Which Route IVA or BR

[jo03]

Hi,

I am currenty wondering which route to take and any advice would be great. Just to give you some info.

I am currently in around 20k debt to various lenders, which was struggling to pay, so stupidly ignored it and stopped paying. It is now 18 months later and it is all catching up with me, so need to sort this out.

After expences each month (including my wifes income, however the debt is all in my name) we are left with around £200-£250 a month if we really get rid of the luxury items, this however may become less in Sep 08 (my wife is currently on Maternity leave, so when she goes back in sep, will have to fork out for nursery costs).

So if we set up an IVA and found out we couldnt afford to keep up the repayments we would have to go BR. Would it just be easier to do this now (we have no assests expect a car in my name worth £700 and a car in my wifes worth about the same. We have no savings and we rent).

Also would we beable to go BR yet as we do still have that £200 or so a month spare?!

Any advice would be great.

Many Thanks

[MelanieGiles]

Hi Jo and welcome to the forum

If there is some uncertainty as to the amount your wife will be earning both through and after her period of maternity leave, I would hesitate to recommend an IVA at this stage, especially with such low disposable income.

Given that you have no assets which would be lost under bankruptcy proceedings, and a little one now to care for who will need all of your attention (and money!) this might be a better fresh start for you and your family.

[chris.g]

hiya jo03 and welcome.
In bankruptcy you would be required to pay into an IPA/IPO, money towards paying some of the debt back to your creditors and to pay the OR fees. There are certain things that are allowed other than normal living expenses which will be discussed and decided by you and your OR. If there is more than £99 disposable income you would have to pay, usually 50%. The more d/income you have, the more you pay and the higher %. If the debts are in your name only your wife wouldn't have to file for br, only you.
I would also check that your employment and tenancy would not be effected, sometimes it is in the samall print about being bankrupt.
Your cars would probably be ok to keep, providing you require them for work.

[jo03]

Thanks for your replays, i also failed to mention that every 3 months i do get a bouns, however this is not guaranteed and the amount can vary depending on how well the company is doing, it could range from £100 every 3 months to £700. In this case would you still advise BR is the best possible solution?!

Do you also know if there is prehaps a financial advisor or somebody who we could actullay talk to free of charge that would beable to go through out statements to help us also decided the best route for us.

Many Thanks

[MelanieGiles]

Any insolvency practitioner ought to offer you a free initial consultation, and I can also recommend Paul Johns from Reviva who regularly posts on the forum.