Bankruptcy and insolvency searches

The Conveyancing Committee has been asked to provide guidance on what solicitors should do when an act turns up on an insolvency search. The whole area of insolvency resulting from the financial crash of 2008 has changed as a result of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 and the reform of the law regarding bankruptcy. The committee has prepared detailed guidelines on the different situations, and this is available on the Society’s website in the Conveyancing Committee’s page under the ‘Resources’ tab – scroll to ‘Conveyancing guidelines’.

The committee believes that the best practice for solicitors is to carry out searches in the following registers:

• Register of Bankruptcy,
• Register of Debt Relief Notices,
• Register of Protective Certificates,
• Register of Debt Settlement Arrangements,
• Register of Personal Insolvency Arrangements,
• Register of EU Personal Insolvencies.

The committee is indebted to Bill Holohan, solicitor, and to Judith Cryan, solicitor, in Matheson for their valuable assistance in preparing these guidelines.