your living situation and age.
It is mandatory for lenders to report a given loan (credit) to the Credit Registration Office (BKR) in Tiel. The data is stored in the Central Credit Information System (CKI), so that the lender can see whether the payment behavior is correct. This way you can see whether someone is in arrears or has paid on time.
We use this information to get an overview of your outstanding credits (loans). We can also see if payment arrangements have already been made.
In short, a BKR registration is a collection of information about your loans and payment arrangements.
Normally you pay by appointment and on time. If that doesn't work, the person or organization that gets the money from you can force you to pay. A way of forcing you to pay is an attachment. An attachment can be placed on, for example, your wages / benefits, your car, your home and your household effects. A seizure is announced by the bailiff. You will receive a letter in which the judge says that the attachment has been approved and on which it will be laid. If the bailiff does not receive permission from the judge, he may not seize it.
There are two types of attachment, namely:
Seizure cannot be placed on:
It is important for you to know that with the attachment levied on your wages or benefits the batter-free foot should remain available as a minimum.
In short, seizure is one way of forcing you to pay your bill.
The seizure-free rate is a part of your total income that cannot be seized by a bailiff. This amount is what you need at least to live on. The amount of this amount depends, among other things, on your family situation and the level of your and your partner's income. A starting point is that at least 90% of the applicable assistance standard must remain free during a seizure. Calculating the seizure-free foot, however, is custom work. The final amount will be increased by part of the housing costs and part of the health insurance premium.
In short, in the event of an attachment on your salary (or benefit), a minimum amount that you need to provide for your existence is taken into account. It should not be seized.
If your bank sees that you as an entrepreneur are experiencing financial difficulties, your file will be given to the special management department. This department will look at whether there are possibilities to prevent or solve any payment problems. It is important for you to be open and to properly record the agreements with your bank. They can help you from the bank to stabilize and possibly resolve the situation. Sometimes special management is also called intensive management.
In short, special management is the department within your bank that deals with your payment problems as an entrepreneur.
The Municipal Credit Bank is also known as the social bank within your municipality. The purpose of this bank is not to make a profit. This bank offers help with debt resolution and may offer a solution if you cannot obtain a loan through your own bank. Whether or not you can borrow through the Municipal Credit Bank depends on your personal situation.
In short, the Gemeentelijke Kredietbank is the bank within your municipality where you can go if you don't get a loan through your own bank.
The creditor is the party to whom you have to pay an amount by agreement. If there are several creditors, one will see who has priority in payment. Within debt assistance, account is taken of the difference between a competitor and preferential creditor. This distinction is also made within the legal process (WSNP) and bankruptcy.
In debt counseling, unsecured creditors are treated equally. The restructuring proposal we send states how much they can get paid from their debt if they agree to your debt counseling process. For example, if there are several suppliers that you have to pay, they will each receive an equal part of their debt after the debt restructuring process has ended.
In short, unsecured creditors are the parties that do not occupy a special position in a debt restructuring process or bankruptcy.
If you buy or rent something you have to pay for it. The party to whom you have to pay is your creditor. For example, you can rent a house if you pay a certain amount every month. The party (the landlord) from whom you rent the house is your creditor. If you buy a car for a certain amount, the party that gives the car to you is your creditor (also known as creditor).
In short, a creditor is the party to whom you have to pay a certain amount.
A trustee is the person appointed by the judge to take over the management of your assets. This happens after the judge has declared you bankrupt. In that situation, you will not be able to pay your bills and your assets will be converted into money. Part of this will be sold. Of the total proceeds, an amount will be paid to your creditors to (partially) pay the outstanding accounts.
In short, a trustee is the person who sells your assets after your bankruptcy to pay your creditors.
If you buy or rent something you have to pay for it. In this situation, the paying party is the debtor and the receiving party is the creditor. The terms debtor and creditor are also used for debtor and creditor. As a debtor, for example, you have an obligation to pay an amount so that you receive the purchased car from your creditor.
