Bankruptcy: What Happens?
When you are declared bankrupt, your house may be sold and most of your other assets will become the property of your trustee. These include your bank account (if it has credit funds), business, shares, any tools of trade above $3,700 and any other assets, except personal items and most household goods. The trustee will try and convert all assets into cash and after deducting fees, will distribute such funds (if any) to creditors.

You will no longer be allowed to be a company director, nor stand for public office or continue in public office. You may work for a wage or salary, but might have to make regular repayments to the trustee. Bankruptcy lasts for three years unless extended by the court. After discharge your name will appear on the National Personal Insolvency Index
forever and on credit reporting agencies’ records for two years from the date of discharge, or up to five years from the date you became bankrupt, whichever is later.

If there is property vested in the trustee and it has not yet been dealt with, you don’t automatically get it back. The administration of your bankruptcy may continue after discharge. According to the Bankruptcy Act says a discharged bankrupt must still assist the trustee to finalise administration of the bankruptcy, advise the trustee of any change of address, provide information about financial circumstances and pay outstanding income contributions. You also have to give up secured assets if required by the relevant secured creditors and pay debts that are not released by bankruptcy, such as penalties and fines.

For further information contact Matthews Williams Solicitors and Conveyancers.

He has a solid and tangible presence in Forbes, from a statue and exhibitions in a museum and information centre to his gravestone in the cemetery, but tomorrow night Forbes will be the first place in the world to see the story of one of the most wanted men in Australian outlaw history come to life on screen. “Many attempts have been made to tell
Ben Hall’s story, but it is a hard nut to crack,” Matthew Holmes, director of The Legend of Ben Hall told The Forbes Phoenix.

“His life story is very unconventional and it would not work if told in a conventional manner. I was in the fortunate position to be able to make the film as I wanted it to be. I did not want to portray him as a good or a bad guy, but leave it to the audience to decide.” Matthew said he had always loved stories of people in the landscape, in an environment untouched and pure. “Ben Hall is such a fascinating character and his story is so unique. He is very different to other outlaws as he did not do it for money or power as such, but had more personal reasons – a broken heart after his wife left him.”

Matthew said though he did not see Ben Hall as an Australian Robin Hood. “That title has been grafted onto him incorrectly, although he was very decent and compassionate at times.” While some isolated scenes were filmed around Forbes, the majority was shot in regional Victoria. “The Forbes environment has been modernised too much and does not look like the time of Ben Hall any more.” Ben Hall (1837 – 1865) roamed an area from Bathurst to Forbes, south to Gundagai and east to Goulburn, leading the most notorious gang in Australia’s colonial past which included John Gilbert, John Dunn, John O’Meally and John Vane.

While viewers would not recognise any local landmarks, Matthew said they had a lot of support right from the start from Forbes, which was why the town was chosen for the world premiere. “Forbes is the heart of Ben Hall country. The Forbes audience can expect to see a tale told as faithfully as possible. I hope you will embrace the film.” Tomorrow night will be even more special as the audience will be able to meet the director and the actors.

The Legend of Ben Hall will be released in cinemas nationally on 1st December. Purchase tickets at https://www.stickytickets.com.au/44586. The film is rated M. Showground gates open at 6.30pm and screening
starts 8pm.

By Maggi Barnard

Biggest Money Mistakes

Hi Forbes, I want to let you in one of the biggest money mistakes people make. A survey by comparison website, finder.com.au, found that the biggest money mistake people have made is divorce or separation. This is because of the huge financial cost that comes with doing so. However, relationship issues are more difficult to handle than investment decisions, so I want to draw your attention to number two on the list. After divorce or separation, the survey found the next biggest money mistake people made was losing money on investment property. Well, knock me down with a feather… if you believed the so called property ‘experts’ and the punter on the street you’d think it’s impossible to lose money on property.

The finder.com.au survey revealed that approximately 1.27 million Australians have lost money on investment properties with the average loss being $106,104. Incredibly the national loss equates to $135 billion. Property is for people who are happy to invest their hard earned money (and usually a lot of borrowed money) in an asset that requires a lot of fees, a degree of stress, offers little if no diversification and is difficult to sell once purchased. When creating wealth there are much easier ways to do it – diversified, easy to manage, low cost and tax effective ways to do it.

Unfortunately, most people don’t explore an alternative path because an investment property is all they can imagine. This is usually because people have already purchased their own home and therefore an investment property feels comfortable. Yet the reasons for buying a home to live in versus an investment are completely different. Learn what your options are by making financial education your first investment.

Phase two of the Forbes and District Lions Club’s disaster relief efforts began on Monday. The assistance includes vouchers for fuel, fencing and stockfeed and is aimed at those directly affected by the recent flood event. Up till now the club has provided food, water, clothing and medical supplies. “The assistance is aimed at anyone affected, but particularly our primary producers and rural residents who suffered disproportionately,” said Coordinator of the Lions Club’s disaster assistance effort Peter Bright.

Peter said this included residents of villages like Bedgerabong, Corinella and Cowal. The Forbes and District Lions Club have set up a disaster relief office in the HACC Centre on Harold Street. The office is staffed between 10am and 2pm each weekday, but it will be scaled down to 10.00am to 2.00pm on Tuesday and Thursday from the week beginning 21st November. The Australian Lions Foundation has specifically released funding for the Forbes and district flood event. Every Lions Club in Australia contributes to the fund. The funds will be available until the grant is fully distributed. “If you don’t feel comfortable visiting us at the HACC Centre, give me a call on 0419 463 803 and we can sit on a park bench or coffee shop somewhere in town,” Peter said.

As the major prizes for the Find it in Forbes promotion are to be given in Why Leave Town Cards (WLT), for many people who don’t know what they are, here are the details: You can purchase them from five stores in town, including News on Rankin. When you pay for them you receive a list of where you can spend the WLT cards around Forbes. They can be used just like a preloaded prepaid eftpos card and can be redeemed at any Business Chamber member store with eftpos connected. This means you can shop at more than 70 businesses in Forbes! With such a big variety
of shopping opportunities on offer with the card, it is a great gift idea for someone local with the added benefit that you are supporting the Forbes community.

And you will be giving a gift that allows the recipient to get exactly what they want. Remember the card can only be used at participating stores in Forbes.