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Dr. Debt

>> Bankruptcy trustee tells people how not to lose their minds while losing their shirts

by CHRIS BARRY

Name: John Lukca

Nicknames: Big Bad John, Chef John

Occupation: Insolvency and Reorganization Professional, CA-CIRP Trustee.

Firm: Fournier, Lukca.

Age: 48

Bio: This hard-working, vivacious St-Laurent resident is the person to see should your creditors be banging down the door demanding money you no longer have to give them. A dedicated family man, this black belt in karate and ace accordion player will both guide you through the process of clearing your debts and give you a couple of pointers on budgeting and personal finance to boot. A part-time professor at McGill University, John says he is committed to “giving 200 per cent” in everything he does. So committed, in fact, that after burning 35 per cent of his body in a tragic accident last summer, he nevertheless continued to run his business from a makeshift office he had installed in his hospital room.

Is business booming these days? Yes, largely because of corporate downsizing. “Personal bankruptcy cases have doubled for me in the past year.”

The top reasons why people file for personal bankruptcy: Unexpected job loss, divorce, bad investments, illness, and “just plain overspending.” “The ease with which people are able to get credit these days is a real factor in their ultimately filing for bankruptcy.”

One social ill that really helps to keep business thriving: Gambling.

Do a lot of clients arrive at his office completely flustered, scared and in a panic? Yes. “They often don’t know what to do or where to turn. They’ve been bullied by collection agencies and just can’t handle it anymore. Some collection agencies are very good at intimidating people, you know.”

The general mood of his customers once they learn they have options and can tell their collection agencies to go fuck themselves: Thrilled and relieved.

Do people ever get smug once they learn they can declare personal bankruptcy and not have to pay for that $10,000 living room set they bought only a few months earlier? Not very often.

How long it takes after filing for bankruptcy before a person can generally get credit again: Approximately five years.

A few debts that can’t be cleared through personal bankruptcy: Student loans, alimony payments, court fines, child support.

Something else he does: John is a talented amateur chef.

His gastronomic specialty: Steak on the bbq.

One very exciting moment in his life: Coming face to face with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman outside of a hotel bar in the Cayman Islands. “What a thrill, I actually froze when I saw them!”

Did Tom Cruise give John a sly wink and nod in the direction of the bushes suggesting that perhaps they meet there a little later on in the evening for a bit of man fun? No.

Childhood ambition: To become a doctor. “And today I guess you could consider me a corporate surgeon because I restructure companies that have cancer and remove the debt from their system.”

Musical preferences: Hip hop, the Beatles.

Favourite film of all time: Heidi, the Shirley Temple version. “It still makes me cry every time I see it.”

Words of wisdom: “Life is not a spectator sport. Get involved.” :

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