In short, a debtor is the person who has to pay for a product or service.
A bailiff can perform a number of tasks under the law. For example, the person can summon you. This means that you will be asked to appear in court on a specific date. For example, have you submitted a request to the court to be admitted to the legal debt restructuring process (de WSNP), then you will be called up to tell your story about your debts. The bailiff can also organize the eviction of a house. The person will come to your door with a judgment from the judge to inform you that the house will be evacuated, for example because you have a rent arrears. You will then have time to move your belongings. The seizure is also a task that the bailiff can perform. Finally, a bailiff supervises the public sale of, for example, a home. A very important requirement for the performance of these tasks is that, in principle, a court decision is required.
The role of a bailiff's office is similar to one debt collection agency. An important difference is that a debt collection agency cannot force you to pay or seize. For example, a bailiff will start by sending you a letter requesting you to pay within a specified period. This message states that if you do not pay within the set term, you can be summoned to appear in court.
In short, a bailiff is a person who can compel you to pay your debts.
During the debt counseling process with us, one or more creditors may not cooperate in a solution of your debts. For example, the person finds the amount offered that you are going to repay too low or does not want to cooperate at all in such a scheme. This may be the case, for example, when you have made insufficient effort to pay your debts, which has resulted in a bad relationship between you and your creditor. We can then submit a request to the court for the application of a compulsory settlement. The court will then examine whether there is a good reason for the remaining creditors not to agree with the proposal of Zuidweg & Partners. If there is no good reason, the court can compel the remaining creditor (s) to cooperate in the amicable settlement. A compulsory settlement is also possible within the WSNP.
In short, a compulsory composition is a way of forcing refusing creditors to cooperate in a debt counseling process.
Bankruptcy is the situation where you can no longer pay your bills. For example, you have no more money to pay your creditors such as your suppliers, your landlord or your health insurer. To file for bankruptcy, there must be at least two creditors who can prove that you can no longer pay the bills.
If the judge has declared you bankrupt, you can no longer freely use and use your belongings. This means that you may not (re) rent, (re) buy, donate or borrow anything. You get one trustee assigned (often a lawyer) who receives and processes your mail. The trustee will map out your financial situation and also sell your assets in order to pay your creditors. If you do not have any assets, the bankruptcy trustee will submit a request to the court to lift the bankruptcy. After all, there is no money available to pay off the debts.
An alternative to filing for bankruptcy is submitting a request to be admitted to the Natural Persons Debt Rescheduling Act (WSNP). During the handling of the bankruptcy, conversion can take place to the Wsnp. Click on the following links if you want to know more about bankruptcy en WSNP.
In short, bankruptcy is the situation in which you as an entrepreneur no longer have the prospect of paying your bills. This situation is decided by the judge.
At the start of your debt restructuring process, it is determined how much of your debts you can repay within the debt restructuring process. your creditors must agree to cancel all outstanding debts at the end of your journey. This is called final discharge.
Some organizations such as the CJIB (Central Judicial Collection Agency) and DUO (Education Executive Agency) do not grant this remission. After the debt counseling process, they can continue to collect the outstanding debt, possibly through a debt collection agency or a bailiff.
In short, final discharge means that your creditors cancel the debts that you cannot pay within your debt restructuring process.
The Municipal Credit Bank is also known as the social bank within your municipality. The purpose of this bank is not to make a profit. This bank offers help with debt resolution and may offer a solution if you cannot obtain a loan through your own bank. Whether or not you can borrow through the Municipal Credit Bank depends on your personal situation.
In short, the Gemeentelijke Kredietbank is the bank within your municipality where you can go if you don't get a loan through your own bank.
