www.iva.co.uk

Hi all. Could someone give me advise on the following

I have spoken to payplan and an independent IP. I have sole debt of approx 50k with my wife debt of approx £15. All payments have been serviced to date, but have been bouncing along for the last few months robbing Peter to pay Paul and th iVA seems the only way forward.

I have my own business (ltd company, 50/50 share with wife) and all pay is equal.

Payplan have advised that my i&e be put together and that the plan is looked at from my debt alone, with my 50% income taken on its own merits.

The independent IP is saying that the i&e is taken from a household income point of view but nowhere on the i&e is an allowance made for my wife's expenditure.

They are suggesting an iva payment in the region of 600/700 per month, but my wife pays £430 that is not accounted for, and I am worried that this may leave us short each month and then fail before we even get going.

can anyone advise who is right?

Thanks in advance

Hi Without knowing the ins and outs of your situation it is difficult to comment. Are any of the debts in joint names ? If so the party outside the IVA will still be liable in full for servicing those.

I would suggest chatting to a couple more firms as, despite protocols and guidance, they all operate differently.

Hi foggy, thanks for the response. All my debt is only in my name, hence only myself in the iva. I could understand a household i&e if both myself and wife were applying for the iva. But as it is just me with sole debt, I would have thought that 50% of the i&e would be looked at, and any shortfall be met by my wife?

I prefer to talk to the local ip as I can call to them at any time face to face, rather than the ip at the end of a phone.

Maybe I am wrong with this, but it is something that I just feel more comfortable with personally.

Yes, yo do need to go with whoever you feel comfortable with, but there is no harm in speaking to a few to compare advice.

Many IP's work on the basis that, as it is your IVA covering your debts, they will deal only with your disposable income. They will only take account of the partners income to assess their pro rata share of the household expenses.

The way I operate, when dealing with married or linked couples is to look at their respective incomes and thus work out a percentage ratio of individual contributions into the household. So if you earn £2,000 per month, and your partner earns £1,000 - you contribute 67% and they contribute 33% - and thus those percentages ought to be used to split up the expenditure.

This is generally the way most creditors assess matters as well.

Thanks Melanie. I've already given the go ahead with a letter of intent to the independent ip yesterday, and have completed the i&e and am waiting for them to come back to me regarding this. I've since discovered this forum and think I may have jumped a little quickly. Is it too late to get more advice?

Not at all. Get as much advice as you feel you need to, as it is all freely given and knowledge is power. Whilst you may feel a local IP is better for you, there are many good firms who provide excellent remote services - in reality I only probably meet around 10% of my clients throughout the whole lifespan of the IVA.

Hi

Take a second or third opinion

You do not want to enter into a 5-6 year plan with an unaffordable monthly payment, as others have indicated your wife should be able to retain her share of your joint disposable income to service her own debts.



Regards

Hi Andy,

I think you have just turned a light on for me. Its the 'joint disposable income' is key, rather than myself paying 50% of the bills and my wife 50%.

I assume that my wifes cards (£430 p.m) that should be on the I&E also but they are in theory an essential payment as they are not part of my IVA?

I would definitely talk to 2 or 3 professionals before making a decision, costs nothing at this stage and you'll know when you've found the right one Finding the forum generally helps others. I'm not an expert just someone who's come through the IVA journey and that would be my advice to you, shop around.

www.iva.com lists companies and the experts who do post on here also come highly recommended.

Hi Yameye,

If your wife brings in for example 30% of the total household income she is entitled to 30% of the joint disposable income out of which she can pay her debts.

It can be a complicated area so make sure your advisor explains everything to you and that you understand the figures

Hi Yameye - even if you have provided a company with your paperwork you can still choose to move companies if you wish to do - you must feel comfortable moving forward.

From reading your last post it looks like you now understand why both incomes are taken into account. It would be unfair to expect your wife to pay 50% of bills if she doesn't bring in 50% of the income. Yes, you are also correct that her repayments to creditors should also be taken in to account as a household expense. Those payments would come out of her share of the joint disposable income so as long as her share is enough to cover it there is no problem.

Its always best to chat these things through on the phone with professionals as sometimes trying to explain the more detailed information on forums can get confusing!