IPA's and the Standard Financial Statement (SFS)

Craig_GTR · 31 July 2017 at 8:57AM

Thankyou for an informative post Debt Doctor.

I've applied and been accepted for bankruptcy on Friday 28th of July and am now waiting for contact from my OR. My SoE is as follows, (for 2 adults and one child @ 3 years old)

Household Income - £2196 (£1490 My income) + (£706 Wifes contracted income)
Rent - £725
Gas - £60
Electric - £40
House Insurance (contents) - £11
TV License - £13
Water - £35
Petrol - £140
Microsoft Office Subscription (Work) - £6
Sofa - £32
Landline Broadband - £40
Meals at Work - £20
Council Tax - £141
Food/ Household - £400
Clothing/Hair/Dental - £75
Car Tax - £16
Car Ins. - £50
Car Spares/Repairs - £20

My wife has agreed to pay for both our mobile contracts and the sky tv package (basic with kiddie channels).

Hopefully I will have my interview and this will pass without much trouble but i'll be sure to post back what my OR recommends either way. In the meantime could you reassure me I'm not being 'extravagant' in any areas. Thanks

TheGardener · 31 July 2017 at 5:44PM

Hi Craig,
Ideally you should have your own thread for this but:
As far as income is concerned, the OR would perhaps expect you to pay 70% of household costs and your wife around 30%
You really need to put in all your costs - including the TV and phone stuff as this will mean when split, you would get the minimum IPA.
The sofa - is it in your name? If so then if its HP/credit it will fall into your BR and the supplier will - depending on how old the item is - want it back.
Other thoughts - no parking costs - at all - really!?
Modest holiday?
Emergency fund?

debt_doctor · 31 July 2017 at 6:07PM

I agree with the Gardener. Also consider another £100 on food. £50 would be reasonable for the holiday fund. Car repairs seem a little short too.
For the sofa - if it is in partners name then fine. If it is your unsecured personal loan then its a bankruptcy debt, no more payments and you can keep the sofa. If it is your HP (secured on sofa) then it is possible that the OR would not have any interest in it and partner could pay (you can't) so you could keep sofa. Also, as the Gardener says - If HP - company might not want it back.
DD

Darthbane · 1 August 2017 at 1:14PM

Does this guidance apply to a Scottish trust deed?

Do you seriously get to save for a holiday I was under the impression this type of thing was completely forbidden!

I live with my partner she owns the house but we do not share finances and she is not aware of my financial disposition. I pay a fixed amount each month which amounts to just over half
Of the fixed bills I do not intend to bring my partners finances directly involved but she does earn less than me anyway is this lightly to raise an issue?

Craig_GTR · 1 August 2017 at 4:13PM

Thanks to The Gardener and Debt Doctor,

I had my interview today and i'll admit I didn't know what to expect, however I was guided through the expenditures and on most accounts (apart from fixed costs) was told to increase the amount to allow myself the finances to actually live, honestly they were extremely helpful and suggested adding in Holidays, Birthdays, Emergencies etc.

All in all I feel more relaxed than I have done in years. In respective of the SFS from my experience (so far) it is relatively generous.

debt_doctor · 1 August 2017 at 5:43PM

Thanks for the feedback Craig - Very useful.
DD

debt_doctor · 2 August 2017 at 8:49PM

Darthbane wrote: »

Does this guidance apply to a Scottish trust deed?

Do you seriously get to save for a holiday I was under the impression this type of thing was completely forbidden!

I live with my partner she owns the house but we do not share finances and she is not aware of my financial disposition. I pay a fixed amount each month which amounts to just over half
Of the fixed bills I do not intend to bring my partners finances directly involved but she does earn less than me anyway is this lightly to raise an issue?

Hi, a Trust Deed is similar to an IVA in England. You should Contact Citizens Advice Scotland or National Debt line Scotland to see if this remedy is right for you.
The only thing I've found on expenses allowed is this:
http://www.scottishtrustdeed.co.uk/trust_deed_resource/calculate_living_expenses.asp

I CANNOT testify at all for the information contained as accurate - discuss it with the agencies I mentioned.
Good luck
DD

coolcait · 3 August 2017 at 12:09AM

Darthbane wrote: »

Does this guidance apply to a Scottish trust deed?

Do you seriously get to save for a holiday I was under the impression this type of thing was completely forbidden!

I live with my partner she owns the house but we do not share finances and she is not aware of my financial disposition. I pay a fixed amount each month which amounts to just over half
Of the fixed bills I do not intend to bring my partners finances directly involved but she does earn less than me anyway is this lightly to raise an issue?

Hi

Scotland is still using the Common Financial Statement or CFS, which Debt Doctor mentioned earlier (or on another thread. Apologies, I've been doing a lot of catching up on the forum).

Here's the official announcement by the Accountant in Bankruptcy https://www.aib.gov.uk/news/releases/17171717/0202/guidance-use-common-financial-statement

All advisors working with clients in Scotland are supposed to start off by using the CFS to find out how much disposable income the client has.

Working from that and how much the client owes, the advisor should point out the best option - bankruptcy (sequestration), Trust Deed, DAS, DMP, and so on.

As Debt Doctor said, there are trigger figures for different categories of expenditure. How you split your expenditure within those categories is up to you.

If you want to spend most of your housekeeping on fags, booze, newspapers and toiletries, you can. But you might be asked how you'll manage to feed yourself and stay within the trigger figures.

Same thing with other kinds of expenditure. If you want to forego haircuts, internet, satellite and cable, dentists and specs - and always take a packed lunch so that you don't need meals at work - you probably could put in a generous amount for holidays and gifts. It might be queried.

As for the link which Debt Doctor found, he was right to be cautious about it.

Butts · 24 August 2017 at 6:41PM

On the Bankruptcy Application Form there is a section entitled "Pension, Insurance and Healthcare" with entries required for Life Insurance, Dentistry and Opticians.

Am I right in thinking Life Insurance should be in the fixed expenses section ie not part of the budget for variable expenses ?

What about Dental and Optical which of the three new categories does that fall under ? - Personal Costs or Communications and Leisure?

Under the CFS Travel used to be a seperate section if it is in the main fixed expenses bit now does that mean it has no trigger figures ?

debt_doctor · 24 August 2017 at 9:48PM

Butts wrote: »

On the Bankruptcy Application Form there is a section entitled "Pension, Insurance and Healthcare" with entries required for Life Insurance, Dentistry and Opticians.

Am I right in thinking Life Insurance should be in the fixed expenses section ie not part of the budget for variable expenses ?

What about Dental and Optical which of the three new categories does that fall under ? - Personal Costs or Communications and Leisure?

Under the CFS Travel used to be a seperate section if it is in the main fixed expenses bit now does that mean it has no trigger figures ?

Hi, Life Insurance is a fixed cost, as is dental and optical. You are correct that under the CFS travel had it's own category and trigger figure - this is now under fixed costs which means the travel figure should be accepted if proof can be given of the expenses - if it was under a trigger figure then proof would not be needed unless trigger figure exceeded.
DD

IPA's and the Standard Financial Statement (SFS)

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