If you take out a mortgage with your bank, you will enter into an agreement with the bank. You make an agreement that the house can be sold by the bank if you can no longer pay the monthly mortgage payments. You borrow a certain amount from the bank with which you can buy your house. You pay this amount back to the bank in installments. In the worst case, you can no longer pay the monthly amounts. Then the bank can decide to sell the house in order to have the loan repaid. Mortgage law works here as a guarantee for the bank. This then has just like someone with a pledge a separate position during a debt restructuring process, both amicable and legal, and during bankruptcy. Selling your home can be done without the intervention of a judge.
In short, a mortgage right is one way for the bank to be sure that you will repay the bank's loan.
This is an organization that comes to your door and asks you to pay on behalf of your creditor. With multiple creditors, you can be confronted with multiple collection agencies. The debt collection agency will first notify you that they have taken over the creditor's account and ask you to pay the bill. If you don't, you will be charged extra.
In short, a debt collection agency is a company that asks on behalf of your creditors to pay your bill.
This is a scheme created to help entrepreneurs. If you qualify for this scheme, this may mean that you have to pay less VAT (Value Added Contribution) to the Tax Authorities and in some cases do not have to pay VAT at all.
The 4 conditions for using this scheme are:
The final amount is determined by the amount that you have to pay to the tax authorities annually. For a calculation we would like to refer you to the website of the Tax Authorities: www.taxdienst.nl and to search there for 'small business scheme' for the most recent conditions in order to make use of this scheme.
In short, a small business scheme is a scheme with which the Tax and Customs Administration helps you as an entrepreneur.
This means that you can earn enough money with your company now and in the future to pay the fixed costs for business and private use. In addition, an amount remains that can be used to pay off debts.
Our advisers at Zuidweg & Partners will make an initial assessment of whether your company is viable during the intake interview. If you are allowed to use Bbz credit, a business administrator within the municipality will assess the viability of your company. If you are not eligible for a Bbz credit, our advisor will see for yourself whether you can still earn enough with your company to pay the fixed costs for business and private purposes. If your company is not viable or if no debt settlement appears possible with the continuation of the company, we will help you to terminate your activities within the company.
In short, viability means the ability to keep your business alive.
Amicable arrangement for former entrepreneurs:
This is the path you choose if your company can no longer continue or is already closed. The amicable settlement means that we determine how much of your debts you can still repay based on your financial situation. We propose this amount to your creditors together with an application to cancel the rest of your debts, the final discharge. As soon as your creditors agree, your repayment process begins. You then have three years to repay the agreed amount.
Amicable scheme for entrepreneurs:
(Bbz credit):
If your business proves stable enough to continue, we will investigate how much of your debt you can still repay from your company's income. The goal is then to obtain a so-called sanitation credit for you. This means that the amount that you still have to repay by means of a loan is immediately paid in full. This loan is provided by your municipality and is called Bbz-credit (Decree on assistance for self-employed persons). You must apply for this credit yourself at your municipality. As soon as the amount of your credit is known, we will present this amount to your creditors together with an application to cancel the rest of your debts. As soon as your creditors agree, the credit will be paid and after repayment you will have time to repay the credit to your municipality. If you want to know more about the amicable settlement please click here.
In short, amicable debt settlement is the debt counseling process that you go through out of court.
A moratorium is a measure. This ensures that creditors may not knock on your door for a certain period of time to ask you to pay your bills.
This measure is intended to prevent the following situations:
There must be an amicable process before a moratorium can be applied for. For a period of 6 months, the above situations can be postponed and even prohibited in certain cases. The purpose of this is to enable an amicable process and to create a stable situation for the entrepreneur.
In short, a moratorium is a way to prevent house evacuation, the closure of gas, water and light and the termination of your health insurance.
In addition to the unsecured creditors there are the preferred creditors. They have priority over payment if a payment is made during or after the debt counseling process. This distinction is also made during a WSNP trajectory or during bankruptcy. An example of a preferential creditor is the Tax and Customs Administration, the UWV and the Social Services. During the debt counseling process via Zuidweg & Partners, they also receive more money than an unsecured creditor.
In short, a preferred creditor is a creditor that takes precedence over other creditors.
