What Happens at Your First Meeting With a Licensed...

Your first meeting with a Licensed Insolvency Trustee costs nothing, takes 45-60 minutes, and carries zero obligation to file anything. The consultation is confidential. Your employer is never contacted. About 385 Canadians take this exact step every day — and most of them were terrified before they walked in.

This page walks you through what actually happens before, during, and after the meeting so you know exactly what to expect.

Before the Meeting: What to Bring

Bring as many of these documents as you can. If you are missing some, the trustee can still run the consultation and help you get the rest later.

• Pay stubs — last 3 months of income from every source
• Tax returns and Notices of Assessment — past 2 years
• Debt statements — credit cards, lines of credit, personal loans, payday loans, CRA balances
• Mortgage statement — current balance, monthly payment, renewal date
• Vehicle loan or lease details — balance owing and monthly payment
• Bank statements — past 3 months from chequing and savings accounts
• Government benefit statements — CPP, EI, child tax benefit, disability
• Photo ID and SIN

You do not need to organize anything perfectly. The trustee has seen every kind of financial mess. Showing up with a shoebox of crumpled statements is better than not showing up at all.

Know your numbers first: Run the Consumer Proposal Calculator before your meeting. It takes 60 seconds, requires no signup, and gives you a ballpark monthly payment so you walk in prepared.

What Actually Happens in the Room

Most people are terrified before their first meeting. They picture a courtroom. They expect judgment. What they actually get is a quiet conversation at a desk.

Here is what the 45-60 minutes looks like, step by step.

Step 1: The Trustee Asks About Your Situation

The meeting starts with questions. The trustee asks about your income, your debts, your monthly expenses, and what changed. They are not judging you. They are building a financial snapshot.

Priya in Mississauga owed $62,000 across 4 credit cards and a line of credit after her divorce. She spent the first 5 minutes of her consultation apologizing. The trustee stopped her and said: “You do not need to explain how you got here. I need to understand where you are now.”

That is how these meetings work. The trustee has seen thousands of files. Yours is not the worst. It is not unusual. It is a problem with a set of defined solutions.

Step 2: You Hand Over Your Documents

The trustee reviews your pay stubs, debt statements, and tax returns. They enter numbers into their system. If you forgot something, they note what is missing and tell you how to get it.

Step 3: The Trustee Runs the Numbers

This is the part that matters most. The trustee calculates two things:

1. What bankruptcy would cost you — based on your income, assets, and provincial exemptions
2. What a consumer proposal would look like — monthly payment, total amount, and term length

These two numbers set the floor and ceiling for your options. A consumer proposal must offer creditors more than they would get in bankruptcy. The trustee structures the math to find the payment that works for your budget while satisfying that rule.

Marcus in Calgary earned $4,800 per month and owed $47,000 in unsecured debt. His trustee calculated that bankruptcy would cost creditors about $6,200 based on surplus income rules. A consumer proposal offering $14,100 over 60 months — $235 per month — would give creditors a better return and keep Marcus in control of his assets and timeline.

Step 4: The Trustee Explains Your Options

The trustee lays out every path available to you. Not just consumer proposals and bankruptcy. They also cover:

• Debt consolidation — if your credit and income support it
• Informal creditor negotiation — if the debt is small enough
• Doing nothing — if you are judgment-proof or the debt is near the limitation period
• Bankruptcy — if your income is low and assets are exempt

A good trustee does not push you toward a filing. They explain trade-offs. They answer questions. They tell you what they would do if they were sitting in your chair.

Step 5: You Decide — or You Don’t

The meeting ends with a decision point, but the decision is yours. You can:

• File a consumer proposal that day and stop collections within 24-48 hours
• Take the information home, talk to your spouse, and come back next week
• Schedule a second meeting to go deeper on a specific option
• Walk away and never come back

There is no pressure. There is no clock. The consultation is free because the federal insolvency system is designed to give every Canadian access to professional advice before they make a decision.

Danielle in Ottawa scheduled her consultation 3 times before she actually went. She cancelled twice. When she finally walked in, she cried in the first 2 minutes. Forty-five minutes later, she had a plan: a consumer proposal at $310 per month for 48 months that would eliminate $53,000 in credit card debt. She filed the next day. Collections stopped within 24 hours.

What the Trustee Calculates

The trustee builds a complete financial model during your meeting. Here is what they assess and why it matters.

The trustee uses these calculations to answer the question that brought you in: what is the best way to deal with this debt given your specific numbers?

Use the Debt-to-Income Calculator to see where you stand before the meeting. A DTI ratio above 40% signals that your debt load may require a formal solution.

What Happens After the Meeting

If you decide to proceed with a consumer proposal, the timeline moves fast:

• Day 1-3: You provide any missing documents
• Day 3-7: The trustee drafts your proposal terms
• Day 7-10: You review, approve, and sign the proposal
• Day 10-11: The trustee files electronically with the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy
• Day 11: Stay of proceedings takes effect — collections stop immediately
• Day 11-56: 45-day creditor voting period (you make no payments during this window)
• Day 56-71: Court approval (automatic if no objections)
• Month 2 onward: Monthly payments begin

The entire front end — from your first meeting to collections stopping — typically takes 10-14 days. You do not wait months for relief.

If you decide not to proceed, nothing happens. No file is opened. No record is created. The consultation stays between you and the trustee.

Read the full breakdown of consumer proposal fees and consumer proposal costs to understand how the payment structure works.

Common Fears vs Reality

The shame is the biggest barrier. Not the process. Not the cost. Not the paperwork. The shame keeps people paying 19.99% interest on $50,000 in credit card debt for years when a single 45-minute conversation could cut that debt by 60-80%.

Not sure if you need a trustee? Take the Debt Relief Quiz — 2 minutes, anonymous, and it tells you which option fits your situation.

Your Next Step

The consultation is free. There is no obligation. About 385 Canadians a day take this same step.

Find a Licensed Insolvency Trustee near you and book your free consultation. Bring your documents, ask your questions, and leave with a clear picture of every option available to you. The meeting takes 45-60 minutes. The relief of knowing your options lasts a lot longer.

If you want to understand the full consumer proposal vs bankruptcy comparison before your meeting, read that guide first. If you want to see estimated numbers, run the Consumer Proposal Calculator.

This article provides general information and should not be considered legal or financial advice. Find a Licensed Insolvency Trustee for advice specific to your situation.

Last updated: March 27, 2026