will my monthly IVA payment stay the same

[katylou]

I started an IVA six months ago, but have recently found out I am pregnant. As I will only be paid maternity pay for my maternity leave, which is a much lower amount than my salary, will my monthly IVA payment stay the same during this time?

[MelanieGiles]

Hi katylou and welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your news!

I have a client in exactly the same situation as you at present, and we are in the process of varying the terms of her IVA to allow for a six-month payment break. The missed payments will be made up by extending the IVA at the end.

If you find that you are not going to be able to make the ongoing IVA payments until you return to work, then you must discuss this with you IP at an early stage to see what they suggest.

Alternatively, if it is no longer feasible for you to continue with the IVA, then you may wish to consider bankruptcy proceedings or a reduced payment Debt Management Plan for the future.

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

[Oliver]

The best thing to do is contact your IP as soon as possible Katylou and explain your position.

As Melanie says there are ways in which you can continue with your IVA but these will depend on your personal circumstances.



Best Regards
Oliver

Thomas Charles and Co Ltd.
Experts in personal debt solutions.
Read customer feedback at: www.thomascharles.com/about_us.asp

[katylou]

Many thanks to you both for your replies, I will contact my IP as soon as I can. Hopefully I can arrange something whereby I have a six month break, my payments are manageable whilst I'm employed, but would be struggling to meet them while on maternity pay. I will be going back to work full time after my maternity leave, so hopefully this will be acceptable.

Since I started my IVA I have not missed any payments, and I want to make sure that I finish the IVA.

Thanks again.

[jamesfalla]

Hi Katylou

As Melanie says, the best solution is for your IP to negotiate a variation with your creditors to allow you to take a payment holiday from your IVA while you are on Maternity. This will give you a complete rest from the payments meaning you would not need to worry about them at all until you returned to work. Clearly you would have to add the payments to the end of your agreement.

This sounds like much the best option and the creditors should be willing to play ball given the situation. You should discuss this with your IP as soon as possible.

James Falla

Expert in IVA, Bankruptcy and informal Debt Management solutions for over 10 years.

For more information visit www.jamesfalla.com and visit my blog at: http://jamesfalla.blogs.iva.co.uk