Lawyer signs debt deal
Bankruptcy avoided in move to recover $3m
LAWYER Andrew Wiltshire, whose firm collapsed this year owing more than $3 million, has done a deal with creditors to stave off bankruptcy.
In March, Bundall-based Wiltshire Family Law, of which Mr Wiltshire was director, went into voluntary liquidation after being unable to pay its debts of more than $3 million.
Creditors included landlord David Cherry (owed $61,000), radio station 102.9 Hot Tomato (owed $35,000) and Robina-based accountants WMS Solutions (owed $25,000).
The largest creditor is Sydney-based QuickFee, which is a professional fee-funding firm for accountants and lawyers, and is owed $383,000.
QuickFee CEO Bruce Coombes said Mr Wiltshire had signed a personal guarantee with the company to pay back the debt.
Mr Coombes said it was decided rather than pursue him for bankruptcy it would be better to allow him the chance to pay back some of the debt.
Mr Wiltshire had filed for a debtor’s petition with the Australian Financial Security Authority, which is responsible for the administration and regulation of the personal insolvency system in Australia.
On June 11 he entered into a personal insolvency agreement with creditors.
“The creditors voted in favour of him entering a repayment plan for the creditors which had his personal guarantee,” Mr Coombes said.
“We were one of those creditors so he is going to make some contribution to what he owes us and others over a three-year period.
“The idea is if you don’t bankrupt him he can go off and get a job somewhere and he can make a contribution out of his salary and pay us back at least something.”
Mr Coombes said Mr Wiltshire had agreed to pay back “just under” one third of what he owes the Sydney-based company.
QuickFee advances the clients of lawyers and accountants the fees owed if they cannot pay. Because Mr Wiltshire signed a personal guarantee, when some of those clients could not pay the fees owed, he became responsible for the debt.
Documents filed in March with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission show a long list of creditors for Wiltshire Family Law.
There was $101,000 owed to PowerTorque Finance for a Porsche Cayenne and $102,000 owed to Westpac for a Toyota LandCruiser Sahara vehicle.
Both vehicles have seized by the financiers.
The total debt was estimated been to be $3.2 million in a separate report from liquidator Domenica Calabretta to creditors in March.
Employees were owed just shy of $700,000, secured creditors $1.9 million and unsecured creditors $794,000.
Mr Wiltshire could not be reached for comment.
In 2018, Wiltshire Family Law more than doubled its office space when it moved into a 700sq m office building at 192 Ashmore Rd, Bundall, after signing a 10-year lease.
The property has since been released.
Mr Wiltshire said at the time that the business had outgrown its former premises as it had experienced “significant growth”.