Selling My House Before Declaring Bankruptcy In Ontario

Question: Would I be able to sell my house to my brother and rent it from him. Then file for bankruptcy?

Selling or transferring assets before you file for bankruptcy can be a cause for concern.

When you file for bankruptcy in Ontario, the trustee will ask you a number of questions, including “in the last five years did you sell any property?” If you sold your house and moved the money to an offshore account, you would be required to repay the money to the trustee before you would be discharged. Since all real estate transactions are easily traceable, lying about this is a criminal offense, and the maximum penalty is a jail sentence. So the answer to your question is yes, there would be serious repercussions.

You are able to sell your house to your brother and rent from him, but again, you must sell the house at fair market value, and the proceeds of the sale must be turned over to your trustee for the benefit of your creditors.