if we decide on bankruptcy?

[Lin]

My husband and I both have a lot of debt. I am in an IVA and the supervisor has suggested I consider bankruptcy as our expenditure exceeds our income by several hundred. A rep from Stop the Worry came to see us yesterday and they can 'hold our hands' through bankruptcy for both of us for £2000 plus £485 each for the court.

My first question, My name is on the title deeds of a property that I lived in with my ex husband. I have no interest in the property and do not want any confrontation about it with my ex husband, can I remove my name from the deeds prior to going bankrupt as I have no wish to force my ex husband to move. I left the property in 1992 and have not contributed anything since that time.

Q2. How easy would it be to petition for bankruptcy for both my husband and myself.

Q3. At what point can I stop paying the £255 per month to my IVA if we decide on bankruptcy?

[freelili]

Hi and welcome

I do not know the answer to your first question and I think it would be dependant on the OR in Bankruptcy as if you remove your name it might be seen as transfering assets. Hopefully someone else can help with this.

You really do not have to pay 2K to have someone hold your hand through BR. It can be done for the 485 that you mentioned, Scaredkez, skippy and coco did it themselves. You can fill the forms in online at www.insolvency.gov.uk.

Stop paying your IVA immediately if you are deciding to go BR.

I am not an expert just another person dealing with debts

Good luck and keep posting, we are a supportive bunch of people.

LILY

can it be, I am forever loved and you are watching over from above, isnt faith believing all power is not seen?

[scaredkez]

firstly do not pay £2000 to go BR, i went BR last week with hubby and only paid 485 each, the insolvency website will give you step by step in filling the forms in on line, i would hold your hand for that amount also, there is nothing complicated in the forms and if you get stuck you can ring the insolvency helpline for help please do not throw that kind of money away, if you wanted to have help your CAB will do this free of charge and i also know myvesta offer a service of having your forms checked for £90, you are being ripped off.
in regards to the title deed, you must not take your name off as it will look like you are trying to hide assets, you will need to speak to the OR after the BR I maybe wrong on this one but you have to declare on your forms any interests in any other properties.

telephone your local court to see if they have a bankruptcy section and how long the waiting list, mine was done the very next day, it isn;t easy in the sense of the word to go BR it is an option available to you when you have exhausted all others, the judge will ask you if you have sought professional help you must answer yes to this or he will not grant your BR, the judge process takes 5 mins max you spend more time with the clerk going through your papers and its all done in a friendly manner.

stop paying your iva now if BR is definite and pay no more to your IP, save the money for your BR as you both have to pay the 485,

please let us know how you get on, ask away on the forum here we will help you with the forms don't throw £2k away

take care
kerri

Please view my blog at: http://scaredkez.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[coco]

Hi L_l,

I will try my best to answer your questions as i have just gone through the process and not an expert

Q1, If you sign your interest in the property over to your ex it may have some problems as the OR will know this and may still seek your share in the property but one of the experts can advise you on this more accurately,

Please do not pay 2K for someone to help you through the BR it is fairly easy to do,

Fill the forms online on the insolvency website and once completed you can print, check with your court to see if your require an appointment or if you can turn up as they do vary.

Once you arrive at court you will pay your fees if both you and your partner are applying then you will need to pay twice (if you are in receipt of Tax credits or benifits the £150 will be waivered)

You then swear on the bible, you wait in the waiting room to be seen by the judge, and it takes no more the 15 mins and there is only you and the judge in the room so nothing to feel afraid of.

Once that has been done you will have a quick interview with the Official Receive to see if there is anything that needs to be dealt with on an urgent basis.

You will then have an formatl inteview with the OR either in person or by phone which you generally speak about your assest, how you came to be in debt etc (again nothing to be concerned about)

Q3, If you decide to go through with the BR you can stop paying your IVA as soon as, I stopped my when i knew that this was what i was going to do and used the money to help pay towards my court fees.

Also check with your Bank to see if they will allow you to continue with your bank account as i know some will request you close your account i am with barclays and they infomred that i can keep the account (only basic)and the OR did not freeze the account.

For me it was the best thing i have done,

but please read my blog, skippy's or scaredkez who have all recently gone through the process and their experiences will help you.



(I apologise for my keyboards poor spelling and grammar)
http://coco.blogs.iva.co.uk

[coco]

wow i think we were all replying the same time

(I apologise for my keyboards poor spelling and grammar)
http://coco.blogs.iva.co.uk

[ivoriva]

I really couldnt advise on the house either, it sounds like a unusual situation and 15 years is a long time in the past. Do get it checked out legally - or await a answer from an expert here.

I agree with Lily on the other point, you shouldnt need to involve a third party to petition your bankruptcy - the experiences of others on here suggest it isnt all that bad going it alone.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do..

