C. Payment of Dividends

AuthorRoderick J. Wood
ProfessionFaculty of Law. University of Alberta
Pages266-268

Page 266

After retaining sufficient funds to cover the costs of administration of the bankrupt estate, the trustee is required to pay the claims of the pre-144 Barrett-Lennard v. Hood Point Estates Ltd. (1952), 5 W.W.R. (N.S.) 24 (B.C.C.A.). 145 Cory Bros. & Co. Ltd. v. "The Mecca," [1897] A.C. 286 (H.L.).

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ferred creditors as soon as funds are available.153If there are insufficient funds to pay them all, they are paid in order of their priority. The residue, if any, forms the fund out of which dividends are paid to ordinary creditors. The trustee may declare interim dividends if directed to do so by the inspectors.154If a claim is being disputed, the trustee should withhold sufficient funds to pay it in the event that it is admitted.155A creditor may prove a claim after an interim dividend has been made but before payment of a final dividend. The late-filing creditor is entitled to receive payment of the missed dividend before the other creditors are entitled to any further dividends.156

If the trustee knows of a creditor who has not proved a claim, the trustee may notify that creditor that a final dividend will be made without regard to their claim unless they prove it within thirty days of the sending of the notice.157If they do not do so within the thirty-day period or such other period ordered by a court, they are excluded from sharing in the final dividend.158

Once the bankrupt estate is fully administered, the trustee can declare a final dividend. The trustee must prepare a final statement of receipts and disbursements and a dividend sheet and divide the remaining property among the creditors who proved their claims.159

These must be submitted to the inspectors for approval and a copy must be sent to the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, who may comment on the trustee’s account.160The taxing officer then reviews the trustee’s accounts. Following the taxation of the account, the trustee sends a copy of the documents to the bankrupt, the superintendent, and creditors whose claims have been proved.161A creditor who wishes to object to the statement of receipts and disbursement or to the proposed dividend must file notice of the objection with the registrar within fifteen days of the sending of the notice.162If a creditor does not claim a dividend or if

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there are undistributed funds, the trustee is required to forward them to the superintendent.163

[153] BIA, above note 3, s. 136(2).

[154] Ibid., s. 148(1). If a...

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