The purpose of the pledge is to create security between a party that provides a loan and a party that receives the loan. For example, to get the loan, the recipient pledges his car. This means that the party providing the loan may claim the car in case the recipient does not repay the loan. The car is then sold to repay the loan. The party from whom you borrow the money can be not only the bank, but also other companies and people from your social environment such as family members and friends.
In short, a pledge is a way of creating security for payment.
Savings restructuring means that you save an amount every month to pay your debts. A Zuidweg & Partners advisor will calculate how much of your monthly income you can use for the savings remediation. Over a period of three years, the money you have saved will be paid out to your creditors every year. At the end of the three years, the rest of your debts will be canceled.
In short, a savings restructuring is a way to save an amount every month to pay your debts.
After the legal debt counseling process on the basis of the Natural Persons Debt Rescheduling Act (WSNP), the judge checks whether you have complied with the agreements made. Once you have done that, you will get a clean slate. This means that your remaining debts will be canceled. You will then be declared debt-free and can start again.
In short, the blank slate is a judge's statement that you are debt free.
Debt assistance is the collective term for all assistance aimed at settling your debts. So this can be one amicable settlement of debts (without court intervention) or legal regulation based on the Debt Rescheduling Natural Persons Act (WSNP).
When it is determined that someone cannot meet his financial obligations, mediation can be made to bring about a debt restructuring. In a debt restructuring, it is considered how much of the debts can still be paid. We then propose this amount to the creditor (s). We also ask you to waive the amount that you can no longer pay after the remediation process. The amount that is used for redemption is the maximum achievable. For a self-employed person, it is necessary that a business administrator at the municipality or a consultant from Zuidweg & Partners determines the maximum amount. This amount is called the repayment capacity.
In short, debt restructuring is an arrangement that we make for you with your creditors against remission of all remaining debts after the end of the process.
Fixed costs are the fixed amounts that you have to pay per month, quarter or year for, for example:
In short, the fixed costs are the fixed costs that you have per month, quarter or year.
This is the amount you need to pay your fixed expenses and living expenses. This amount is calculated in a certain way that has been developed by the Recofa (Judge Commissioner in Bankruptcies). The VTLB calculator is the method with which the calculation is made.
In short, the To Be Released Amount is the money you need to pay your fixed costs and living expenses.
An interim injunction is intended to be pending for the WSNP trajectory take interim measures to avoid the following situations:
In short, provisional measures are measures applied to protect a debtor.
If an amicable settlement (out of court) is unsuccessful, we will ask the court to admit you to the legal debt settlement. This process falls under the Natural Persons Debt Rescheduling Act (WSNP).
For a WSNP application, you must provide a detailed statement about how your debts have arisen. You must also indicate why the amicable process failed. You will then be asked to appear before a judge who will determine whether you are eligible for a WSNP scheme. You must meet a number of strict conditions for this here explained in more detail. If the judge admits you to the WSNP scheme, we are unfortunately not allowed to guide you further. You will then be assigned an administrator.
In short, the legal debt settlement is the debt restructuring process that you follow through the courts.
A house clearance, also known as house clearance, is often the result of being unable to pay your debts. A judge decides whether or not your house can be evacuated. For example, if you have a rent arrears, it is important to contact your landlord. Perhaps it is possible to make a payment arrangement. If no solution can be found, your landlord can force you to pay your arrears via the subdistrict court. If you don't pay, a bailiff can organize the evacuation of your home. You will then have to leave the house within the stipulated period.
In short, house eviction means that you are forced by a judge to leave your home.
A security right gives the creditor a certainty that you stick to the agreement to pay your bill.
Security rights are, for example:
For example, if you have to finance the purchase of your house, the bank can give you a loan in which a mortgage is agreed. This mortgage right is a security right. This right gives the bank certainty that you will fulfill the agreements. If you can no longer pay the mortgage, the bank can sell your house to get back the money from the loan.
In short, a security right is used to give the creditor certainty that you will repay your loan.
