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Hi,could any one tell me if they think I would qualify for a IVA my situation is as follows> I have unsecurded debts of £16000 in my name credit "cards etc" also £15000 (Northern Rock)joint unsecured debt with my wife who has no other debt> how is the joint debt sorted? also could my wife carry on payiny all this debt and my debt just calculated on the cards etc, the reason I ask is I have heard that Northern Rock are a bit funny about IVAs and they make up most of my debt but the wife only has half the northern rock £7500 so she wouldn,t qualify for an IVA (I think) any help would be great!

You could certainly do a Protocol compliant IVA (provided you have 3 or more creditors) and the joint debt with your wife will be included at the full amount.

Unfortunately what ever residual (after dividends) on the joint loan with your wife) will be claimed in full from your wife. I suggest you speak to an Insolvency Practitioner soon - look at www.iva.com for reviews on relevant IP's. Good luck and let us know how you get on

First of all you need to understand that both you and your wife are jointly liable for all of the Northern Rock debt - under the principle of joint and several liability - so if you were to enter into an IVA, she would be left with a £15,000 liability to pay and not £7,500.

Would she be in a position to continue to pay the Northern Rock payments without financial support from you? If so, an IVA might be possible for you, but with such low debts I would also seriously consider whether a DMP might be a better solution.

Also talk to your creditors - they may well be able to rearrange your payment terms for you to ensure that a formal insolvency can be avoided altogether.