www.iva.co.uk

my grandmother is in a good deal of debt, possibly upto £15,000. she is 70 years old and in deteriorating health, we her grandchildren are her 'next of kin' and are worried about the fact that she has no life insurance. is getting her to take out an iva a viable option as we are aware that we would be responsible for her debt on her death.
also would the iva die with her or would we have to keep paying for the term of her agreement.

Hey neil.s, welcome to the forum, I'm sure an expert will be able to offer you some advice. Do you know who your grandmother owes? Bankruptcy might be a better option, is there anyone in the family that can help financially at all? I am not an expert so please wait for a reply.

Hi neil and welcome.
If your grandmother does not own her home or have any other assets then given her age, bankruptcy may be her best option. It will draw a line under her debts and leave her to enjoy the rest of her years without the worry of it.

You would not be responsible for your grandmother's debts after her death. These would be covered to the extent of her estate, and if that were not sufficient to cover them then they would be written off.

I agree that bankruptcy is probably a better option, given her age and the fact that she does not appear to have assets, but if she were to enter into an IVA, you would not be responsible for continuing to pay this after her death.

Wow neil.s - I think you could have worded your post a bit more tactfully?!?!

How many children / grandchildren does your grandmother have? Would £15000 really be such a problem split between them all EVEN if it did ever fall upon them?

I would have thought that her health is more important than "getting her to take out" an IVA??? Or have I misunderstood????

That's a good point Optimist ... it might be worth looking at some other solutions before going down the IVA or bankruptcy routes Neil as they can be quite stressful journeys and although I am sure that you could all help with the paperwork etc. your grandmother would still have to know what was going on.

Could the family rally in this instance and all chip in a bit to help clear those debts?

Debbie

From the posting, I think the family are either not in a position to help out or are reluctant to. In this day and age, people have their own commitments and taking on extra commitments may put a huge strain on them.
I agree that both br & IVA are stressful experiences but think that to deal with their grandmother's debt during bereavement will be more stressful than trying to get her to deal with it now.
My friend is going through a similar thing at the moment, they have their own debts/bills and her mother-in-law has recently died. Although there are other siblings, her hubby has been left to pay for the funeral and now has been told that he must pay his mother's debts off. The rest of the family have refused to contribute which leaves everything to my friend & hubby....not a nice place to be while trying to deal with his mother's death.

Hi
As Melanie has stated your grandmothers debts would be written off if her estate is not enough to cover the debts.You certainly will not have to carry on paying them
Regards