[Darren]

Hi im doing it myself, just ring up your county court and ask them to send you a Bankruptcy petition and you could fill it in yourself there is a number to phone to help you fill it out on the bits your not sure about (also your old home with your ex they can advise you on that to) 08456029848, then when youve done that make an appointment with your County Court to hand in your petition got to be honest! there and i will only charge you £500 for that info lol(you will have to pay the £400 an odd quid for each petition) although im not sure you may be able to have a joint 1 ask the county court when you ring em up...or from what i read earlier the iva you set up, if you stop paying them they do it any way,(petition bankruptcy on you at no cost!as the first sums of money are put aside in case you fail)...just ring them up and ask what happens if you dont pay them if you were in an iva, (dont tell em your name though as i read earlier) in the bankruptcy forum the lady told them that she was thinking of going bankrupt and now she has to pay!! Hope this helps Cheers arren!!

B word not as bad as you`d think ? (im gonna find out soon)

[ivoriva]

When I wrote my post only lily had replied. Got interupted which slowed me down in posting it...

[MelanieGiles]

The advice you have received from the other posters is good - and comes from their own experiences. I cannot believe that someone would try and charge you £2,000 simply for filling in some forms. Where did you get the details of "Stop the Worry" from?

The forms are simple to fill in - and our resident bankruptcy experts (aka Skippy, Scaredkez and Coco) will be happy to help you with any queries you may have along the line. I can deal with any technical stuff! You will of course need to pay the £485 times two if you and your partner are both in full time employment.

With regard to the property you still own with your ex-husband, I am afraid that you will probably be deemed to have some form of interest in this, and that the Official Receiver will have no choice but to contact him and ask him to buy you out. Even if you were to transfer the property prior to bankruptcy (which I would definately not recommend as this would effectively be effecting a transfer at undervalue) then this will be discovered during the OR's investigation into your financial affairs.

I would personally stop paying the £255 to your IVA now - but if you are affording the payments why are you thinking about bankruptcy anyway? I assume that you are struggling, and as you need to find the best part of £1,000 (there are no joint bankruptcies!) then it makes sense to pull out of the IVA at the earliest opportunity.

Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.

For further details contact me at http://www.melaniegiles.com and view my IVA blog at: http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk

[freelili]

Isnt it amazing that someone who is trying to pay what they can back and realise its not working and have to go down the BR route. There are still people out there waiting to rip off such people to the tune of 2K?

Does anyone else think that a major factor to a successful (for want of a better word)journey through debt, is down to luck?

LILY

can it be, I am forever loved and you are watching over from above, isnt faith believing all power is not seen?

[coco]

I agree Lily I must admit i have not heard of this before how would they expect people to find this kind of money in the first place if you are going BR. I think of the other people who have not had help and support from this forum including myself may fall victim to these people without realising.

(I apologise for my keyboards poor spelling and grammar)
http://coco.blogs.iva.co.uk

[sps]

Can't believe what I've just read."Stop the worry" more like add to it - what a rip off, and where do they expect people to find £2000 from? Like all the others are saying please do not give these people any money whatsoever - this forum will be a great help to you as others on here have been through bankruptcy and will offer all the help and support you need, along with the professionals for advice. My best wIshes to you and your husband.
Sue

[Skippy]

I really hate the way some companies prey on people who are in debt and often vulnerable - talk about taking advantage. Please don't part with any money, post on here or try the Insolvency Service for any help you need.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present - a gift to make the most of.

View my blog at http://skippy13.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[DebtDummy]

£2000 to do what? Watch you handover your hand earned money? What audacity! Do not pay them a pence. You can fill the application out online for free. Shame, shame, shame on Stop The Worry. How dare they prey on distressed people? They should rename their company, Greedy R' Us.

As for paying the IVA. Stop making payments as you are filing for bankruptcy. The house will be involved as well. Don't worry about that aspect of the bankruptcy now. The Official Receiver will discuss that with you in detail in time. You and hubby will file seperately for bankruptcy. Your application will list your individual and sole debts and his will list his individual and sole debts. You will each pay £485 to the court.

Contact your local county courthouse and set a date for the bankruptcy. Some courts you have to set a date others you don't.

We are all here to assist so feel free to ask all the questions you need. Take care.

All I have left is my humour.

[Andy2]

I'm afraid "where there is debt, there is business". I have been watching some daytime TV - awful I know - but every advert break has had either (1) debt consolidation loans from Picture (Dad's found yer skoota!), Ocean Finance, Greenhill or (2) IVA adverts from Debt Matters, DFD. I must admit I have never come across a company charging to help you declare BR - what a joke - but I suppose one was bound to start sooner or later !!