Bankruptcy tomorrow! Scared!!

homeschooler

Hi

I have an appointment tomorrow at the county court in Blackpool to be made bankrupt and I am petrified :eek:

I am married with 2 children and the debts are mostly in my name (over £39,000). Dh is self employed and we began struggling to pay them last November and I managed to come to an agreement with my creditors to make lower payments which we were managing just but then a few of the creditors had only agreed for 6 months and wanted me to go back to meeting the original repayments which would be impossible. So I contacted CCCS and they advised bankruptcy as I have no assets and no way of repaying the debt.

I handed in my petition last Tuesday and was surprised to be given a date of Monday (tomorrow!!!). I am scared stiff. What if the judge doesn't make me bankrupt? I am so scared as we have had to put the payments for next month to go towards paying the bankruptcy fees. We have no way of paying these debts but they were incurred at a time when we were doing ok and could afford the repayments but dh's business is doing worse and worse and we have had to move in with my parents as we can't even afford the rent on a house.

I am worried about seeing the OR and what does he ask. I don't think I could cope if they turned round and said you can't go bankrupt. I hid much of my debts from dh until late last year and am really worried about what will happen to us if I don't get made bankrupt.

I think if that is the case then everyone would be better off if I wasn't here anymore. The whole debt thing has got me so down I can't go on anymore. I am so worn down by it all. I know I got myself into this mess. I just want it over.

Please can someone tell me it will all be ok. I am so scared. My sister has offered me and the kids a free holiday to visit her in Spain next Saturday but if I am made Bankrupt how long will it take sorting things with the OR? We have no assets but I know the joint bank account overdraft will pass onto dh. Please help.

Thanks
Emma

dalip

Emma take some deep breaths. It is very very very rare that the judge refuses bc.Sometimes they do if you have not sought legal advice but even then they only defer it so to speak until you have. When you have been declared bc you will(usually) have a very quick chat with the OR, you could try asking then when the interview is likely to be and say you are going to stay with a relative due to stress for a wk. No need to say where;)

Try reading some of the diaries like merry's or scarlett's they are very comforting and inspiring. I know you are scared to death sweetheart we all were believe me. It is a big step but well worth it.There will be many more comforting words by the end of today. I hope you come back tomorrow and tell us how it went. Keep your chin up girl we all here fo you.D

Rainbow_Butterfly

Hi I went BR last monday and was just as terrified as you. Everyone on here said oh dont worry it'll be fine and I thought yeah right, lol. The whole process was very easy and simple and everyone I dealt with at court was nothing less than lovely.
If the debt charities have said that BR is the best option and your finances are as you say then there is no reason that the judge wouldnt accept your BR.
I had my OR interview a couple of days later, they just go through the form in more detail, look into why you took out loans etc and what your repayments were at a given point etc etc. I didnt know the answer to quite a few of the questions I was asked but they seemed fine with that.
Just try and stay calm, the whole thing will be over before you know it and you'll be telling us tomorrow night that you dont know what you were so worried about, lol.
Big hugs, all the best. xx

dalip

Just though of something else. Have you had you name removed from the joint account?. As if not your DH's credit rating may be affected by your bc!D

vscared

Please do not worry. If you haven't got enough money to pay your debts, the Judge will make you bankrupt. Both my OH and I filed for BR on Thursday and we were petrified also. We were in Court at 8:40 a.m. and out by 11 a.m. Did not have to see the Judge. The Clerk went through our forms with us. She then said come back in an hour. An hour later we went to pick up the stamped forms. The OR has called and we are having telephone interviews on 4th August.

As you say, we got ourselves into this mess. We have huge debts and virtually no assets. It is a very scary time, but do not despair. It is only money.

In fact, you could look at it like a fresh start. We don't ever want to see any credit cards again, so having bankruptcy on our credit reports doesn't worry us in the slightest.

Remember there are thousands of other people in your position. You are not alone.

fiveyearplan

Good luck Homeschooler. Everything will be just fine. You may want to post up your I&E before your OR interview so we can go through it.

fermi

Hi.

As the others have said, it really will be fine. You've had the proper advice so I can't imagine you being refused.

You had two threads the same, so I've merged them together.

cuddlymarm

Hi

Sorry didn't read your post properly at first(just woke up)
OH went BK at Blackpool court. Tomorrow the lady who checked your forms will call you in and you'll either see the judge(OH didn't need to cos the judge had already stamped his forms) and then you go into an office and speak to the OR(OH talked to his assisant and then him briefly, it only took about 20 minutes)
It wasn't scary at all and was mainly checking details, spellings of name etc.

DON'T WORRY IT WILL BE OVER BEFORE YOU KNOW IT

You'll get an appointment and a list of what to bring in a few days (OHs was a week Friday after his appointment but that was because he works away)

The lady at the court said they are trying this because it is over quicker and so less waiting hopefully makes it less painful

Good luck and feel free to PM me if you want to

Cuddles

homeschooler

Thanks for all your kind and helpful replies. I just want this nightmare to end and hopefully it will at least ease tomorrow.

Dh knows that he will become liable for the joint account overdraft but we are hoping to negotiate him paying it off a bit each month rather than all in one go which we cant afford to do.

Here is my monthly Income & Expenditure for 2 adults 2 children (age 9 & 6):

Income:
Dh's contribution to household - 330 (after paying his debts)
Working Tax Credits - 356
Child Tax Credits - 351
Child Benefit - 135

Total Income - 1172

Expenditure:
Board (Living with my parents) - 330 (inc gas/electric/water/council tax)
Groceries - 433
Telephone - 30 (mobile PAYG phones)
Public Transport - 80 (we don't have a car)
Homeschooling - 70 (I home educate my 2 kids so instead of school trips, school dinners etc this is for books, field trips, stationary)
Clothing - 100 (including footwear)
Pets - 20 (1 dog - pet food, vet bills)
Hairdressing - 25
Bdays/Xmas etc - 30
Emergencies - 40

Total Expenditure: £1158

Leftover: £14

This is what I put on my Statement of Affairs. Does it sound ok or will the OR try and knock it down?

Also as we board with my parents will the OR contact them? They know I am going BR but don't want to get involved with it.

One last question I was just going through my statements and I have realised that on the MBNA statement it says MBNA Europe Bank Limited, The Cooperative Bank. I have just opened a Co op cashminder account but I am not sure if they are now a creditor or not in which case they may not let me continue with my account there. Is MBNA part of the Co operative Bank or is it just that MBNA has an account with them to collect payments?

Thanks for all your advice. This is a great forum.

I

fiveyearplan

For your income you've just listed OH and tax credits. Do you actually earn any money?

homeschooler

No I don't work at the moment. I used to work for dh but then ds got bullied badly at school so we made the decision to homeschool him and dd.