Need some advice....

in_despair_3

Hi first of.... I am new to the forum, and desperately need some advice. I would like to get some sort of sleep tonight.

The situation...

My husband has been seriously ill for three years. His illnesses are not covered by critical illness policies that we have.

He has stomach failure (he is fed intravenously) and collapses up to 150 times a day - there is basically a problem with his nervous system.



Last year we had a baby - she was one yesterday.

Over the past three years we have wracked up quite a considerable amount of debt, as well as debts that we both had previously.

I totalled it up the other day, and have worried myself sick.... £53500 in total!

So far we have met all of the repayments on the debts (two loans, two credit cards) and to be honest we could probably carry on like this for another 12 mths.... paying off the debts, living off the credit.... I know that we are heading for a fall, and we need to stop this now!!

I have an appt with the CCCS on 3rd February. I am worried to death abot what they may suggest eg IVA or Bankruptcy. We have taken advice, and we know that we are getting all the possible benefits.

What do you think they may suggest?



Finally, I am considering. although it is a last resort, selling the house, keeping the current mortgage but downsizing and gaining about £35000 capital. This would leave us with debts of around £20000.

Is it possible to offer £35000 in full and final settlement before doing anything else?? eg no payment plan, just straight into this as an option?

What other options are there that I dont know of that the CCCS may suggest? As I say, we are ticking along nicely, but I will never in a million years be able to pay off all of this debt.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

cornerclose

Hi and welcome to the forum.
I am not in any position to advise you on your debts, but there are loads of kind people who post regularly on here who will supply bags of help and support. In the meantime look through the various articles and see if you can save money on regular expenses such as household bills. There is loads to go at on this site and huge savings can be made.
Best of luck, and chin up!

LollyLou_2

You've already made a really positive step by calculating how much you owe and then becoming a member of this site. Although I'm not really in a position to give advice about how to handle your debts, you should definately make sure that you explore all avenues.

No matter how bad you feel now, things can and will get better, providing you make a promise with yourself and your husband that you will do your very best to get on top of things.

I'm sure that there will be far more qualified people to give you advice but this site is also great for the occasional moral support too! Big hugs xxx

in*the*red_6

in_despair wrote:

I have an appt with the CCCS on 3rd February. I am worried to death abot what they may suggest eg IVA or Bankruptcy. We have taken advice, and we know that we are getting all the possible benefits.

What do you think they may suggest?


Finally, I am considering. although it is a last resort, selling the house, keeping the current mortgage but downsizing and gaining about £35000 capital. This would leave us with debts of around £20000.

Thanks

Hi there

Sorry to hear you've had such a tough time over the past few years with your husband's illness. Don't be scared that CCCS will suggest IVA or bankruptcy because at the end of the day if one of those is right for you then at least you'll have had professional advice on your situation and know the problem's being dealt with. You haven't run this debt up recklessly, something beyond your control has happened and financially and emotionally it must have been a huge struggle. I'm sure you'll feel relieved once you've been able to talk it through with someone and if you feel you can post your incomings and outgoings on this site you'll find lots of good advice coming your way.

Just a note on the selling possibilty, if you are buying and selling a house it will cost you several thousand pounds just in fees. We moved in 2004 and I think it cost about £10k all told so you'd need to take this out of any profit (apologies if this is obvious but we found it hard to recover from)!

Best wishes

ITR