Postponing the due date of a debt
Question
(At the end of a sabbatical year, certain types of loans are forgiven. In order that one’s loans not be forgiven, one has to file a special document, which is called a “pruzbul”.) Is it possible to relinquish and forgive the due date of a loan to the borrower and postpone it without borrower’s knowledge? If I can postpone the due dates of all my loans till after Rosh Hashana, I can obviate the need for a pruzbul.
Answer
You can definitely let two witnesses know that you are postponing the due dates for all the loans that are owed you till the day after Rosh Hashana.
However, contemporary authorities write, that the sages did institute a pruzbul, and did not propose this easy way of not forgiving debts. The reason for that is that they didn’t want that the Torah of debt forgiveness be forgotten. Therefore, it’s appropriate to file a pruzbul. (It only takes a few minutes, and you can do it electronically on our website.)
In addition to that, if there are loans that are guaranteed by properties, such an action might affect the order in which liens will apply to them. Also, if, after you make this declaration, you’ll meet a person who’s been avoiding you because he owes you money, you won’t be allowed to collect your debt from him.
Source
Shulchan Oruch, section Choshen Mishpat, ch. 67