Hi Lily
Neverending is right in that you should speak to an advisor again, bankruptcy may be the best option for you. The law on bankruptcy changed a couple of years ago, where as you would have been subject to bankruptcy restrictions on self employed trading for a minimum of 3 years (after which you would get automatic discharge) this has now been reduced to 12 months. This can even be reduced to less than 12 months now if the Official Receiver agrees that you should be granted early discharge, this happens a lot where there are no assets and no further investigation into assets which have been sold recently is required.
The other issue which may affect you in bankruptcy is an income payments arrangement or order, if the Official Receiver believes you are able to make monthly payments from your disposable income you will be required to do this for 3 years. However if you are unemployed you will not be able to make these payments. The income payments arrangement has to be entered into before you get your discharge so if you are not earning you will not be able to make these payments and your bankruptcy could be over in a matter of months.
However, as you know, the fact that you have been bankrupt will be on your credit file and may affect your ability to obtain credit or a mortgage in the future or your ability to trade - but it depends on your profession - you should therefore seek specific advice to suit your individual circumstances.
There is more information about bankruptcy on the Insolvency Service website
www.insolvency.gov.uk
Hope this helps
AccumaGroup
http://www.accumagroup.com - One of the UKs leading debt and insolvency advice firms with over 200 employees.