second thoughts on bankruptcy please help

thenumptys

Hi all
Tried to post a few mins ago, don't think it went on, I will try again. The last post was long, I will cut this one down. My wife posted on here last week and had really good advice, thought I would try also. We had decided to go bankrupt now not too sure, help please.WE read a post tonight and a women said she had repaid a loan to her daughter 2 years ago, the OR wrote to the daugher asking here to pay the money back, saying here mum was insolvent at the time of the repayment which she said she was not. We had loans from family around christmas one for £10,00 from my brother in law, one for £6000 from my mother in law, we paid them back in march after the sale of our shop. Will the OR now go after them for this money and demand it back, We have records of the payment to us from them and of the same amount being paid back to them. We don't want hem to be punished for their acts of kindness. We are self employed with total debts of £110,00+ We own 2 properties but the credit crunch as killed any money that we could have made from the sale, We were making all payments at that point, not missed any and thought we would be ok We thought we could have paid back ALL creditors with the sale of the 2 properties. meanwile we are stuck with huge repayments and have missed the last two on our home. We want to go bankrupt as the stress is so bad, constant phone calls, and letters we are so stressed. We have had 2 bad years, my sister died from cancer, after a year of illness. My mum now as alzheimers, which started straight after my sisters death, so our businees suffered due to these family problems which took up lots of my time and energy, and my mums condition is ongoing and getting worse. The debts have built because of these reasons and using credit cards to live on whilst not being able to give 100% to making money. We want to start again clear the debts and get away from all the ongoing stress. But we can't do that if we think the Or will chase our family that were only trying to help. Any one had any experience of this situation and what the OR might do, please help, we are prepared to lose our home, and belongings but don't want our family to suffer too. Sorry it turned out to be a long post after all. Its late, can't sleep, sorry to waffle..

Scarlett.1974

Good morning

This is quite a tricky situation and I'm afraid in all honesty I don't know the answer to your questions. At a guess I would say there would be a good chance of the OR chasing these family members for that money back, especially as it was quite recent

I would strongly advise you to contact one of the free debt charities for advice on your situation, I'm sure they'll be able to help and advise you. I'll be right back with the numbers for you

Scarlett.1974

Here you go (borrowed from Dalip's sig):
Free impartial debt advice available from: National Debtline - Tel: 0808 808 4000 | The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) - Tel: 0800 138 1111

You could also contact the insolvency service, you wouldn't have to give your name, you could email them:
http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/contactus/contact.htm

Best of luck.

k2nga

Hi,

You can look at this 2 ways and i have to admit that you do really need to all one of the charities like CCCS or national debtline and they should be able to give good advice as i am sure you are not alone in having family trying to help you out.

I think this is a grey area to be honest as if you paid of a laon to a company earlier this year would the OR go to them and ask......I dont think so so if this happened i would think you could fight it. I also think its down to the OR some seem quite relaxed as they look at your situation and realise you have had a bad time while others just seem to lash out which is sad as the majority have a good time with the OR.

I think my biggest concern is if you owe this much money like i did you either go BR or you may reach the stage that you end up being made BR. If the charities say your only option is BR do like me and just get it done asap then you take take on one thing at a time without the stress of debt and even after you are BR there is plenty of help on here or at the charities that can advise.

Wish you luck but give the debtline a call now and promise yourself to make a quick decision so you can start to move forward.

Richard_S

Hi thenumptys,

I've only got time for a quick post.

The question of whether the O.R will try and recover the money from your in-laws will relate to the time you actually became insolvent.

If you can prove that you were solvent at the time the money was repaid then there shouldn't be a problem. Proving that won't be easy though, unless you've got valuations of your assets at the time the loans were repaid.

Richard

thenumptys

thanks again for the replies we have already spoken to the national debtline who have been great and business debtline, also have an appointment with CCCS in 2 weeks, all indicators are to go B.R but need further confirmation from CCCS, just to be certain. Trouble is with our situation I don't think that it is clear cut and the thought of our families having to be involved is beyond reason, its just not fair to them

k2nga

Well i really hope you can get it all sorted as it seems you have come so far and i wish you all the best and keep us up to date.

shadowdragon

Good morning.

I think whatever the OR will do/say about the family loans, in the here and now, can you afford not to file for bankruptcy? I would personally cross that bridge when you came to it, especially if the debt charities are advising BC as your route out of this problem. I also think if your up at 3am worrying about the debts its something you have to address sooner or later, as it will start effecting your health too!!!

Good luck keep us all informed and keep asking questions, people are kind and sympathetic here and will support and guide you the best they can.

Chin up

Shadowdragon.

GettingHopeful

I know that this is a hard question, but is it possible to look to the future when you are discharged from br, and as a last resort look to repaying your family at this future date?

This will depend on whether you are going to have an IPA, but I was thinking in terms of a plan to earn money, part time jobs, economies to the nth degree, especially after the year is up (or 3 years with an IPA). Need to do some realistic forward thinking, but if there is a last ditch plan if the worst happens, then I am sure you will feel more able to cope with the current problems.

Could you discuss this whole question with your family members. Will take some doing I know, but they have been supportive in the past and will only want the best for you. I wouldn't be surprised if they said, do what you have to and we'll deal with it when and if the worst happens. I am absolutely certain that is what you would say if the position were reversed.

All the very best. BR is definitely a release from not only the money but the anxiety and a chance for a fresh start.

Richard_S

Hi thenumptys,

How able are your in-laws to repay the money to the O.R in the event of that happening? If they haven't got the cash sat in a bank then I'm not sure what action the O.R can take to recover that money. I've never heard of a friend or relative being obliged to re-mortgage their house or sell assets to repay money that was paod to them in preference to other creditors.

The usual outcome seems to be that the bankrupt has a BRU/O placed on them for showing a preference to family members.

I'd be interested to hear what experience other posters on here have had, or if they've seen an example of what the O.R has done in a similar case.

Regards

Richard

fermi

Hi.

There is some of the OR's guidance on "preferences" in the following link:

Link: Preferences

Bit of a read, but it may help to see how the OR looks at it.