www.iva.co.uk

Hi
I owe about £20'000 in unsecured debts(Credit cards and personal loans) that are in my name from a previous relationship.

In an attempt to pay off my debts I moved in with a family member a couple of years ago.

Now, however circumstances have changed and I need to move out.
I am planning to move in with my girlfriend and her children. When I move I wont be able to afford to the monthly repayments on top of paying my share of rent, bills etc.
Could you help me with my options?
I have tried the IVA wizard and it recommends bankruptcy as I would only have about £150 of disposable income after living expenses. If I did become bankrupt would it affect either my girlfriend or my family? It's all my own debt and I wouldn't want my debts to affect anyone else.

Hi there

If you have little money to offer to your creditors at all on an ongoing basis, you may have no other option than bankruptcy - although you mention £150 so you could do a DMP which would take approximately 11 years to repay assuming no costs of collection or ongoing interest.

You will need to be sure that you are only paying a fair share of the household bills when you move in with your partner, based on your individual incomes.