Insolvency attorneys in South Africa

Mukwani Attorneys

Rosebank, Johannesburg, Gauteng Experience not supplied

Mukwani Attorneys is a Johannesburg-based law firm committed to providing professional, personalised and effective legal solutions. We assist individuals and businesses across a range of legal matters, including family law, divorce, criminal law, litigation, commercial law, labour law, property law and estates. Our approach is built on honesty, integrity, quality and excellence, with a focus on understanding each client's unique needs and providing practical legal guidance.

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Plain-language guide

What a insolvency attorney does.

An insolvency attorney deals with what happens when a person or a business cannot pay its debts: voluntary and compulsory sequestration of individuals, liquidation of companies, business rescue under the Companies Act, rehabilitation after sequestration, and the alternatives of debt review and administration. They also act for creditors who want to prove claims, oppose a rescue plan or set aside dispositions.

When you need one

Your debts are beyond what you can ever repay and you want a lawful way out.
Your company is in financial distress and you want to save the business or wind it up properly.
A creditor has applied to sequestrate you or liquidate your company.
Someone who owes you money has gone insolvent and you need to prove your claim or protect security.

How fees usually work

Insolvency applications are quoted as fees plus disbursements such as the Master fee and the security bond. In a sequestration or liquidation the process is funded from the estate and the trustee or liquidator is paid from it under a tariff. Business rescue practitioners charge daily rates set by regulation. Get the estimate in writing before proceeding.

Questions to ask before you instruct

Is sequestration or liquidation the right route, or would debt review or business rescue serve me better?
What will I lose, and what am I allowed to keep?
How long until I am rehabilitated, and what does that restore?
As a creditor, is it worth my while to prove a claim in this estate?

See the listed practitioners

General information about South African law and practice, not advice on your matter. The practitioners listed on this page give that advice.

Insolvency attorney questions

What is the difference between sequestration and liquidation?

Sequestration applies to a natural person, a partnership or a trust and is granted by the High Court under the Insolvency Act; liquidation applies to a company or close corporation under the Companies Act. In both a trustee or liquidator takes control of the assets, realises them and pays creditors according to their ranking.

What is business rescue?

A procedure under Chapter 6 of the Companies Act that places a financially distressed company under the temporary supervision of a business rescue practitioner, with a moratorium on claims, while a plan to restructure its affairs is developed and voted on by creditors. It can be started by the board or ordered by a court on application by an affected person.

What is debt review?

A process under the National Credit Act in which a registered debt counsellor assesses an over-indebted consumer and negotiates or obtains a court order restructuring their credit agreements over a longer period. While under review the consumer cannot take new credit, and creditors may not enforce the agreements included in the review.

For the practitioners listed here

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