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quattro2

Hi everybody, I'm new to this site but after reading many posts here I know I have come to the right place I have considered all my options & bankruptcy seems the only way forwards.
Firstly a little background info on myself, I'm single, 41 years old, have 2 children 13 & 15, they dont live with me but stay over 2 or 3 nights a week. My debts total around £140k, mainly credit cards & a few other smaller debts, I own my own home which has negative equity & I can't afford to keep it anymore, so I'm moving into smaller rented accommodation for a fresh start.
I want to ask a few questions firstly about my income & expenditure, but i'm sure more questions will follow along the way.

1. As I work in sales part of my wages is commision & it fluctuates from month to month, my average take home pay over the last 12 months was £1636 this is likely to remain the same for the forseeable future. How does the OR view this with regards to IPA?

2. I pay maintenance to my ex partner for my children at £275 per month, this is an agreement between us & we don't want to involve solicitors at all. How will this be viewed by the OR & as my children stay with me quite often can allowances be made for this in the i & e?

3. Are there any examples/tools to help me do a proper i & e?

Many thanks for reading & all help will be much appreciated.

startagain_2

Hi Quattro and Welcome,

You need some proper advice from one of the debt charities, CCCS or National Debtline or the Citizens Advice Bureau if you prefer a face to face.
This is one of the things that the judge will ask if you do go for BR - if you haven't taken advice your applicatiuon could possibly be refused.
The main thing we use on here is the SOA calculator - here is a link...
http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

Follow the instructions and post it on here and we will have a look at it for you and offer any tweaking if neccessary.

I am not sure about the maintenence issue - especially with informal arrangements. Someone else will help with that one.

Can't rememeber if you had any more questions - others will be joining in....

Good Luck

SA

quattro2

bump up please

sieve

Quattro sorry to hear of your situation but thanking startagain might have been a better way to bump your post rather than just saying bump without any acknowledgement of the response whatsoever...

quattro2

Yes thanks start again, wasn't thinking it was late

quattro2

Any thoughts everybody, thanks in advance

rivers09

Hi quattro2 my situation is very similar to yours, the OR was fine with my informal arrangement for maintenance and did not question it at all, as for your salary my OR was happy with an average but be honest about it if you think it may go down voice this concern with OR..

skylight

Your OR will take an average of your salary. Although it would be best to keep the 3 months prior/around your BR as low as you can if possible.

Maintainence is tricky. Some ORs will not allow it all if it is not "legal" as in ordered by the court or the CSA. However, if it is equivilant to what the CSA would ask you to pay, then some ORs would be more than happy with that. You could get something from your ex in writing about the agreement? And you pay it via your bank and the transactions are clearly marked "maintainence" and you don't pay it cash?

Allowances cannot really be made - the only thing you can add it money on your housekeeping to feed them. As you are not the parent with care, you are not expected to pay out anything else.

rivers09

quattro2 you can claim expenses for entertainment as long as you say its for the children..

So_Sad_Angel

Hi Quattro2

Have you spoken to one of the debt charities...if so what was their recommendation ??

Also it is very worthwhile putting tegether your statement of affairs (SOA) ....follow SA`s link in her post above. Pop it on a post & then the guys on here will get a bigger picture.

In terms of the informal maintenance agreement I would guess the OR is going to expect that you will have commitment to cover for your children & that the OR could verify this by having that outcome visable in your monthly accounts anyway.

Income is based on average last 3 months anyway so generally reflects peaks & lows.Obviously if your income was to drop then you would let the OR know asap.

Hope helps

Angiex

debt_doctor

Hi,

Your average income could be used for the basis of an IPA. You will be allowed to pay child support up to the CSA assessment level, which in your case is 20% of net income. This amount is decreased by the amount of time your children live with you, so in effect, builds in an allowance for you whilst your children are with you.

CSA calculator.......

https://secureonline.dwp.gov.uk/csa/v2/en/calculate-complete.asp

If an examiner wont allow the payment because its voluntary, then first you could argue your case or you could ask your ex to apply to the CSA for assessment, which would HAVE to be allowed.

Most allow a voluntary contribution up to the CSA limit.

DD