Hi sdb and welcome to the forum
I am assuming that you are considering proposing an IVA to your creditors. As you are living in rented accomodation, so I assume that you have no assets of material value, have you also considered bankruptcy proceedings or a debt management programme?
In the event that you feel an IVA is the right solution, you need to firstly calulate your disposable income by taking your joint salaries and deducting all essential household expenduture such as rent, utilities, housekeeping, clothing, car expenses and anything else which you regularly pay. Also provide for contingencies such as car and house maintenance, medical expenses and sundry items. Do not include any debt repayments. I have a form on my website which you may find useful to assist with this calculation.
To make an IVA viable, given your level of debt, you would need to have at least £400 per month available - and potentially more if you have debts with HSBC or Northern Rock.
Once this is determined, you need to appoint an insolvency practitioner of your choice to represent you. I have some tips on my blog for choosing an advisor which you may find useful.
Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner for over 20 years.
For further details contact me at
http://www.melaniegiles.com and view my IVA blog at:
http://melaniegiles.blogs.iva.co.uk