Have made final payment of joint iva and IP promises to send out completion cert next week. Been good experience with IP so trust them to be on time. Question concerns windfall. Wife's sister died recently and although we do not know if she has inherited anything it is a possibility because they were close. If any money is paid out it seems certain it will be after iva cert issued. Does the iva have any claim on this money? Also, do solicitors check credit records before issuing inherited cheques? And could there be a misunderstanding if the credit records have not been updated?
Hi and welcome to the forum. I'm not sure of the correct answer to this but I would think if you have received the completion certificate before the will is read and any monies inherited to your wife are unknow about at this point, the IVA would have no interest in them. However, until the certificate is received I do believe you are bound by the t&c's of the IVA.
Sorry to hear of her loss and trus an expert will be along soon to clarify.
IVA final payment left the bank on the 26th January 2013...looking forward to a debt free future.
Hi David. Sorry to hear about the loss of your sister in law.
I am afraid only your IP can really answer your question, which, of course, will then open this can of worms.
Some IP's absolve you from the windfall provisions once the final payment is made, others do not as you are, in fact, bound by the terms of your arrangement until the certificate of completion is issued.
As for the date you inherit, which is the crucial date, not the date you discover the inheritance, this could be one of a few dates: Date of death i.e when the Will becomes active. Date of Will being proved or Administration granted (which I would go for, being the point of entitlement)or the Date of the Reading.
Solicitors should carry out a check of beneficiaries solvency - not all do and, of course, not all Wills engage a solicitor.
Personally I would wait to see how the dates pan out. If an Insolvency check is made the solicitor will make your IP aware and you will then have to discuss the matter with him / her.
My opinions are merely that .. opinions based on experience. Always seek professional advice.
IVA Completed 23rd July 2013 .... C.C. 10th January 2014
Normally you are under an obligation to notify the IP once you 'become aware' of any inheritance and not when you receive it. This inheritance could be captured so you need to speak to the IP and possibly get independent legal advice.
font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica">quote:<hr height="1" noshade>Originally posted by Foggy
Hi David. Sorry to hear about the loss of your sister in law.
I am afraid only your IP can really answer your question, which, of course, will then open this can of worms.
Some IP's absolve you from the windfall provisions once the final payment is made, others do not as you are, in fact, bound by the terms of your arrangement until the certificate of completion is issued.
As for the date you inherit, which is the crucial date, not the date you discover the inheritance, this could be one of a few dates: Date of death i.e when the Will becomes active. Date of Will being proved or Administration granted (which I would go for, being the point of entitlement)or the Date of the Reading.
Solicitors should carry out a check of beneficiaries solvency - not all do and, of course, not all Wills engage a solicitor.
Personally I would wait to see how the dates pan out. If an Insolvency check is made the solicitor will make your IP aware and you will then have to discuss the matter with him / her.
Thanks foggy and others for replying. Bit of a grey area methinks because the replies vary. Can I come back with a further point regards the windfall clause in our iva (and I assume such clauses vary per arrangement?)The clause is brief and says "If either debtor RECEIVES any windfall...must make the windfall known etc" The capitals are to emphasise receive, thus my additional question is "knowing" and "receiving" are very different. My wife, for example, might "know" about any inheritance well before she "receives" it. What do you think guys?
The R3 standard terms and conditions are quite clear and if the windfall 'is acquired by or devolves upon the Debtor,' during the term of the IVA the debtor must inform the supervisor. This does not mean receive the actual cash so any windfall could be captured under the R3 T&CS. If your IP does not use these T&Cs then there must be something within their own which addresses windfalls and after acquired assets in addition to what is written into the proposal.
'is acquired by or devolves upon the Debtor,' ......
This, to me, means date of Will being proved or Administration granted.
However, there might be different conditions or protocol used in your arrangement and, ultimately, only your own IP can be definitive.
As you say, there is a world of difference between being aware of an inheritance and being entitled to it. I am, currently, a beneficiary in my father's will ... so I KNOW about it. He is still alive (and hopefully will be for a while yet)so I am not ENTITLED to any of it.
My opinions are merely that .. opinions based on experience. Always seek professional advice.
IVA Completed 23rd July 2013 .... C.C. 10th January 2014
font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica">quote:<hr height="1" noshade>Originally posted by Michael Peoples
The R3 standard terms and conditions are quite clear and if the windfall 'is acquired by or devolves upon the Debtor,' during the term of the IVA the debtor must inform the supervisor. This does not mean receive the actual cash so any windfall could be captured under the R3 T&CS. If your IP does not use these T&Cs then there must be something within their own which addresses windfalls and after acquired assets in addition to what is written into the proposal.
I have located the relevant t and c's. "After acquired assets" defined as, abbrev "...acquired or received between start and end dates of arrangement." Crucially then what does acquire mean in IVA world? Gain or get, says my dictionary. Is it a gain before you get it, or even know about it? Assuming, as is likely,we will only know about any inheritance after the IVA ends do we have to retrospectively declare it? Seems a bit harsh to say the least. A couple more points. If the inheritance comes to light after the arrangement ends could the IP waive in full or part the money due or are his hands tied? And what grounds might a solicitor have in contesting the IVA taking the (speculative)inheritance.
It is an interesting point and one for a lawyer really as I am sure there must be similar cases in the past. However, your wife is not aware of any inheritance as yet and if she receives the completion certificate before she is informed she may be entitled to keep the money and not inform the IP.
However if the IP finds out about the inheritance after the IVA has closed and the IP feels that the money should have been declared he/she could issue proceedings to recover it. Effectively it would have been an undisclosed asset of the IVA and failure to disclose can actually lead to criminal proceedings and even jail.
It may be advisable for your wife to take independent legal advice if and when she is ever notified of the bequest. At the moment it is only speculative as there has been no notification of any inheritance.
